text stringlengths 0 355 |
|---|
Um|,|no.|. |
But|here|'s|a|movie|about|it|anyway|. |
Has|not|so|much|been|written|as|assembled|,|Frankenstein-like|,|out|of|other|,|marginally|better|shoot-em-ups|. |
The|punch|lines|that|miss|,|unfortunately|,|outnumber|the|hits|by|three-to-one|. |
But|Death|to|Smoochy|keeps|firing|until|the|bitter|end|. |
Mushes|the|college-friends|genre|(|The|Big|Chill|)|together|with|the|contrivances|and|overwrought|emotion|of|soap|operas|. |
Showtime|'s|starry|cast|could|be|both|an|asset|and|a|detriment|. |
Those|who|trek|to|the|`|plex|predisposed|to|like|it|probably|will|enjoy|themselves|. |
But|ticket-buyers|with|great|expectations|will|wind|up|as|glum|as|Mr.|De|Niro|. |
A|determined|,|ennui-hobbled|slog|that|really|does|n't|have|much|to|say|beyond|the|news|flash|that|loneliness|can|make|people|act|weird|. |
Too|daft|by|half|...|but|supremely|good|natured|. |
Fails|in|making|this|character|understandable|,|in|getting|under|her|skin|,|in|exploring|motivation|...|Well|before|the|end|,|the|film|grows|as|dull|as|its|characters|,|about|whose|fate|it|is|hard|to|care|. |
It|'s|a|shame|that|the|storyline|and|its|underlying|themes|...|finally|seem|so|impersonal|or|even|shallow|. |
Woody|,|what|happened|? |
Juliette|Binoche|'s|Sand|is|vivacious|,|but|it|'s|hard|to|sense|that|powerhouse|of|19th-century|prose|behind|her|childlike|smile|. |
It|'s|supposed|to|be|post-feminist|breezy|but|ends|up|as|tedious|as|the|chatter|of|parrots|raised|on|Oprah|. |
You|can|tell|almost|immediately|that|Welcome|to|Collinwood|is|n't|going|to|jell|. |
Throughout|all|the|tumult|,|a|question|comes|to|mind|:|So|why|is|this|so|boring|? |
Cattaneo|reworks|the|formula|that|made|The|Full|Monty|a|smashing|success|...|but|neglects|to|add|the|magic|that|made|it|all|work|. |
Routine|and|rather|silly|. |
A|rip-off|twice|removed|,|modeled|after|(|Seagal|'s|)|earlier|copycat|Under|Siege|,|sometimes|referred|to|as|Die|Hard|on|a|boat|. |
Totally|overwrought|,|deeply|biased|,|and|wholly|designed|to|make|you|feel|guilty|about|ignoring|what|the|filmmakers|clearly|believe|are|The|Greatest|Musicians|of|All|Time|. |
You|can|practically|hear|George|Orwell|turning|over|. |
Behan|'s|memoir|is|great|material|for|a|film|--|rowdy|,|brawny|and|lyrical|in|the|best|Irish|sense|--|but|Sheridan|has|settled|for|a|lugubrious|romance|. |
While|Holm|is|terrific|as|both|men|and|Hjejle|quite|appealing|,|the|film|fails|to|make|the|most|out|of|the|intriguing|premise|. |
Lazy|filmmaking|,|with|the|director|taking|a|hands-off|approach|when|he|should|have|shaped|the|story|to|show|us|why|it|'s|compelling|. |
If|it|were|any|more|of|a|turkey|,|it|would|gobble|in|Dolby|Digital|stereo|. |
If|nothing|else|,|``|Rollerball|''|2002|may|go|down|in|cinema|history|as|the|only|movie|ever|in|which|the|rest|of|the|cast|was|outshined|by|LL|Cool|J. |
A|movie|that|falls|victim|to|frazzled|wackiness|and|frayed|satire|. |
How|do|you|make|a|movie|with|depth|about|a|man|who|lacked|any|? |
On|the|evidence|before|us|,|the|answer|is|clear|:|Not|easily|and|,|in|the|end|,|not|well|enough|. |
The|film|'s|trailer|also|looked|like|crap|,|so|crap|is|what|I|was|expecting|. |
More|trifle|than|triumph|. |
The|movie|is|almost|completely|lacking|in|suspense|,|surprise|and|consistent|emotional|conviction|. |
Festers|in|just|such|a|dungpile|that|you|'d|swear|you|were|watching|monkeys|flinging|their|feces|at|you|. |
Lyne|'s|latest|,|the|erotic|thriller|Unfaithful|,|further|demonstrates|just|how|far|his|storytelling|skills|have|eroded|. |
It|sounds|like|another|clever|if|pointless|excursion|into|the|abyss|,|and|that|'s|more|or|less|how|it|plays|out|. |
Rumor|,|a|muddled|drama|about|coming|to|terms|with|death|,|feels|impersonal|,|almost|generic|. |
Report|card|:|Does|n't|live|up|to|the|exalted|tagline|-|there|'s|definite|room|for|improvement|. |
Does|n't|deserve|a|passing|grade|(|even|on|a|curve|)|. |
The|pacing|is|deadly|,|the|narration|helps|little|and|Naipaul|,|a|juicy|writer|,|is|negated|. |
As|his|circle|of|friends|keeps|getting|smaller|one|of|the|characters|in|Long|Time|Dead|says|`|I|'m|telling|you|,|this|is|f|\*\*\*|ed|'|. |
Maybe|he|was|reading|the|minds|of|the|audience|. |
...|if|it|had|been|only|half-an-hour|long|or|a|TV|special|,|the|humor|would|have|been|fast|and|furious|--|at|ninety|minutes|,|it|drags|. |
Bean|drops|the|ball|too|many|times|...|hoping|the|nifty|premise|will|create|enough|interest|to|make|up|for|an|unfocused|screenplay|. |
A|well-acted|,|but|one-note|film|. |
Blood|Work|is|laughable|in|the|solemnity|with|which|it|tries|to|pump|life|into|overworked|elements|from|Eastwood|'s|Dirty|Harry|period|. |
The|movie|is|too|amateurishly|square|to|make|the|most|of|its|own|ironic|implications|. |
(|Lee|)|treats|his|audience|the|same|way|that|Jim|Brown|treats|his|women|--|as|dumb|,|credulous|,|unassuming|,|subordinate|subjects|. |
And|Lee|seems|just|as|expectant|of|an|adoring|,|wide-smiling|reception|. |
There|'s|not|one|decent|performance|from|the|cast|and|not|one|clever|line|of|dialogue|. |
No|amount|of|burning|,|blasting|,|stabbing|,|and|shooting|can|hide|a|weak|script|. |
It|'s|an|odd|show|,|pregnant|with|moods|,|stillborn|except|as|a|harsh|conceptual|exercise|. |
Nearly|all|the|fundamentals|you|take|for|granted|in|most|films|are|mishandled|here|. |
The|Armenian|genocide|deserves|a|more|engaged|and|honest|treatment|. |
Earnest|yet|curiously|tepid|and|choppy|recycling|in|which|predictability|is|the|only|winner|. |
Ultimately|this|is|a|frustrating|patchwork|:|an|uneasy|marriage|of|Louis|Begley|'s|source|novel|(|About|Schmidt|)|and|an|old|Payne|screenplay|. |
The|exploitative|,|clumsily|staged|violence|overshadows|everything|,|including|most|of|the|actors|. |
We|started|to|wonder|if|...|some|unpaid|intern|had|just|typed|`|Chris|Rock|,|'|`|Anthony|Hopkins|'|and|`|terrorists|'|into|some|Univac-like|script|machine|. |
Even|when|Crush|departs|from|the|4W|formula|...|it|feels|like|a|glossy|rehash|. |
More|likely|to|have|you|scratching|your|head|than|hiding|under|your|seat|. |
Bears|is|even|worse|than|I|imagined|a|movie|ever|could|be|. |
When|you|find|yourself|rooting|for|the|monsters|in|a|horror|movie|,|you|know|the|picture|is|in|trouble|. |
This|is|very|much|of|a|mixed|bag|,|with|enough|negatives|to|outweigh|the|positives|. |
Marinated|in|clichés|and|mawkish|dialogue|. |
Whether|it|'s|the|worst|movie|of|2002|,|I|ca|n't|say|for|sure|:|Memories|of|Rollerball|have|faded|,|and|I|skipped|Country|Bears|. |
But|this|new|jangle|of|noise|,|mayhem|and|stupidity|must|be|a|serious|contender|for|the|title|. |
(|A|)|boldly|stroked|,|luridly|coloured|,|uni-dimensional|nonsense|machine|that|strokes|the|eyeballs|while|it|evaporates|like|so|much|crypt|mist|in|the|brain|. |
Not|once|in|the|rush|to|save|the|day|did|I|become|very|involved|in|the|proceedings|;|to|me|,|it|was|just|a|matter|of|`|eh|.|' |
Rollerball|IS|as|bad|as|you|think|,|and|worse|than|you|can|imagine|. |
The|first|question|to|ask|about|Bad|Company|is|why|Anthony|Hopkins|is|in|it|. |
We|assume|he|had|a|bad|run|in|the|market|or|a|costly|divorce|,|because|there|is|no|earthly|reason|other|than|money|why|this|distinguished|actor|would|stoop|so|low|. |
Not|exaggerated|enough|to|be|a|parody|of|gross-out|flicks|,|college|flicks|,|or|even|flicks|in|general|. |
It|merely|indulges|in|the|worst|elements|of|all|of|them|. |
Shame|on|writer\/director|Vicente|Aranda|for|making|a|florid|biopic|about|mad|queens|,|obsessive|relationships|,|and|rampant|adultery|so|dull|. |
Suffers|from|a|decided|lack|of|creative|storytelling|. |
Violent|,|vulgar|and|forgettably|entertaining|. |
Nothing|happens|,|and|it|happens|to|flat|characters|. |
With|a|completely|predictable|plot|,|you|'ll|swear|that|you|'ve|seen|it|all|before|,|even|if|you|'ve|never|come|within|a|mile|of|The|Longest|Yard|. |
Remember|back|when|thrillers|actually|thrilled|? |
When|the|twist|endings|were|actually|surprising|? |
When|the|violence|actually|shocked|? |
When|the|heroes|were|actually|under|40|? |
Sadly|,|as|Blood|Work|proves|,|that|was|a|long|,|long|time|ago|. |
Blue|Crush|has|all|the|trappings|of|an|energetic|,|extreme-sports|adventure|,|but|ends|up|more|of|a|creaky|``|Pretty|Woman|''|retread|,|with|the|emphasis|on|self-empowering|schmaltz|and|big-wave|surfing|that|gives|pic|its|title|an|afterthought|. |
This|movie|plays|like|an|extended|dialogue|exercise|in|Retard|101|. |
What|we|get|in|FearDotCom|is|more|like|something|from|a|bad|Clive|Barker|movie|. |
In|other|words|,|it|'s|badder|than|bad|. |
If|they|broke|out|into|elaborate|choreography|,|singing|and|finger|snapping|it|might|have|held|my|attention|,|but|as|it|stands|I|kept|looking|for|the|last|exit|from|Brooklyn|. |
A|sloppy|slapstick|throwback|to|long|gone|bottom-of-the-bill|fare|like|The|Ghost|and|Mr.|Chicken|. |
A|small|independent|film|suffering|from|a|severe|case|of|Hollywood-itis|. |
Where|the|film|falters|is|in|its|tone|. |
The|story|alone|could|force|you|to|scratch|a|hole|in|your|head|. |
Ultimately|,|Sarah|'s|dedication|to|finding|her|husband|seems|more|psychotic|than|romantic|,|and|nothing|in|the|movie|makes|a|convincing|case|that|one|woman|'s|broken|heart|outweighs|all|the|loss|we|witness|. |
It|'s|supposed|to|be|a|humorous|,|all-too-human|look|at|how|hope|can|breed|a|certain|kind|of|madness|--|and|strength|--|but|it|never|quite|adds|up|. |
Feels|more|like|a|rejected|X-Files|episode|than|a|credible|account|of|a|puzzling|real-life|happening|. |
Some|motion|pictures|portray|ultimate|passion|;|others|create|ultimate|thrills|. |
Men|in|Black|II|achieves|ultimate|insignificance|--|it|'s|the|sci-fi|comedy|spectacle|as|Whiffle-Ball|epic|. |
An|enigmatic|film|that|'s|too|clever|for|its|own|good|,|it|'s|a|conundrum|not|worth|solving|. |
A|zombie|movie|in|every|sense|of|the|word|--|mindless|,|lifeless|,|meandering|,|loud|,|painful|,|obnoxious|. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.