text stringlengths 0 355 |
|---|
Well-nigh|unendurable|...|though|the|picture|strains|to|become|cinematic|poetry|,|it|remains|depressingly|prosaic|and|dull|. |
I|thought|my|own|watch|had|stopped|keeping|time|as|I|slogged|my|way|through|Clockstoppers|. |
While|much|of|the|cast|has|charm|--|especially|Allodi|and|Nolden|--|the|performers|are|sunk|by|the|film|'s|primitive|approach|to|the|mechanics|of|comedy|. |
This|directorial|debut|from|music|video|show-off|Higuchinsky|is|all|flash|. |
Yes|,|Ballistic|is|silly|. |
Unfortunately|,|it|'s|not|silly|fun|unless|you|enjoy|really|bad|movies|. |
The|twist|that|ends|the|movie|is|the|one|with|the|most|emotional|resonance|,|but|twists|are|getting|irritating|,|and|this|is|the|kind|of|material|where|the|filmmakers|should|be|very|careful|about|raising|eyebrows|. |
The|longer|the|movie|goes|,|the|worse|it|gets|,|but|it|'s|actually|pretty|good|in|the|first|few|minutes|. |
While|it|'s|genuinely|cool|to|hear|characters|talk|about|early|rap|records|(|Sugar|Hill|Gang|,|etc.|)|,|the|constant|referencing|of|hip-hop|arcana|can|alienate|even|the|savviest|audiences|. |
Not|only|unfunny|,|but|downright|repellent|. |
Care|deftly|captures|the|wonder|and|menace|of|growing|up|,|but|he|never|really|embraces|the|joy|of|Fuhrman|'s|destructive|escapism|or|the|grace-in-rebellion|found|by|his|characters|. |
Forced|,|familiar|and|thoroughly|condescending|. |
Does|little|more|than|play|an|innocuous|game|of|fill-in|-|the-blanks|with|a|tragic|past|. |
K-19|exploits|our|substantial|collective|fear|of|nuclear|holocaust|to|generate|cheap|Hollywood|tension|. |
Has|a|long|and|clunky|ending|...|which|forces|the|audience|to|fidget|through|ten|pseudo-serious|minutes|while|waiting|for|the|ending|credits|and|the|deleted|scenes|montage|to|break|the|audience|'s|awkward|silence |
A|ragbag|of|promising|ideas|and|failed|narrative|,|of|good|acting|and|plain|old|bad|filmmaking|. |
Whaley|'s|determination|to|immerse|you|in|sheer|,|unrelenting|wretchedness|is|exhausting|. |
Uncommonly|stylish|but|equally|silly|...|the|picture|fails|to|generate|much|suspense|,|nor|does|it|ask|searching|enough|questions|to|justify|its|pretensions|. |
The|entire|movie|is|about|a|boring|,|sad|man|being|boring|and|sad|. |
The|plot|convolutions|ultimately|add|up|to|nothing|more|than|jerking|the|audience|'s|chain|. |
Confirms|the|nagging|suspicion|that|Ethan|Hawke|would|be|even|worse|behind|the|camera|than|he|is|in|front|of|it|. |
Made|with|no|discernible|craft|and|monstrously|sanctimonious|in|dealing|with|childhood|loss|. |
It|'s|a|trifle|of|a|movie|,|with|a|few|laughs|surrounding|an|unremarkable|soft|center|. |
Holden|Caulfield|did|it|better|. |
A|synthesis|of|cliches|and|absurdities|that|seems|positively|decadent|in|its|cinematic|flash|and|emptiness|. |
Oh|come|on|. |
Like|you|could|n't|smell|this|turkey|rotting|from|miles|away|. |
If|it|'s|seldom|boring|,|well|,|it|'s|also|rarely|coherent|. |
Simplistic|fluff-ball|of|whimsy|. |
Not|exactly|the|Bees|Knees |
It|does|nothing|new|with|the|old|story|,|except|to|show|fisticuffs|in|this|sort|of|stop-go|slow|motion|that|makes|the|gang|rumbles|look|like|they|'re|being|streamed|over|a|28K|modem|. |
The|kind|of|spectacularly|misconceived|enterprise|that|only|a|sophisticated|cinephile|could|have|perpetrated|. |
Makes|for|some|truly|odd|,|at|times|confusing|,|kids|entertainment|...|but|at|least|this|time|there|'s|some|centered|storytelling|to|go|along|with|all|the|weird|stuff|. |
The|film|contains|no|good|jokes|,|no|good|scenes|,|barely|a|moment|when|Carvey|'s|Saturday|Night|Live-honed|mimicry|rises|above|the|level|of|embarrassment|. |
Jacquot|'s|rendering|of|Puccini|'s|tale|of|devotion|and|double-cross|is|more|than|just|a|filmed|opera|. |
In|his|first|stab|at|the|form|,|Jacquot|takes|a|slightly|anarchic|approach|that|works|only|sporadically|. |
Chabrol|has|taken|promising|material|for|a|black|comedy|and|turned|it|instead|into|a|somber|chamber|drama|. |
It|'s|as|if|you|'re|watching|a|movie|that|was|made|in|1978|but|not|released|then|because|it|was|so|weak|,|and|it|has|been|unearthed|and|released|now|,|when|it|has|become|even|weaker|. |
This|is|nothing|but|familiar|territory|. |
In|execution|,|this|clever|idea|is|far|less|funny|than|the|original|,|Killers|From|Space|. |
One|of|the|more|irritating|cartoons|you|will|see|this|,|or|any|,|year|. |
A|broad|,|melodramatic|estrogen|opera|that|'s|pretty|toxic|in|its|own|right|. |
Too|slow|,|too|long|and|too|little|happens|. |
The|film|'s|few|ideas|are|stretched|to|the|point|of|evaporation|;|the|whole|central|section|is|one|big|chase|that|seems|to|have|no|goal|and|no|urgency|. |
It|'s|just|filler|. |
Sacrifices|the|value|of|its|wealth|of|archival|foot-age|with|its|less-than-objective|stance|. |
Utterly|lacking|in|charm|,|wit|and|invention|,|Roberto|Benigni|'s|Pinocchio|is|an|astonishingly|bad|film|. |
A|hamfisted|romantic|comedy|that|makes|our|girl|the|hapless|facilitator|of|an|extended|cheap|shot|across|the|Mason-Dixon|line|. |
Scores|no|points|for|originality|,|wit|,|or|intelligence|. |
It|'s|a|cookie-cutter|movie|,|a|cut-and-paste|job|. |
They|takes|a|long|time|to|get|to|its|gasp-inducing|ending|. |
Barely|gets|off|the|ground|. |
Even|on|those|rare|occasions|when|the|narrator|stops|yammering|,|Miller|'s|hand|often|feels|unsure|. |
Pumpkin|means|to|be|an|outrageous|dark|satire|on|fraternity|life|,|but|its|ambitions|far|exceed|the|abilities|of|writer|Adam|Larson|Broder|and|his|co-director|,|Tony|R.|Abrams|,|in|their|feature|debut|. |
At|its|best|,|Queen|is|campy|fun|like|the|Vincent|Price|horror|classics|of|the|'60s|. |
At|its|worst|,|it|implodes|in|a|series|of|very|bad|special|effects|. |
From|the|opening|scenes|,|it|'s|clear|that|All|About|the|Benjamins|is|a|totally|formulaic|movie|. |
It|takes|a|certain|kind|of|horror|movie|to|qualify|as|`|worse|than|expected|,|'|but|Ghost|Ship|somehow|manages|to|do|exactly|that|. |
On|the|bright|side|,|it|contains|Jesse|Ventura|'s|best|work|since|the|XFL|. |
Despite|impeccable|acting|...|and|a|script|that|takes|some|rather|unexpected|(|even|,|at|times|,|preposterous|)|turns|,|Love|is|just|too|,|too|precious|in|the|end|. |
A|TV|style|murder|mystery|with|a|few|big|screen|moments|(|including|one|that|seems|to|be|made|for|a|different|film|altogether|)|. |
By|getting|myself|wrapped|up|in|the|visuals|and|eccentricities|of|many|of|the|characters|,|I|found|myself|confused|when|it|came|time|to|get|to|the|heart|of|the|movie|. |
Too|often|,|the|viewer|is|n't|reacting|to|humor|so|much|as|they|are|wincing|back|in|repugnance|. |
Dilbert|without|the|right-on|satiric|humor|. |
Manages|to|show|life|in|all|of|its|banality|when|the|intention|is|quite|the|opposite|. |
Do|not|see|this|film|. |
Minority|Report|is|exactly|what|the|title|indicates|,|a|report|. |
Delivers|the|same|old|same|old|,|tarted|up|with|Latin|flava|and|turned|out|by|Hollywood|playas|. |
If|you|believe|any|of|this|,|I|can|make|you|a|real|deal|on|leftover|Enron|stock|that|will|double|in|value|a|week|from|Friday|. |
To|call|The|Other|Side|of|Heaven|``|appalling|''|would|be|to|underestimate|just|how|dangerous|entertainments|like|it|can|be|. |
In|exactly|89|minutes|,|most|of|which|passed|as|slowly|as|if|I|'d|been|sitting|naked|on|an|igloo|,|Formula|51|sank|from|quirky|to|jerky|to|utter|turkey|. |
If|only|the|story|about|a|multi-million|dollar|con|bothered|to|include|the|con|. |
I|'d|have|to|say|the|star|and|director|are|the|big|problems|here|. |
Without|the|dark|spookiness|of|Crystal|Lake|Camp|,|the|horror|concept|completely|loses|its|creepy|menace|. |
It|'s|like|every|bad|idea|that|'s|ever|gone|into|an|after-school|special|compiled|in|one|place|,|minus|those|daytime|programs|'|slickness|and|sophistication|(|and|who|knew|they|even|had|any|?|)|. |
While|the|Resident|Evil|games|may|have|set|new|standards|for|thrills|,|suspense|,|and|gore|for|video|games|,|the|movie|really|only|succeeds|in|the|third|of|these|. |
For|close|to|two|hours|the|audience|is|forced|to|endure|three|terminally|depressed|,|mostly|inarticulate|,|hyper|dysfunctional|families|for|the|price|of|one|. |
To|my|taste|,|the|film|'s|comic|characters|come|perilously|close|to|being|Amoses|and|Andys|for|a|new|generation|. |
What|the|director|ca|n't|do|is|make|either|of|Val|Kilmer|'s|two|personas|interesting|or|worth|caring|about|. |
In|an|effort|,|I|suspect|,|not|to|offend|by|appearing|either|too|serious|or|too|lighthearted|,|it|offends|by|just|being|wishy-washy|. |
It|'s|difficult|to|imagine|the|process|that|produced|such|a|script|,|but|here|'s|guessing|that|spray|cheese|and|underarm|noises|played|a|crucial|role|. |
Harland|Williams|is|so|funny|in|drag|he|should|consider|permanent|sex-reassignment|. |
...|nothing|scary|here|except|for|some|awful|acting|and|lame|special|effects|. |
It|'s|not|that|Kung|Pow|is|n't|funny|some|of|the|time|--|it|just|is|n't|any|funnier|than|bad|martial|arts|movies|are|all|by|themselves|,|without|all|Oedekerk|'s|impish|augmentation|. |
A|very|long|movie|,|dull|in|stretches|,|with|entirely|too|much|focus|on|meal|preparation|and|igloo|construction|. |
Not|an|objectionable|or|dull|film|;|it|merely|lacks|everything|except|good|intentions|. |
A|science-fiction|pastiche|so|lacking|in|originality|that|if|you|stripped|away|its|inspirations|there|would|be|precious|little|left|. |
Once|(|Kim|)|begins|to|overplay|the|shock|tactics|and|bait-and-tackle|metaphors|,|you|may|decide|it|'s|too|high|a|price|to|pay|for|a|shimmering|picture|postcard|. |
The|words|,|`|Frankly|,|my|dear|,|I|do|n't|give|a|damn|,|'|have|never|been|more|appropriate|. |
What|'s|next|:|``|My|Mother|the|Car|?|'' |
All|the|amped-up|Tony|Hawk-style|stunts|and|thrashing|rap-metal|ca|n't|disguise|the|fact|that|,|really|,|we|'ve|been|here|,|done|that|. |
A|sequel|that|'s|much|too|big|for|its|britches|. |
So|unremittingly|awful|that|labeling|it|a|dog|probably|constitutes|cruelty|to|canines|. |
What|was|once|original|has|been|co-opted|so|frequently|that|it|now|seems|pedestrian|. |
A|perplexing|example|of|promise|unfulfilled|,|despite|many|charming|moments|. |
For|all|the|writhing|and|wailing|,|tears|,|rage|and|opium|overdoses|,|there|'s|no|sense|of|actual|passion|being|washed|away|in|love|'s|dissolution|. |
A|coarse|and|stupid|gross-out|. |
a|nightmare|date|with|a|half-formed|wit|done|a|great|disservice|by|a|lack|of|critical|distance|and|a|sad|trust|in|liberal|arts|college|bumper|sticker|platitudes|. |
Does|n't|offer|much|besides|glib|soullessness|,|raunchy|language|and|a|series|of|brutal|set|pieces|...|that|raise|the|bar|on|stylized|screen|violence|. |
There|'s|something|with|potential|here|,|but|the|movie|decides|,|like|Lavinia|,|to|go|the|conservative|route|. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.