Category: Films

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect [2004]

Director: Eric BressJ. Mackye Gruber
Actor: Ashton Kutcher

I’m not going to spend my time writing a long review for this film, but I would like to mention that I saw it on the recommendation of my colleague Mark. I saw the trailer and looked like ass, and I fought him tooth and nail. I simply refused to believe that this could be a good film. In the end I let him convince me to go and see it, and I did, and I have to admit that it was a rather nice movie. It wasn’t particularly good, but it definitely had it’s moments, and a rather solid story-concept. I would’ve changed the ending, but overall it was a very entertaining movie.

Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting [1997]

Director: Gus Van Sant
Actor: Matt DamonBen AffleckRobin WilliamsStellan SkarsgårdMinnie DriverCasey Affleck

No matter how often I see this film, I can’t help but feel absolutely devastated afterwards. A beautiful film about a young guy who has to deal with two problems; 1) being an almost unequaled genius, and 2) being an orphan who was severely abused by his foster-father when he was younger which developed into a serious fear of abandonment and attachment disorder. Both Damon, Affleck, Driver and Robins play the stars from the heaven (Dutchism), and I recommend this film to one and all.

Fahrenheit 9/11

Fahrenheit 9/11 [2004]

Director: Michael Moore
Actor: Michael Moore

A lot of differing opinions have been given on Michael Moore’s latest documentary, but say what you want about this piece, if it doesn’t make you at least question what happened, then you’re walking with blinders on. Sure, there hasn’t been such a good propagandist since Leny Riefenstahl, but Moore’s incredibly sloppy and everyone who simply believes he’s speaking truth, or sees fact in what he offers are walking with those same blinders on.

Everything he offers is entirely suggestive while there’s very little actual proof. He asks you to think about all these facts that, when put together, paint a tremendously bleak picture of George W. Bush’s presidential administration and the hypocracy of a few very powerful corporations and government contractors.

Personally, I think that perhaps some of it is true, some of it isn’t, but there’s just so much questionable stuff that happened that the law of large numbers suggests, as Moore does, that at least some of it is true. While there’s no proof of what, at least it offers a little insight in that it happens. Whether it happened less under Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, and whoever else I left out tracing that far back is not to be concluded. I think that everyone’s opinions are going to be strengthened, no matter what they are. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, socialist, communist, everyone will say “See!” So in that the movie doesn’t achieve what it clearly set out to achieve; “Anyone but Bush.”

One thing I would like to remark is that with such a growing anti-American sentiment around the world, this movie plays into the hands of those people, too. It’s not just American bias and views that are strengthened (dare I say confirmed), but it’s foreign bias and views as well.

Walking Tall

Walking Tall [2004]

Director: Kevin Bray
Actor: The RockJohnny Knoxville

This is a story inspired by the exploits of Sherrif Bufford Pusser who was the inspiration for the 70s show, also called Walking Tall.

Rock, an ex-special forces seargent, comes back from service to the town where he grew up, and finds that the mill that used to bring most of the money, work and trade into town has been closed town by his old high-school friend Hamilton and that Hamilton now runs a casino. He hooks up with all of his old friends for a “friendly” game of football and afterwards accepts an invitation by Hamilton – who now owns the current largest supplier of work and trade, a casino – to come and enjoy himself with his friends at his new establishment. While there he is confronted with what he’s suspected all along; that home is no longer the home he knew, and that the town is rotten to the core, with drug use and corruption running rampant. When he discovers one of his friends is getting cheated out of his money by one of the croupiers at the craps table he gets into a fight with the casino’s security guards who not only decide to “teach him a lesson” but also, upon finding out he’s former special forces, decide to give him “special treatment,” by carving him up. They leave him for dead. The Rock wouldn’t be the Rock if he didn’t survive beyond all expectations and he comes to a relatively full recovery.

When his nephew OD’s on crystal meth, sold to him and his friends by some of the casino security guards he decides to take a two-by-four and pay a visit to the casino. There he beats the snot out of all the casino security personel, leaving them as broken and battered as some of the slot machines he decides to tear up on his way out. He gets arrested and tried in court. When given the chance to explain himself, and show the scars running all up and down his torso, curtesy of the “special treatment” he got, he is acquitted and cleared of all charges. He decides to run for the office of sherrif, seeing as how the old sherrif is on Hamilton’s payroll. Public support is big and he gets elected and promptly makes his best friend, an ex-rock-star-wannabe-recovering-addict played by Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame, a deputy. Together the two of them decide to clean up the town.

I thought this was a good, though simple film. There were a couple of things that pleasantly surprised me. For instance, the camera work, though overal nothing special, really managed to deliver some relatively unique shots. One of them worth mentioning is when Rock falls out of a first floor window. Another thing that I thought was cool is the fact that the Rock isn’t made to be entirely super-human, which was nice. And then there was the world’s inept shoot-out between a wounded Johnny Knoxville and one of the casino’s thugs. Hilarious!

Hero

Ying Xiong (Hero) [2002]

Director: Yimou Zhang
Actor: Jet LiTony Leung Chiu WaiMaggie CheungZiyi ZhangDaoming ChenDonnie Yen

Namless (Jet Li), a swordsman of unimaginable power has killed three of the kingdom’s most feared and dangerous assassins and is granted with an audience of the man they vowed to kill; the emperor. There he recalls the story of his victories. His stories are that of unbridled passion and sacrifice.

Not since Feng Yun Xiong Ba Tian Xia [Stormriders] has there been such a beautiful, fulfilling traditional Chinese martial art film. It’s heavy on wire-action and mythical Kung Fu, so beware of that if that’s not your thing, but the sheer beauty of the film will more than make up for it. The story is powerful enough to help you suspend your disbelief if the beauty of the film won’t be enough.

Oh, and Donnie Yen should get more screenplay, even if he is an arrogant bastard in real life.