ntlc23

Very conventional. The direction is craftsmanlike but boring. This was a movie made to sell to middle america and it shows: plot-wise, character-wise, and basically everything else.

82 _50%

The Thing (1982) - Rated 19 Jul 2008

82 _50%

Genesis (2004) - Rated 18 Jul 2008

A tribesman tells the tale, simply but accurately (so far as we know scientifically) of where life began and the basic truths common to all life. No real new information here. But the simple narration is filled with thought-provoking metaphors and is told over beautiful animal footage and stop action photography and dramatic sometimes-surprising music. Many interesting reptiles. Some fish. Why no mammals? Overall a nice piece to meditate over.

50 _6%

Dark City (1998) - Rated 17 Jul 2008

Don't buy the hype. Only the set design, costumes, and cinematography are interesting. Concept-wise it's interesting: borrows from Matrix, Blade and a bit of Truman Show. But the execution is not fleshed out well. Lacks internal consistency and attention to detail. The script is bad ("I can change the whole world if I JUST CONCENTRATE!") The lead male is a B-movie ham. The score is programatic "dramatic strings". And the climax is akin to a videogame cut scene. A melodramatic comic book.

65 _13%

Bringing Out the Dead (1999) - Rated 17 Jul 2008

Some of the directorial and cinematographical choices were nice. Scorsese throws some of his artistic gift at the ambulance driving sequences. Lights off the windows, camera following the vehicle as it wheels around neon bright corners as the night deepens. But then the actors speak and the mood is broken. The dialogue, the voiceover, the plot are so maudlin, its hard to get sucked in. Would have been a lot better if it were more like After Hours, episodic interesting characters, no ghosts.

94 _97%

The Man Without a Past (2002) - Rated 17 Jul 2008

A man walks off a train and is mugged. Left for dead multiple times, he survives but has amnesia. Without a past, he builds from scratch. But when he finishes assembling a life he's not sure he'd choose to the old one, even if he could figure it out. A compelling movie. Very humanistic and believable. Highly recommended.

86 _67%

Control Room (2004) - Rated 02 Feb 2008

92 _94%

Blood Simple (1984) - Rated 02 Feb 2008

83 _53%

Closer (2004) - Rated 02 Feb 2008

85 _62%

Dead Ringers (1988) - Rated 02 Feb 2008