Movie Reviews - L
Labyrinth: David Bowie.
L.A. Confidential: Interesting, but kind of a shoulder shrugger for me. When it comes down to it, 99% of all movies just don't matter. I just watched a bit of the "oscar awards" on TV the other day. All these people are so damn full of themselves. They're just frickin movies, they're not the whole world. Warren Beatty for prez? what a total wanker that guy is! come on!!!
L.A. Story: Another funny movie critical of modern life... or more specifically, LA life. I'm not sure if they were poking fun at themselves or praising themselves though. Hmmm.
Ladies in Lavender: A couple dysfunctional old women along the English shore have a dose of reality interrupt their fantasy lives. It's pretty well done, though a few of the characters left me scratching my head. Plus, the violinist guy was a bit annoying... I don't know... I liked it I guess. I wonder, do I have to like or dislike everything? I mean, can't we all just "be"?
Lady and the Tramp: After seeing "the last days of disco", I could not possibly attempt a funny review of this. Go see "the last days of disco" for a proper treatment of this movie.
Ladyhawke: Michelle Pfiefer and Matt Broderick in a medieval fantasy-adventure movie? Yup. heck, why not? Throw in Rutger Hower too!
Lady Jane: Starts out pretty good, but then loses touch with history, and turns into a silly teen romance. Though, I think the actual history would have been pretty dull stuff... other than the head-chopping bit.
La Femme Nikita: The fine French original that was Americanized with "point of no return".
Last Action Hero: Ahnold just might get turned away at the gates of heaven for doing this movie. He'd better hope that St. Pete hasn't seen it.
The Last Days of Disco: the latest of whit stilman's movies. it's much the same as his others - Metropolitan & Barcelona. it even ties together with Barcelona... sort of. it's about a bunch of privileged rich kids who are just out of college. they spend their nights in the disco (during disco's last days of course), and their days struggling with their lives (jobs, apartments, VD). what makes this movie (and whit's other movies) so watchable isn't the plot, it's the dialogue. I find it hard to believe that anyone really talks like the characters in this movie (even ivy leaguers) unless they're reading a script. It just feels good to hear all that useless wisdom and chitter-chatter being dispensed so eloquently.
The Last King of Scotland: I wonder, do truly evil people know what they are? There was a lot I liked about this movie, but with this subject matter, it was almost too easy. A slow spiral from optimism to chaos and despair...
The Last Samurai: Great movie. But, why couldn't they just "stop fighting"? Hello! This whole war had to be one of the most pointless things I've ever witnessed (on film anyway). The samurai may have died "with honor", but I think it'd have been more honorable not to fight at all.
The Last Starfighter: How many kids playing video games have wished for this to happen? You're actually training to fly a real life space-ship? there are really aliens out there? cool! the best thing about this movie was its early use of computer effects for the outer-space scenes. Sure it looks fake, but that was the limit of the computers of the day. After a few minutes, your mind will just accept it as real.
The Last Unicorn: I know I saw this, but I can't really remember what it was about... except "the last unicorn". I only remember it was semi-cheesy early 80's fairy tale, a la "Labryinth" and "Legend".
La Vie en RoseWow. What a performance. This was an instant classic just for that. I do wish they'd treated the "big secret" differently, but it didn't take away from the whole package.
The Lawnmower Man: In the grand scheme of things, this movie will probably be lost and forgotten. So what?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Extraordinarily ridiculous in so many ways it's extraordinary.
Legally Blonde: The only thing that comes to mind is "quirky".
Lethal Weapon: Mel.
Lethal Weapon II: More Mel!
Lethal Weapon III: Even MORE Mel! can you stand it? (I couldn't)
Legend: See the review for "The Last Unicorn".
The Legend of Suriothai: A very neat movie... But, the US version is cut/edited rather poorly. It's really a ~5hr movie about Thai royal intrigue in the 16th century. The US version is cut down to 2.5 hours, which can leave you really confused. I'm told there is no full-length version with english sub-titles. Too bad for me, but fine for Thai speakers. I guess it was partly commissioned by the Thai royal family as a sort of "this is our history" movie. Anyway, it's not really a conventional movie, I think it would fall more into a category halfway between a regular movie and an "historical dramatization". In any case, it's worth watching just to see the set designs & costumes - very elaborate & well-done.
Liar, Liar: One of the few palatable Jim Carrey movies. It's a funny concept, and he pulls it off. Is it possible to lie your way through life? No. or yes, or whatever, sure maybe?
The Lion King: Did you ever wonder why Disney makes so many movies that endorse dictatorships?
Little Big Man: Great black comedy about the American Indian wars, or should we say "slaughter". It has you laughing, then you realize it's really sickening... What's amazing about this movie is that you realize how perverted the actions and attitudes of the US government (and US people) are. It's easy to dismiss or laugh at the whole Indian question - which is what this movie has you doing for much of its length. Then, just when you're thinking it's all cute and funny, bam - reality hits.
The Little Mermaid: Disney endorsing dictatorships again... or well, "Monarchies", but whatever. What are we teaching our kids?
The Lives of Others: Absolutely fantastic in every regard. Do yourself a favor, and see this. What happens when a spy realizes he's on the wrong side of history?
Lolita: Another disturbing movie. A man falls in love (or at least in lust) with a 14-year-old girl... who happens to be his stepdaughter (after he marries her mom in order to stay close to the family). The girl is totally wacko (and not at all innocent), and he is an obsessed pervert. What a couple! I suppose that's simplifying it a bit too much... The plot shows how each of them becomes who they are. So, we're not just presented with a couple of screwed up people, we're presented with a couple of somewhat normal people who slip or get pushed over the edge. As you can probably guess, they don't go on living happily ever after. The whole thing is pretty tragic. I was a little annoyed by the sound in the movie... the dialogue was really quiet, while the background noises were really loud. I had to crank up the volume to hear people talk, and then BOOM! a car would drive by. Maybe I just had a crummy tape though. The direction of the movie was pretty good - there were a lot of well filmed scenes. If you don't mind seeing a movie of such subject matter, go see it. But, if you do mind you will likely be repulsed.
The Lonely
Guy: Aren't there any lonely girls out there? Why is it so damn difficult for those
two "entities" to meet?
Looking For Comedy in the Muslim World: It
wasn’t the greatest Albert Brooks movie – seemed a little rushed in
construction. It seemed that he thinks it’s funny to “not be funny” a
lot. Sometimes that works, but I think he overdoes it here. The movie
could have used a bit more script editing, re-writing, etc. There were
some good bits, but a lot of throw-away stuff too.
The Longest Yard: You know, football is a totally silly thing. How can you care about this, it's a frickin' game! Hello!
Lord of the Rings (Fellowship): Awesome dude. Probably the best adaptation of a book I've ever seen... they didn't leave out anything, and even ADDED things - the wizard fight. The direction/editing/general production value is really what makes this movie work. I can't wait for the next ones...
Lord of the Rings (Two Towers): Not as mind-blowing as the first one simply because we've seen the first one. Still, it was pretty darn entertaining... I do wish they'd not added the elves in helm's deep & the warg riders scene & had given more time to the Ents. But, even with those changes/omissions, I was slaphappily satisfied. 2hrs & 59minutes never passed so quickly.
Lord of the Rings (Return of the King): The only thing that sucks about this movie is that it's over. I can't look forward to another one, it'll never be "new" for me again. Everything about this movie (and the other two) was glorious.
Lost and Found (david spade thing): I can't believe I even watched this.
The Lost Boys: Mediocre vampire flick. Why do "they" keep making these movies? Find a new monster dammit.
The Lost City: A seemingly honest look at the events around the Cuban revolution, from the point of view of fictional characters involved in various aspects of it. I did like how the romance worked-out – very unconventional result. Anyway, it was just a whole sad series of events. I wish everyone would just get over it though – the people who lost their property in the revolution need to face reality – it’s gone. You’re not getting it back. Your side lost. The world is not fair. Get over it & move on.
Lost Highway: Just bizarre... but bizarre for bizzarness's sake, which isn't good. A movie has to be more than "weird" to be appealing. I did like the scene where the bad driver gets a gun in his face though - have you ever wanted to do that?
Lost in La Mancha: Kind of like being a peeping Tom... There's something entertaining about actually seeing Terry Gilliam do regular stuff. Too bad it was such a tragic disaster - would've been a great movie. One other thing - there are derogitory comments in this movie about "Baron Munchausen", which I thought was an amazing movie. Who cares if it lost money! It was a great frickin' movie!
Lost in Space: This movie was given such horrible reviews that I felt kind of embarrassed even renting it. It really wasn't that bad though. Sure, the whole 'time travel' thing made almost no sense, the writing wasn't special, the acting wasn't super, and some of the special effects were marginal, but these are all things which made the original TV show so great! (except the writing in the original was better). Lost in Space (the TV show) was on at 10-11AM every morning in the summer when I was a kid. I think I saw every episode twice. Back in the late 70s/early 80s, there simply weren't any sci-fi shows. Lost in Space had to do. I thought this movie had enough 'new stuff' to make it viable, while still being true to the original. They even managed to make Dr. Smith a somewhat respectable character (still very evil, but at least not pathetic). I think my favorite line in the movie was Dr. Smith saying "the pain", his catch phrase from the original show. Ah, the memories. (on it's own though, this was a pretty dumb movie)
Lost in Translation: Ever been at a party at 2am, and you want to go home, but you've agreed to drive your friends home, and they're engaged in some inane conversation and don't want to leave? That's what this movie was like for me... I just wasn't having a good time. This got a bunch of good reviews, but for me... something was, um, lost in translation.
Lost Souls: It's about this guy who is slated to be the re-incarnation of the devil... although he doesn't know it. Winona Ryder is in this, for once she did a decent job (she wasn't the 'same character she usually is'). I don't know, it'd be a stretch to say this was a good movie, but I suppose it was worth a buck fifty at the cheap theater. Don't go out of your way to see it, but it won't harm you.
The Lost World (Jurassic Park 2): More dinosaurs and Jeff Goldblum. Ho hum. You know, they should make a movie with lots of special effects, no plot and just have dinosaurs go on a rampage... oh, wait... I guess that was THIS movie. Nevermind.
Loverboy: Cheesy teen in over his head flick. Of course, it has to do with sex. Ya know, I've seen a lot worse movies of this genre.
Loves Me, Loves Me Not: Girl is insanely in-love with an older married man... or is she just plan insane??? An interesting presentation, though I thought they could have been a little more clever - I sort of figured it out before the secret was "revealed". Strange, this was subtitled in French, but I was just thinking that I don't really remember reading any subtitles. Is that good or bad? Good, I think.
Lucas: I really liked this movie. I dunno, it was "cute". I haven't seen it in years though, so I don't know what I'd think of it today.