I have to wonder – how long does it take to reset that door-opening mechanism? Talk about completely impractical.
Good Will Hunting
I think my favorite scene in this movie was the first time that the Robin William’s character ‘gives it’ to Will. I’ve never heard the “you don’t know everything kid” speech done so well… I guess that’s cause the kid does “know everything”… except what can’t be learned in books. I think this movie really says that we all have something to learn. Just think, if you ever reached that point where you did know everything there was to know, what would be the point anymore? What would you do? I think the actual character of Will wasn’t important, it was the development of that character which was most interesting. I could take the more cynical approach and just mark this one off as another “abused kid overcomes his problems”, but I think this movie is better than that. (I would like to know if the actual math problems were real though)
Good Morning Vietnam
There are some good and funny bits in this, but the whole anti-war message was eye-rolling… I mean, he’s a DJ for god sakes… does every Vietnam movie have to make the same point?
Goodfellas
Do you think I’m a funny guy?
Goldfinger
James bond kills a megalomaniac.
The Golden Compass
Movies based on books like this often have the same problem. They’re trying to bring an imaginary world to life… and since the book is both much richer and more vague than the screen, it’s just hard to get right. Half the movie is taken up by trying to explain the characters, and the other half is gadgetry without context. Really the only way to do a movie like this right is like they did with Lord of the Rings – just go completely over-the-top, and make it super long. But, you need a real epic text for that to work. Anyway, this movie was fun to watch for the effects and such, but I really had the feeling that I was being shortchanged somehow.
Godzilla – 1998
Yes, I actually paid to see this. it’s about what I expected: monster destroys city, people kill monster. it has a good mix of all the usual Hollywood movie crap – a love angle, an annoying politician, a smart character that nobody will listen to, etc. there is nothing original about any part of this movie (even the camera angles were borrowed from somewhere). I’m getting a little sick of computer animated creatures too. even though the special effects were good, they didn’t break any new ground. the whole movie could have been a lot better… but I was expecting it to be pretty dumb, so I wasn’t disappointed. I just didn’t have anything better to do that day.
God Grew Tired of Us
Everyone should see this movie. It is raw inspiration. Don’t just appreciate what you have, use it to the fullest.
The Gods Must Be Crazy
What a delightful movie. I especially loved the sped-up sequences and physical humor. It’s so rare to see that in the movies. Life can get pretty crazy, sometimes we need to step back and figure out what’s really important. How did we get like this?
Glory
It’s hard to take a “story within a story” and make it a compelling drama. Glory did a decent job though. The big story was the Civil War, the story within was about the first all-black regiment to kick butt. Or… get their butt kicked… That raises an interesting question, are they “heroes” because they were slaughtered? or are they just poor discarded souls?
Gladiator
Based on the one-line reviews I’d read and the previews I’d seen, I thought this would be your typical hack & slash, overblown, poorly acted thriller. It was much better than I expected. The plot was intelligently thought-out and executed. In the end it was much like “Bravehart goes to Rome”. That’s not a bad thing though – if you liked Bravehart, you’ll probably like this movie.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
A very interesting period movie inspired by a famous painting. I liked the way the story & characters were well balanced, and not cliche… what I mean is that every possible plot line is not brought to it’s most dramatic conclusion, and the characters are able to control their emotional (i.e. sexual) impulses. But, we’re still left with an engaging & passionate movie.
Girl, Interrupted
I was really impressed with this. Perhaps that’s because I wasn’t expecting much, but I think regardless, this is a movie that works. In the end, the funniest thing is that… the therapy works, sort-of.
Giant
Boy do they have problems. How could a man’s son want to go to harvard and be a doctor? the bastard, I’d disown him! Then there’s the question… should I sell the plane? am I really getting enough use out of it? It’s a little hard to feel sorry for any of the characters in this movie. Society sure has changed. I did find the movie to be quite entertaining as a comedy. James Dean does a great falling-down-drunk scene near the end (that was pretty funny). And the score? “I’ve been workin’ on the railroad”? What could be funnier than that?
Ghost World
Have you ever seen those silly beer ads that end with the quote “true”, like the ad has shown something you’re nodding your head to? Screw those ads, this movie was “true”. Any film that features songs by the Buzzcocks and Skip James is just beyond true. I especially liked the ending… because nothing ever is truly resolved.
Ghostbusters II
It was dumb, and I didn’t like it.
Ghostbusters
It was dumb, but I guess I liked it.
Ghost
It worked for me. I liked the way it de-mystified the whole ghost thing (you know, setting rules and regulations and all…)
Gattaca
As time passes, this movie becomes more and more relevant and prescient. Is this really where we’re headed? I liked how the movie focused on the story, and avoided other peripheral items about how the future might work. Not many movies make you think and keep you entertained. This one did.
The Gangs of New York
A really rich and stylish film. It didn’t matter too much that there were a couple plot-holes and things which happened “for no reason”. I didn’t find it overly-violent either. Yes, it was violent, but they didn’t present the violence as the “focus” of the various scenes.
Game of Death
Bruce Lee’s death was tragic. He had so much more living to do. I’d love to see what Bruce would be doing these days if he was still around. He was just starting to work on this movie when he died. He’d only filmed a few “test scenes”, and those are shown in all their glory at the end. The rest of this “movie” is utterly awful. The story is completely different than what Bruce had intended. If you rent this, do yourself a favor and forward to the end, don’t even bother with the rest of it.
The Game
It was an OK film. Of course by the end, I was really getting sick of the continuous plot twists… ok, just tell me what the hell is going on. It was a little hard to believe, but it was enjoyable.
Gandhi
A well done movie about an icon. How do you tell such a story in a few hours? I suppose you do it the best you can.
The Full Monty
The premise was really hard to believe… although, as the movie progressed, it got a little easier… what the heck? it’s just a movie anyway.
The Fugative
Intelligently written. That probably enough of a reason to see this. So few movies have even that much going for them.