From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] Blink - 1994 - 3/5 (high)
<<< Off list : James >>>
***** James, I agree that Blink is a fairly good thriller : My score : 3/5 (high) (This means I was close to 3.5/5 sometimes !) More comments below inside the review.
> What would it be like to lose your sight at the age of eight, then, twenty years later through the miracle of modern medical science, regain it? Wondrous, yes; but perhaps frightening as well. That which was familiar and comfortable in darkness suddenly becomes strange and threatening in light.
>
> As a little girl, Emma Brody (Madeleine Stowe) was blinded by an abusive mother. For twenty years, she has lived in darkness, until an eye surgeon (Peter Friedman) offers her a cornea transplant to restore her vision. With mingled excitement and fear, she allows the operation, first on one eye, then on the other. Initially, her vision is imperfect -- images swim in and out of focus, and she occasionally hallucinates, apparently seeing things up to a day after they occur. Soon after returning to her apartment building, Emma becomes witness to a murder -- sort of. She sees the face of a suspect, but not until the day after the killing. Detective John Hallstrom (Aidan Quinn) doesn't know what to make of Emma's "visions", but she's his only witness in what appears to be a serial killing.
>
> For Blink to work, the viewer has to accept a rather dubious plot device: that Emma's eye/brain coordination is so screwed up that it occasionally takes as much as a full day before she recognizes a face. Those that find this to be a tremendously silly proposition will have difficulty wading through the movie's improbabilities. Fortunately, director Michael Apted has the skill to mask such an unlikely premise with flair.
**** I read somewhere that this could actually happen so for me it wasn't so far fetched.
>
> With the exception of some insipid dialogue (snippets of which infect the entire production), Blink starts out well. It's intriguing to follow the process of a blind woman regaining her sight. Apted tries to present the world from her perspective, but, while this is interesting in the beginning, he does it a little too often.
**** That didn't bother me so much ... I liked how we were often seeing thigs through Emma's eyes.
>
> The "thriller" portion of the story takes a while to get going, with the first twenty minutes devoted to setup. When the killer is eventually introduced, it occurs in a chilling scene, helped in part by Brad Fiedel's cacophonous music and some intriguing camerawork. Much of the plot follows a fairly standard formula -- cop and victim meet, argue, then fall in love -- but every time Blink looks like its going to fall into a typical cliche, it somehow avoids the trap. That's not to say that there aren't times when things become predictable, but at least the ending shows a little originality, and the motive is unique.
**** Mmmmmm ... I disagree here as I found the ending very predictable and unoriginal ... seen endings like this one
before ...
>
> Madeleine Stowe's Emma is a rarity -- a strong-willed victim who isn't afraid to fight back without the support of a man. At times, Hallstrom seems almost superfluous. In fact, one could almost make a case for a role-reversal -- Emma is Blink's central character and the detective is her love interest.
**** Yeah, I liked Madeleine Stowe in this role ... she is strong despite her disability (at the beginning of the film at least !)
>
> Stowe portrays Emma as forthright and independent, adequately conveying the mixed emotions that result from her newfound sense of sight. Nevertheless, there's an occasional lack of passion in the performance, which results in certain scenes where she isn't convincing. Throughout her career, Stowe has excelled in supporting roles. Placed in the lead for the first time, some of her faults are magnified.
**** Mmmmmm ... I like her more than you do ... she's not as "falshy" as others but I can name several films that I liked where she appeared ... Stakeout, 12 monkees, Unlawful entry, Blink ... I even liked "Bad girls" (Hanging my head down in SHAME !!)
>
> Aidan Quinn is a nonentity. His character isn't particularly likable, as is made apparent in the opening scene, but Quinn vacillates between playing Hallstrom as an arrogant jerk and a sensitive hero. The screenplay is undoubtedly part of the problem -- writer Dana Stevens has trouble with character consistency -- but Quinn never gets a good handle on his role.
**** Yes, that part of the story was a bit hard to swallow ... not **another** love-story ... it was cute in part though but could have been cut, this would have allowed the suspense part of the story to be enhanced (after all this is indeed a thriller, no ??)
>
> Michael Apted, best known for his documentaries (The 7 Up series and Incident at Oglala), develops a fine atmosphere, creating an ominous, strange Chicago. Unfortunately, Apted isn't as strong directing actors as he is setting a mood.
**** Wild mood swings ??
>
> Blink offers a reasonable one-hundred six minutes worth of entertainment, with a few chills but not many surprises. Although this isn't a breakthrough performance for Madeleine Stowe, she pulls off the role of Emma with conviction. Still, except for the haunting and claustrophobic atmosphere, there's little of note here. This is adequate film noir -- nothing more, nothing less.
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Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 01:36:39 EST
From: Jedcross2@aol.com
Subject: [MV] Never say never again
well, I watched Never say never again 007. It's a pretty good movie. But I
can see why it was Sean connery's last movie, he was older in that movie I
found, and in less shape.
- -Jed
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Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 02:03:02 EST
From: Jedcross2@aol.com
Subject: [MV] X-MEN
I got X-MEN for christmas, and man, that movie is kickass. But although, it
may be good, the only problem with it is, that the character storylines are
screwed up, Rogue is not a kid when she meets wolverine. Bobby was one of the
original five. Wolverine knows Sabretooth from his past. Senator kelly and
Peter Geirich are not dead. Mystique isn't as agile as in the movie. Kitty,
the one that transports through walls, came into the X-MEN while wolverine
was part of it. Any other mistakes?
but I found that, Magneto's storyline was all correct. Except they didn't
lock him up though.
- -Jed
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Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 23:12:50 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] The Top Films of the Decade
> I am often accused of not liking anything made the in 1990s, which is not
>true.
***** Mmmmmm ... are you suuuuuure ?? ;-)
The statute of limitations has expired on this list I
>prepared for my paper at the end of last year: The 100 Best Movies of the
>1990s.
*** You mean you actually found 100 films from the 90's that you REALLY liked ?? I was kind of expecting you to say .. "Oh, I only found 23 films from the '90s that were worth mentioning ... nothing else is worth seeing more than once ... bla-bla" ;-)
I was somewhat hesitant to post this list for fear that the good
>detectives will strip me of my very protected anonymity, but I'll risk it.
***** Question I know you won't answer : Why is it so crucial to remain anonymous ?? Are you afraid we'll STALK 'ya ?? hehe !!
Adding ratings below inside your list ! Not a lot of comments since we discussed a lot of these films already.
===============================================
Mr. smokefeath's ... 100 Best Movies of the 1990s
>
>1. Schindler's List (1993) 4.5/5
>2. Unforgiven (1992) 3.5/5
>3. American Beauty (1999) 5/5
>4. GoodFellas (1990) 5/5
>5. Breaking the Waves (1996) 4.5/5
>6. Toy Story (1995) 2.5/5
>7. Fargo (1996) 5/5
>8. The Piano (1993) 1/5 could not finish it, I was simply too bored, sorry.
>9. The Player (1992) 3.5/5
>10. Aladdin (1992) not seen, Disney and animated.
>11. L.A. Confidential (1997) 3.5/5
>12. After Life (1999) not seen
>13. Pulp Fiction (1994) 5/5
>14. Reservoir Dogs (1992) 5/5
>15. Three Colors: Red (1994) 2.5/5
>16. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) not seen, the subject matter is a natural "repellant" ...
>17. Thelma & Louise (1991) 2.5/5
>18. All About My Mother (1999) 2.5/5, oh is this overrated or what !! That Pedro Almodovar, I just don't "get" it ... this film is a mess filled with all sorts of freaky people.
>19. Babe (1995) 2.5/5
>20. Short Cuts (1993) 4/5
>21. The Usual Suspects (1995) 3.5/5
>22. Toy Story 2 (1999) not seen, not really interested either.
>23. Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (1993) not seen
>24. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 5/5
>25. Beauty and the Beast (1991) not seen ... D&A (disney & Animated)
>26. Secrets & Lies (1996) 3.5/5
>27. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 4/5
>28. The Dreamlife of Angels (1998) 3.5/5
>29. Crumb (1995) 4/5
>30. The Story of Qiu Ju (1993) not seen
>31. Before the Rain (1995) not seen
>32. Being John Malkovich (1999) 4.5/5
>33. Shakespeare in Love (1998) 2.5/5
>34. The Truman Show (1998) 4/5
>35. The Fugitive (1993) 4/5
>36. Groundhog Day (1993) 3/5 Wow, isn't this high ??
#36 of the 1990's ?? It's a good film but not **that** good.
>37. Election (1999) 4/5
>38. Out of Sight (1998) 2.5/5, mmmmmm ... I want to see that one again though ... but my highest score would probably be 3/5.
>39. La Belle Noiseuse (1991) not seen
>40. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 2.5/5
>41. Three Colors: Blue (1994) 2.5/5
>42. Farewell, My Concubine (1993) not seen
>43. Life Is Beautiful (1998) 3.5/5
>44. Hoop Dreams (1994) not seen, beasketball films = repellant.
>45. The Celebration (1998) 5/5
>46. The Straight Story (1999) 3.5/5
>47. Mother and Son (1998) ... do you mean Some mother's son ?? 3.5/5
>48. The Iron Giant (1999) not seen, although I will after the talks we had the other day.
>49. Central Station (1998) 3.5/5
>50. Heavenly Creatures (1994) 2.5/5, another one I'd like to see again though.
>51. Happiness (1998) 5/5
>52. Delicatessen (1991) not seen
>53. One False Move (1992) 3.5/5, good pick !
>54. Husbands and Wives (1992) 3.5/5, probably my favorite Allen film.
>55. The Crying Game (1992) 3/5
>56. The Thin Red Line (1998) 4/5
>57. The Grifters (1990) 2.5/5
>58. The Blair Witch Project (1999) Wow ... surprised, I am. 4.5/5
>59. The Long Day Closes (1992) not seen
>60. The Matrix (1999) 3/5
>61. The Insider (1999) 4/5
>62. Seven (1995) 5/5
>63. Boys Don't Cry (1999) 4.5/5
>64. The Sweet Hereafter (1997) 4/5
>65. Trainspotting (1996) 5/5
>66. Topsy-Turvy (1999) not seen, not my type of film, wherE's the "nastiness" ??
>67. Shine (1996) same, these films are hard for me to watch .. artsy fancy stuff ... The piano lesson, Topsy turvy, Basquiat, etc.
I don't really care for movies about artsy people, except maybe singers ...
>68. Donnie Brasco (1997) 3.5/5
>69. Howards End (1992) not seen
>70. The Madness of King George (1994) not seen
>71. The General (1998) not seen
>72. The Last Seduction (1994) 4/5, good pick ! that John Dahl made some excellent film noir films. Where's Red rock west ?
>73. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) 2.5/5
>74. The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996) 4/5
>75. Barton Fink (1991) 3.5/5
>76. Black Robe (1991) not seen
>77. City of Hope (1991) not seen
>78. Rosetta (1999) oh good ! 4.5/5
>79. Speed (1994) 4/5
>80. The Opposite of Sex (1998) 3/5
>81. Braveheart (1995) 4.5/5, this should be higher !
>82. Once Were Warriors (1995) 3.5/5, excellent pick though !
>83. Elizabeth (1998) 3/5
>84. The Wedding Banquet (1993) not seen
>85. Casino (1995) 5/5 would be in my top 5 !
>86. The Lion King (1994) not seen .. D&A (not T&A)
>87. Ulee's Gold (1997) 3.5/5, good !
>88. Ermo (1995) not seen ... But I know "Elmo" ;-)
>89. As Good As It Gets (1997) 3.5/5
>90. Mrs. Brown (1997) not seen A lot of those period pieces turn me off.
>91. The Full Monty (1997) 3.5/5
>92. Strictly Ballroom (1993) not seen
>93. The Sixth Sense (1999) 4/5
>94. Antonia's Line (1996) not seen
>95. Run Lola Run (1999) 4.5/5
>96. Pretty Village Pretty Flame (1997) not seen
>97. Three Kings (1999) 3/5, good first half but then it is on a downhill !
>98. Kolya (1997) not seen
>99. The Best Intentions (1992) not seen
>100 Felicia's Journey (1999) 4/5 .. oh come on ... #100 ?? Way too low ! ;-)
>
> The decade seemed to get better as it went along with the last two years
>comprising 32, or almost a third, of all the films on the list. Cheers and
>happy new year's everyone.
***** Overall, I liked most of the films you mentioned, giving 3/5 or more to most of them, with some glitches here and there but that was expected, in fact I am surprised to find a title like "Speed" in there ... I think we discussed this subject matter already as I have a Top 50 or Top 60 of the 90's somewhere in my archives ... but anyway !
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Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 12:04:32 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] Favorite films 1 of 2.
**** Marc ;-) Thanks for the nice reply Mr. Smokefeath, I shall add lil' comments below ... I prefer "nasty" films as you probably noticed, not too many Topsy-Turvy-Toy-Story-Aladdin-Babe-Sleepless-In-Seattle type on my list ...
> 2- Leaving Las Vegas - 1996 ***
** this is a 5/5 for me, I just love it (even if it is very depressing !!)
> 9- Natural born killers - 1994 **
**** Hard to take in part but I liked it more the 2nd time I saw it ... and more the third time too ... Plus I like both Tarantino and Oliver Stone a lot.
> 11-Dead man walking - 1995 ***
**** Mmmmm ... you're a bit harsh ! What's wrong with this movie ?? Great acting, story, dialogues, direction, even the music is "ace" .. I bought the CD.
> 13-Bound - 1996 ***
*** I just love those twisted tales .. 5/5
> 17-True romance - 1993 ***
**** again, written by Tarantino, for some reason this is a guilty pleasure film .. seen it on numerous occasions, very "rewatchable" ... 5/5 !
> 20-The shawshank redemption - 1994 **
**** most people love this one, 4.5/5 for me.
> 23-Curdled - 1996 *
** 1/5 ?? Gasp ! Great story, music ... I like the lead actress in the lead too, forgot her name but she was also in Pulp as the cab driver giving a ride to Bruce Willis.
> 24-High art - 1998 **
**** Do you have something against lesbians in films ?? Bound 3/5, High art 2/5 ... I give 5/5 and 4.5/5 to those two ...
> 25-Clandestins - 1997 (in french !) Stoaways (Title of the version with
> english subtitles) (not seen)
**** 90% of the film is set inside a container on a ship ... around 6-7 people inside trying to cross illegally from Belgium to Canada ... very dark the whole time of course as they only have a couple of flashlights in there ... the problem is once they are in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, the ship has technical problems and has to stop for several days ... slowly but surely the people trapped inside the container are running out of food and water ... this is GRIM and Disturbing in part ... unforgettable too .. won several prizes.
4.5/5
>
> 27-My cousin Vinny - 1992 **
**** One of my favorite comedies. 4.5/5 Plus I like Pesci a lot.
> 28-Citizen Ruth - 1996 **
**** Same. 4.5/5 Laura Dern is a riot.
> 31-Apollo 13 - 1995 ***
**** I give it a 4.5/5, what are the problems with this film ?? It's really a great one ... hard to find any flaws even if I'm a nitpicker sometimes !
> 32-To die for - 1995 **
**** Dark humor used often ... I like those types of films ...
> 33-Return to paradise - 1998 *
**** Yes, I was very surprised I liked this one a whooooole lot ... 4/5 ... Anne Heche, vince Vaughn .. Plus the story is very intriguing. I like it more than the original french film : "Force majeure"
> 37-Kingpin - 1996 *
**** 4.5/5, hilarious comedy and usually I don't even like "silly" stuff ... this one has plenty but it is so amusing, everybody I know loves this one, much better than There's something about Mary also by the Farrelli bros.
> 38-Killing Zoe -1994 **
**** It's NASTY, again Tarantino and Roger Avary ... Julie Delpy, she's such a DOLL too !
> 40-Glengarry Glen Ross - 1992 ***
**** Wonderful dialogues, acting ... I've seen it twice within a week about 4 or 5 months ago ...
>
> 44-Ransom - 1996 **
*** Yeah, I won't argue too much, I like it more than most people .. only "loses it" in the last 15 minutes or so ... the ending is so terrible .. this one was MEANT to end with the bad guy winning ... I would have preferred that instead of the usual "Hollywood" ending.
> 47-Boogie nights - 1997 ***
** Paul Thomas Anderson, 'nuff said ! (Right, Mike ??) ;-)
Ok, I'll continue a bit later with the 2nd half ... byyyyyye !
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Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 13:47:44 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] RE: Re: Favorite films 2of 2
... Continuing ...
*** Marc ;-)
>> 52-Frantic - 1988 ** (Why is this included in films of the 90s?)
**** Too much eggnog
>> 54-Scream - 1996 **
**** Very good horror film, the sequels are not as effective of course but the original is fun.
>> 55-Carlito's way - 1993 **
**** I really like that one, Pacino, Penn, De Palma, Is that Penelope Ann Miller ... oh my !
>>
>> 56-Buffalo '66 - 1998 **
*** This is way too low ! 2/5 ?? 4/5 is more appropriate ! ;-)
>> 61-Kalifornia - 1993 *
*** Not a bad "road movie" with a twist .. plus it's NASTY ... some people wouldn't finish it, in fact I know a few who said they couldn't ! "Got 'em both on the dead run"
>> 62-This boy's life - 1993 *
*** Leonardo DiCaprio is good, I know I'm not supposed to do that but I do think he is a good actor. ;-)
>> 66-Sea of love - 1990 (You also have this as No. 43)
**** Yes, sorry, that was my mistake, the list was expanded from 50 to 100 titles and a couple of titles appeared twice.
>> 69-Scent of a woman - 1992 **
**** Do you dislike Pacino or what ?? Carlito's way and now this one too ??
>> 72-Pecker - 1998 *
**** this was very funny and entertaining .. I mean "tea bagging" come on .. I was laughing out loud and as you know I don't really like a whole lot of comedies ... plus someone actually says "It's the pubic hair of a lesbian stripper !!!" .. 'nuff said ! ;-) I like Christina Ricci a lot as you may have noticed as well (Ice storm, Buffalo '66, Pecker, etc.)
>> 79-Sleepers - 1996 *
**** Yes, 1/5 is extremely low but I know most people don't like this one.
>> 80-Post mortem - 1999 (in french !) * (if this is the Albert Pyun-directed
>>film with Charles Sheen, otherwise not seen)
**** Nah, not that one, the other one ... ;-) Great french canadian film, won many awards ... 4/5 Marvelous film by a first time director too.
>>
>> 83-A Bronx tale - 1993 **
*** Deniro, Palminteri & company I like those mob films most of the times.
>> 85-A perfect murder - 1998 *
**** What do you think of Dial M for murder ?? 4/5 for both the original and the remake in my case. I like Douglas a lot too ...
1/5 is way too harsh, aren't you exaggerating because you were offended that they remade a classic ?? Sticking it to them ??
Same as when they remade Psycho in 1998, I mean you can't possibly make a bad film with such a story ... would you say the "new" Psycho is a 1/5 film ?? I don't mind remakes of great films myself.
>>
>> 86-Freeway - 1995 *
**** Reese witherspoon is among my favorite actresses.
>> 89-No - 1998 (in french !) ** (Since you are from Canada, this film will
>>mean more to you than those in the outside world)
**** True. This is a film by Robert Lepage (do you know him ?)
I liked all the films he made too ... No : 4/5 Le confessional : 3.5/5 Le polygraphe : 3/5 ... he is also involved in the theater world.
>> 93-Gia - 1998 (not seen--is this a made-for-tv movie?)
** Yes, with Angelina Jolie, HBO production ??
>> 94-A shock to the system - 1990 *
**** 4/5, I also loaned my copy of it to friends and they loved it ... you are rather harsh ... a 1/5 rating should be reserved for a film that is really terrible ... hard to imagine someone disliking this film so much.
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Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 16:09:54 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] New Year's Eve - what's on the menu?
<<< Off list from Karen >>>
***** Hehe !! Nice e-mail, Karen !! Made me smile heaps !! ;-)
The last film I saw in the year 2000 was "the game" (1997) I watched that one after going "snow shoe-ing" (spelling ?) for an hour ... late afternoon on New Year's eve, before going over to my brother-in-law's place at 6pm or so ... t'Was beautiful too, going in the forrest in the middle of nowhere ... and it was snowing quite hard ... postcard images everywhere I looked !! ... awhhhhhh !!
I think I brought that one to watch at my parents' cabin up north due to our recent discussions here, it was my 3rd time seeing it and this was a 1997 release ... geeeesh ! 3.5/5
Then after partying (and drinking quite a bit although I DIDN'T drink and drive ... that is so STOOPID !) I came home in the wee hours of the morning and couldn't sleep (a bit too "hyper" ...)
so I watched "The full monty" (1997) for the 2nd time ... Also 3.5/5 ... So this was the first movie I saw in the year 2001 ...
>20 Happiness - Father and son have a little chat about why he does the
>things he does.
**** Agreeing, this one is memorable ... especially when he says "Well son I didn't measure ..." ;-)
>
>19 Total Recall - Arnie jumps through the X-Ray machine.
**** Good scene but I wouldn't place it in such a list myself.
>
>18 Silence of the Lambs - Lecter pulls off the face.
**** Excellent pick ! that was SCARY ... in the ambulance .. oh yeah !
>
>17 The Exorcist - Regan's head does a 360!
**** Great one, but I think I would have picked another scene from that film ... Mmmmmm ... maybe the LEVITATION scene ...
>
>16 Independance Day - The UFO's attack America.
**** I hated that movie but that scene was good, spectacular effects.
The issues I had were with the story of course.
>
>15 Get Carter - Michael caine watches the 8mm porno film.
**** Not seen
>
>14 Salem's Lot - Little boy scratching at the window.
**** I could never finish that movie.
>
>13 Pulp Fiction - The backseat passenger gets an awful headache.
**** again, good choice but nothing beats the one where Willis comes in that back room with a sabre ... oh man ... classic lines of dialogues there ... "You want that gun don't you Zed ... go ahead, pick it up ... I want you to pick it up ..." .... "Step aside, Butch ..." BOOOOM !
>
>12 Terminator 2 - nuclear bomb dream sequence.
**** I would have picked ... Mmmmmm ... the scene where Linda Hamilton sees Arnie the first time and thinks he is out to kill her ... backing up !!
>
>11 2001 - The ride at the end.
**** A classic of course !
>
>10 The Usual Suspects - The closing 5 minutes.
**** Yes, memorable ! Kevin spacey is such a good actor.
>
>9 Die Hard 2 - Bruce Willis ejects himself from the plane.
**** Good one although did it really deserve to be here ?? Mmmm ..
>
>8 Saving Private Ryan - Opening 15 minutes.
***** Yes, that kicked some ... The last battle near the end is also something else ... I think out of that entire movie I would single out the scene where .. Mmmmmm ... Jeremy Davies (??) is scared to death to go up those stairs ... then the german comes down the stairs, not killing him ... powerful material !
>
>7 The Legend of Hell House - "I know your secret!" cries Roddy McDowell,
>"How tall where you Balasco?!!!"
***** never seen
>
>6 Basic Instinct - Oh my god was that Sharon's Stone p***y?
***** I censored you, lil' devil !! ;-) Yes, that was quite a scene, and I recall freeze framing it a bit ... uh oh, am I in trouble now ?? Well, I was just CURIOUS !! ;-)
>
>5 Jaws - First glimpse of jaws as he sinks he teeth around the rower.
***** In that film, the best scene for me is the opening one ... the one where the girl is attacked ... amazing ... "Oh my God" ... how she says it ... and how she breathes so rapidly after the shark grabs her legs the first time ... WOW !
>4 The Thing - Kurt Russel holds the flame over the blood samples, One by
>one.
**** I have to agree, this one scared me !! BOOH !!
>
>3 Little Shop of Horrors - "Cause I'm a denist!", sings Steve Martin as he
>tortures his patients.
**** Not seen
>
>2 Apocalype Now - Air strike drops their load, "I love the smell of napalm
>in the morning"
**** That Robert Duvall !!
>
>1 Evil Dead 2 - Ash starts up the chainsaw...."Groovy".
***** Never really liked those EVIL DEAD films ... but they do have a cult following !!
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Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 13:53:35 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] Danielle's top 50---1990's flicks
**** Adding comments .. Marc ;-)
>Using both of the lists I've seen so far, as well as some of my own choices,
>here are my top 50 movies of the 1990s. Keep in mind that I'm only 19, and
>I still think....Dirty Dancing is a great movie ;)
***** Let's seeeeee .. Dirty dancing = 1987 ... so this means you were a lil' girl when it was released .. probably had a crush on Mr. Swayze, huh ?? ... Admit it, Danielle !! ;-)
so I'm (obviously) not a
>good critic of bad and good! :)
**** Nah, it's alright ... lots of people liked that one, especially girls ... I wonder why ... hehe !!
There were also movies on the previous
>lists that I've wanted to see, and heard were wonderful, but never got
>around to watching. So just because a choice is not on here, does not mean
>I think it isn't deserving--if its really that good, i probably just haven't
>seen it.
***** Good rental ideas for you !
But I had fun making the list....enjoy. (Now can we do a top 80s
>list?? :) --danielle
**** I have a "Top 40 from the 80's" list somewhere in my "archives" ... I'll send it to the group sooner or later ... ;-)
>
>
>1.) The Usual Suspects (1995) 3.5/5
>2.) Life Is Beautiful (1998) 3.5/5
>3.) American Beauty (1999) 5/5
>4.) Scent of a woman (1992) 4/5
>5.) And The Band Played On (1993, HBO) never seen it !
>
>6.) American History X (1998) 4.5/5
>7.) Fight Club (1999) 3.5/5
>8.) Trainspotting (1996) 5/5
>9.) The Matrix (1999) 3/5
>10.) The Fugitive (1993) 4/5
>
>11.) Being John Malkovich (1999) 4.5/5
>12.) Shine (1996) never seen it !
>13.) Contact (1997) 2.5/5
>14.) Speed (1994) 4/5
>15.) Galaxy Quest (1999) 3.5/5, surprisingly good !
>
>16.) Crimson tide (1995) 4/5
>17.) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) 3/5
>18.) The Fifth Element (1997)
2/5, I didn'T really like that one ... one of the reason is I just hae Mila Jovovich, can't stand her !
>19.) Schindler's List (1993) 4.5/5
>20.) Pulp Fiction (1994) 5/5
>
>21.) Toy Story 2 (1999) never seen it !
>22.) Dances With Wolves (1990) ditto ! (hanging my head in shame !)
>23.) The Cider House Rules (1999) 3.5/5
>24.) Seven (1995) 5/5
>25.) Titanic (1997) 5/5
>
>26.) Apollo 13 (1995) 4.5/5
>27.) Three Kings (1999) 3/5
>28.) Jurassic park (1993) 4/5
>29.) Point of No Return (1993) 3/5 Surprising to find this one on someone favorite of the 1990's list ... you should see the original french film on which this film is based ... "La femme Nikita" 3.5/5, I think it is a better movie !
>30.) Sleepers (1996) 4/5
>
>31.) Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 4.5/5
>32.) The Insider (1999) 3.5/5
>33.) Elizabeth (1998) 3/5
>34.) Good Will Hunting (1997) 2.5/5
>35.) Shakespeare in Love (1998) 2.5/5
>
>36.) Beauty and the Beast (1991) No no no non ! never seen it D&A
>37.) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 4.5/5
>38.) Brokedown Palace (1999) 2.5/5 I am surprised again !!
Have you seen Midnight express, 1978 ?? That one is so much better !!
Brokedown palace is like MTV in prison.
>39.) The Rock (1996) 2.5/5
>40.) The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996) 4.5/5
>
>41.) Tommy Boy (1995) ewwwwwwk !! nooooooo !! Thoguht this was awful ... 1/5 or less.
>42.) 12 Monkeys (1995) 3.5/5
>43.) Ghost (1990) 2.5/5 Swayze again ?? Behave Danielle!!
>44.) Pleasantville (1998) 4/5
>45.) Election (1999) 4.5/5
>
>46.) The hand that rocks the cradle (1992) 4/5
>47.) The Hurricane (1999) 4/5
>48.) Renaissance Man (1994) Mmmmm ... with Devito ?? Haven't seen it !
>49.) Go (1999) 4/5
>50.) Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels (1998) 3/5
***** Wow, our tastes in movies are very similar Danielle .. a few glitches here and there (The biggest one is certainly TOMMY BOY) but overall I agree with a lot of your picks !
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Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 17:21:27 -0800
From: "Marc Claude Desbiens" <marcdesbiens@apolloguide.com>
Subject: [MV] Saving Private Ryan vs The thin red line
<<<< Off list from Jeff >>>>
***** Marc ;-)
>Marc,
>
>How could you rate Saving Private Ryan so low?
***** Low ?? You've got to be kidding !! ;-) It's around #100 in my all time list of favorites ... 4/5, close to 4.5/5 ... not "Low" at all ! I loved it ! Amazing film that I have seen twice already even if it's a 1998 release.
and the worst war movie of
>all time "the thin red boring and slow line"ahead of it.
**** Mmmmmmm ... I rated both of those films at 4/5, The thin red line is around #95 of all times, so I would actually pick that one over Saving Private Ryan myself but by a Verrrrrrry slight margin ... I thought TTRL should have won the Best film oscar in 1998 just in front of SPR ... but of course Shakespeare in Love defeated them both (2.5/5 for that one !) The thin red line is like poetry, man ! (Are you rolling your eyes back ?? hehe !!) Well, it's a beautiful film and I wasn't bored at all, I was fascinated !
The red line was
>so poorly acted and constructed that it was a box office bomb,
**** Were those the reasons it failed at the Box office ?? I doubt it seriously ! SPR had Spielberg, Hanks, Sizemore, Damon ... a DREAM TEAM involved, it simply couldn't fail ! ... plus the marketing was amazing ... Anyway a lot of really terrific films fail at the Box office so that is not an indicator of quality ... or else why would film like Big momma's house become box office success stories ??!
the only
>saving grace was woody harrelson shot himself in the ass.
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 00:32:03 -0800
From: Dexter Sy <dextersy@home.com>
Subject: Re: [MV] Saving Private Ryan vs The thin red line
>
> **** Were those the reasons it failed at the Box office ?? I doubt it seriously ! SPR had Spielberg, Hanks, Sizemore, Damon ... a DREAM TEAM involved, it simply couldn't fail ! ... plus the marketing was amazing ... Anyway a lot of really terrific films fail at the Box office so that is not an indicator of quality ... or else why would film like Big momma's house become box office success stories ??!
> **** Hehe !! You're so cruel ! ;-)
> Have a fine day anyway !
> Marc ;-)
>
Let me deal with this in segments.
#1 The Thin Rid Line was really a Vietnam film masquerading in World War II clothes . The direction was weaker than Spielberg's more direct mode of storytelling. (I mean, how many panoramic bullcrap shots do we need in a war movie?)
#2 Yes, Star power played a vital role in this film. Marc is right on.
#3 Going to my original statement. World War II films are expected to be patriotic, not neccessarily squeaky "hollywood" clean, but it needs to have the
element of America's ultimate victory on both theatres forshadowing everything. That's what the American audience wants. The dirty, America is troubled, Vietnam films are really out of fashion right now as are the ranting and ravings of the far left. That is why it failed in the box office. Marc attempted to say the Thin Red Line was actually a great film because a lot of great films are shunned in the box office. True, but that is not a universal rule and to deem it as such is I think very irresponsible.
- --
Dexter S.
Tendo Box - Nintendo e-zine
Http://www.tendobox.com
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