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The 25 Best Movie Scores Of The Last 25 Years
Reviews
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Chicken Soup for the Nerdy Soul
If you ever had to deal with the pressures of growing up a nerd, this movie feels your pain. It will wrap its big white fluffy arms around you and say, "you belong". So sit back with some hot popcorn and let this fantastic cinematic confection press all your awesome buttons. You're in for a dose of roller-coaster therapy.
Let me begin by saying the animation in this movie is beyond fantastic, and this movie plays out much like any live-action film would, as opposed to following the traditional structural formula of animated films, and I think its Japanese influence has a lot to do with this. The influence of Tezuka and Miyazaki are strongly felt. The visual environments at times are so photo-realistic it actually looks as if our animated characters are inhabiting a live action world. I was so swept into it, there were times I honestly forgot I was watching animation.
Which brings me to our Hiro. If you don't recognize this character from your school days, you were this character in your school days. Let me say, he brought back memories, and I haven't identified more with an animated character, ever. Allow me to explain:
In fourth grade I formed a club called The Technologists where we'd take apart old computers and appliances to see how they worked. As a kid, I was obsessed with the concept of human flight and one day being an inventor of flying machines. Hiro's circle of friends are extremely relatable as well. I hung out with kids like these. In middle and high school we had to form lunch groups in empty classrooms or computer labs to escape the wrath of the student body, while we played some of the first online multi-player games, or discussed the likes of JRR Tolkien and Frank Herbert, or whatever fantasy worlds we inhabited. But a certain loneliness nevertheless came with being a nerd. One that led to a longing for adventure, which in turn typically led back to Middle-Earth, Narnia or Arrakis. Which brings me to the most beautiful and touching point this movie makes - adventure is therapeutic. Hiro's entire journey, as facilitated by Baymax, is medicinal, and no matter your mood, there are moments in this film that will make you forget your worries and cry tears of awesomeness. You're along for the ride, and if you're like me, you're going to come out exhilarated and empowered.
Yes, you'll catch whiffs of other classics, such as Terminator 2, E.T., Stargate, and How To Train Your Dragon. But that doesn't drag down the movie for me. The only thing I would have loved more than what I saw would be if the movie had a classic-rock soundtrack. Nonetheless, I think I have found a new comfort movie.
I am satisfied with my care.
Dirty Jobs (2005)
Forget "Survivor" or "The Apprentice" - THIS is reality TV.
This is a show I've wanted to see happen since I was in middle school - more or less. This show is awesome. The people who do the jobs we'd rather not think about finally get their dues in this brilliant show from the creators of "Mythbusters". Host Mike Rowe injects some great observational humor into the proceedings, without being insulting to those brave men (and the occasional he-woman) who take part in these dirty jobs.
You actually watch this show with a sense of reverence rather than in a totally grossed-out state. Rowe and his crew, rather than spending their time being totally freaked out, turn each outing into a fun little adventure. And wouldn't you know it, Mr. Clean sponsors this show.
Check this show out before it goes off the air (God forbid that should happen anytime soon). This is a really unique, entertaining, and fascinating show.
Supervolcano (2005)
Surprisingly Good - the movie that "10.5" desperately wanted to be
I waited over a week to see this with not very high expectations - I was expecting a half- documentary, half-dramatized kind of thing. The Yellowstone SuperVolcano was something I had wanted to see a movie made about for years, this is finally it. Way better than that lame, horrible cliché-wracked turkey called "10.5" that NBC cranked out last year.
Although I had some gripes, I was overall impressed, specifically with the acting. This had cinema-quality performances that made it all the more believable. I was surprised by the magnitude of the visual effects, given that this was a TV movie. They were also of superb cinema quality.
The one thing I wanted to see which, alas, did not present itself, was the mass detonation of the entire Yellowstone region and the expulsion of a vast ocean of lava, as this is how I had pictured the Yellowstone super-eruption, and the actual geology of the area does show such immense layers of lava flows that come from a single eruption. This did not detract from my enjoyment of this film, though.
A surprisingly good production for television. 8/10.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Merry Christmas! Here's the single greatest movie event in history!
-----SPOILERS-----
After the long wait, it's here. And it was worth the wait. This is the single greatest, most excellent film in the history of cinema. PERIOD. I cannot even begin to describe the awesome epic grandeur and beautiful character moments of this mega-movie.
The attention to detail and to the small things as well as the big is astonishing in this movie, you see this right off the bat with the first shot in the movie - a worm being placed on a hook.
Minas Tirith is incredible to behold. It's so huge on screen that it's hard to believe it's really a 20-foot model shot in a studio. When I first saw these awesome, dizzying views of the gargantuan citadel, I was just grinning like an idiot. I never thought that 20-foot model I'd seen in behind-the-scenes pictures would look so incredible on film.
Once in Minas Tirith, Gandalf and Pippin meet Denethor. This guy makes me sick. His scenes are so excruciating to watch. When I saw this with my dad I just wanted to hang onto him like a baby during the whole scene where Denethor sends Faramir on a suicide mission.
One of the most ingenious and breathtaking scenes in the film features beacons being lit. One after the other, over mountains and valleys, in a chain that reaches across the entire land. Rohan then masses its army and makes camp in the mountains. Elrond meets Aragorn there, and gives him the reforged Sword of Kings.
From there, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli make their way to the Paths of the Dead. There, they recruit an army of ethereal green ghosts in a scene vaguely reminiscent of "Pirates of the Caribbean".
As Frodo and Sam continue their trek towards Mordor, we are finally given a good look at Minas Morgul. Nice work by the modelmakers here. It looked way smaller that I had always pictured it, though. As they climb high up the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, thousands of feet above the pass, Minas Morgul begins to look like an eerie green flower on the earth below.
Once they're high up, Gollum manages to trick Frodo into thinking Sam is a traitor. Frodo continues into a cave, where he meets one of the creepiest monsters in cinematic history: Shelob. This thing is really freaking scary. My mom was freaking out in the theater during this scene when I took her to see it.
Minas Tirith is now under siege in the most insane battle scene ever filmed. Although Helm's Deep was more dramatic, this battle makes Helm's Deep look like a day in the park in terms of sheer size. The Battle of the Pellennor Fields is just plain staggering. For miles upon miles, the plains around Minas Tirith are awash in a thick black tide of Orcs. The Rohirrim, who have a knack for making awesome entrances, wash over the Orc legions like a tidal wave. It seriously looks like liquid in the wide angle shots. But that's not enough. The Army of the Dead sweeps in at lightining-fast speed and lays waste to the 200,000 orcs in one quick sweep.
Then Frodo and Sam get into Mordor. This is where the film really takes off and earns its stripes in terms of human drama. (Okay, Hobbit drama). Frodo has been reduced to a quivering lump of jelly by the Ring, and Sam has to carry him up Mt. Doom. When the ring is finally destroyed, we are treated to an apocalyptic chaos of ruin as everything the enemy has made is destroyed with the ring, and Mount Doom pours out an ocean of lava.
The ending of this film is a weep-fest, so bring some tissues. The most powerful moment in the whole film, and one of the most powerful moments in film history, comes when Aragorn is made King, and he says to the Hobbits five words: "You bow to no one". Aragorn and everyone present fall prostrate before the Hobbits.
Not a dry eye in the house.
Go see this on the biggest screen you can find. NOW. This is cinema history, don't miss out.
10/10. Perfect.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
UN FREAKING BELIEVABLE!!!
***POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS***
I don't know what thee critics were smoking when they saw this, but they're all wrong. This movie is tied with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as the most mind-bendingly HUGE EPIC picture we've ever seen.
The film starts off basically where Reloaded ended. The first fifteen minutes are a bit slow. The "Train Man" is really creepy. We are introduced to a "new" oracle in a way that's almost funny in the way they have to make do with Gloria Foster's absence. The new actress playing the Oracle, however, has all the right mannerisms of her predecessor down.
Then, we are thrown into a battle that is grand, epic, and terrifying on a near-cosmic level. The very sight of the unrelenting tide of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of swarming Sentinels will send you into utter shock and disbelief. It's simply like nothing you have ever seen.
And then it gets better.
Neo, now blind, sees everything machine-related in orange code. Trinity flies the Nebuchadnezzar to the Machine City, where, after telekinetically destroying hundreds of sentinels in an impressive fireworks display, Neo brokers a deal with the Machines. He confronts the Interface, a machine that speaks in a terrifying thunderous voice that literally shakes the floor with bass, and Neo is hooked back into the Matrix. There, Neo and Smith duke it out in the best hand-to-hand combat sequence ever put to film. Their fight results in whole city blocks being leveled, rainfall being sent back up into the sky, and giant impact craters being created.
Throughout the movie there are many Christ references, as you may well know, such as walking on water, the phrase "It is done", etc.
Agent Smith is by far the best villain ever in cinema history. Hugo Weaving deserves an Oscar for his role, this guy can ACT. The Wachowski Brothers should be given a Congressional Medal of Honor for this movie. I cannot stress enough how UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE this movie truly is. Go see this on the biggest screen you know of.
9.5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
THIS MOVIE KICKS BUTT - One of the 5 best so far this year!
I just got back from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and I am awestruck. I was just at Disneyland on Monday, so the ride this movie was based on was fresh in my mind. I liked that they worked in the bit from the ride with the imprisoned pirates trying to tempt the dog that holds the keys to their cell.
The performances were amazing, especially by Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp. Jack Sparrow's introduction was brilliant. Depp was perfect in every way as Sparrow, right down to his drunken swagger. The only one miscast here in my opinion was Jonathan Pryce - he will always be Elliot Carver from Tomorrow Never Dies in my mind. Everyone else was excellent.
The visual effects are extraordinary. They aren't overly exploited and they don't look fake, unlike some effects films (can you say Hulk?).
Gore Verbinski is one of the most versatile and talented directors out there. Every movie he's made (except MouseHunt) has been enjoyable and entertaining. The cinematography was totally engrossing and beautiful, but for God's sakes STOP SHOOTING MOVIES LIKE THIS IN SUPER-35!!! My parents kept asking me if the movie was unfocused because of the definition loss. SHOOT ANAMORPHIC!!!
Anyway....where was I.... Oh yeah, the MUSIC! The best thing about this movie was the music. Produced under the supervision of the brilliant genius Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt's score is the best I've heard on a movie this year.
This is one of the five best movies thus far this year, joining the ranks with the likes of The Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3.
9.5/10
Finding Nemo (2003)
Great Animation! See it in Digital Projection!
This was a great movie with beautiful scenery, incredible animation, and Pixar's unique brand of humor. I understand two of the writers of this movie were once writers for Conan O'Brien. The comedic exploitation of the characteristics of different fish species was brilliant. I'm a saltwater aquarium hobbyist myself, and found all the different fish traits in the movie quite funny. I especially liked the bit about the flounder not being able find the kids hiding from him on his other side (as flatfish have eyes on one side only). Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres fit their characters PERFECTLY. I can not picture anyone other than Brooks doing Marlon. The funniest thing in this movie has to be the seagulls. All they ever say is "MINE!".
The computer-generated scenery in Finding Nemo is breathtaking. Every shot is milked for all the visual splendor it is worth. The jellyfish scene was awesome. My only complaint is that Pixar, being on the leading edge of CGI animation, should try to make PEOPLE more realistic. It doesn't matter so much with cartoon fish, but if a small independent firm in New Zealand is capable of creating Gollum, then Pixar should be able to make some seriously photo-realistic people.
This is not exclusively a movie for kids only. It caters to all audiences, which I think every movie should do. There are even some references to other movies that only film buffs will pick up. My favorite was the "Psycho" reference whenever the Dentist's HORRIFYING niece showed up. And then there's Bruce the Shark (a Jaws reference) smashing through a wall yelling "Here's Brucey" with the splintered wood framing him exactly as it did Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Finding Nemo is the best animation I've seen in a long time. You HAVE to see this on a DLP projector, it's worth going a few minutes out of your way to see it at a theater that has one. The colors are strikingly brilliant and the picture is crystal-clear. Finding Nemo was created digitally, and should thus be seen in it's native digital format.
I give Finding Nemo a 9 out of 10.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Disjointed first act redeemed by the most unbelievable action I have ever seen.
Mr. Anderson, Surprised to See Me?
The Matrix Reloaded is so-so in it's first half hour. Some spectacular shots of Zion, little else. The rave/sex scene was totally out of place and out of context. Hopefully this will be absent from Revolutions. However, once Agent Smith shows up again and begins cloning himself relentlessly, the film takes off as fast as Neo can fly and for the next hour and a half we are treated to the most impressive, mind-blowing, unbelievable action scenes ever committed to film. I have to give credit to Hugo Weaving, who apparently had the exhausting task of having his performance captured 100 times in 100 different manners to create all the different Smiths. Effects genius John Gaeta has created a cinematic rollercoaster ride unlike anything anyone's ever seen before. And the action would not be complete without kung-fu master Woo Ping Yuen's exquisitely choreographed fisticuffs. I think the Wachowskis, in writing the script, could have done better with the Architect character than to have him spit out a stream of oxymorons that have been thesaurused into words that only a few English-speaking individuals on Earth know.
In this case I can't rate the movie as a whole. I give The Matrix Reloaded a perfect 10/10 for action, but only a 4/10 for script.
Bring on the Revolutions!
Holes (2003)
Beautiful Storytelling
This is cinematic storytelling at its finest. I loved every minute of
Holes. It has a wonderful human element that many films today
lack, or even dare to mock. This was such a heartwarming tale of
friendship and the power of the human spirit. Hollywood needs to
make more movies like this. The cinematography and music are
beautiful as well. The cast is just perfect. Don't you just want to hug
that Zero kid? These young actors will soon rise to prominence,
you have my guarantee.
HOLES is the best movie we've been given this year, beating The
Core on my 2003 list. GO SEE THIS MOVIE ASAP!!!
PLEASE, DISNEY, GIVE US A WIDESCREEN VERSION ON THE DVD THIS TIME!!!!
A Mighty Wind (2003)
The Christopher Guest troupe makes another great one!
First, let's get one thing out of the way. I was born in 1984. My only connection to folk music was that my father was John Denver's photographer.
Even though I didn't come within two decades of experiencing the heyday of folk music, I thought this movie was hilarious. Christopher Guest has found his niche and made himself quite comfortable. For those of you who don't know, Christopher Guest's films are very low budget documentary-style comedies shot with cheap 16mm hand-held cameras. Guest picked up this technique from Rob Reiner, whose 1984 film "This is Spinal Tap" made Guest a star. The result looks oddly authentic, like an actual documentary, but the entire content of it tells you it's a joke, which makes it funnier.
The characters are all brilliantly conceived and executed as usual by the talented comedy troupe, consisting of Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr, Harry Shearer, Don Lake, Michael McKean, and John Michael Higgins.
The folk music sounds very authentic, and the characters are nothing short of hilarious. "The Folksmen", consisting of Guest, Shearer, and McKean, are brilliant as a hillbilly trio. Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard always steal the show, and this is no exception. Coolidge plays a spanish woman with the IQ of a Venus' Flytrap, whose insight on model trains is nothing short of gut-busting. Fred Willard's obnoxious humor is always a hoot, although Willard doesn't tear it up the way he did in Best in Show. Speaking of which, John Michael Higgins is a bit distracting onscreen as a straight man, as he will always be that flamboyant homosexual from Best in Show in my mind.
The best performance comes from Eugene Levy. He gets so deep into his burnt-out hippie character, you really feel empathetic for him. It's simply brilliant.
All in all, this is a terrific film that is well worth seeing, although it doesn't quite touch the sheer genius that was Best in Show.
8.5/10
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
Misunderstood work of Genius
A lot of people didn't like this movie because they misunderstood what it was. This movie is a modernization of early French and German expressionist films.
Unless you've studied film history, this movie will likely go way over your head. But what John Patrick Shanley has done is truly unique. He has created a modern motion picture in the style of Cinema's early years. This movie was basically made asking the question, "What would the early filmmakers do if they made movies today?".
The beginning of this film is done as German expressionism, specifically referencing Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". If you've seen the first five minutes of "Metropolis", you'll recognize it instantly. Once they get out on the ocean, you start to get wisps of George Melies' storybook films (moons were really big with him). This trend continues until the famous, hauntingly beautiful moonrise scene, which would make Melies himself very proud.
The early stylings rub off on other parts as well, specifically it's use of unreal lighting. Various colored lights are used throughout the movie, giving them a very artistic look. Another early style mimicked here is film tinting. This happens in one scene in particular. When Joe and Patricia are on the deck of the boat before the typhoon hits, the entire image is tinted green. Early filmmakers in the silent era did this all the time to give specific scenes a certain feel before color film existed.
I have to give credit to George Delerue for giving this movie one of the most beautiful, exquisite, and awesome musical scores I have ever heard on a movie. I always watch this movie LOUD because I love the music so much.
Joe Versus the Volcano is a modern classic and one of my all-time favorite films. DO NOT watch this movie in Pan & Scan. This film is strictly Widescreen-only.
10/10. Perfect.
The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (1983)
A Strange Brew Indeed
My sister was given a VHS copy of this movie by one of her friends
while she was in the hospital. I took it home and watched it, and all
I can say is that this whole movie is a strange brew of random plot
elements and the pervasive, annoyingly repetitious "eh?" deftly
placed at the end of EVERY SENTENCE.
Apart from the movie itself feeling "weak", there are plot elements
that are just plain bizarre, such as the synthesizer-induced mind
control experiments which cause asylum inmates to play hockey
with each other. And the sentient video game which relays
messages from the deceased ex-brewmaster.
The opening scene is just plain irritating. Fast forward it. And what the heck does "hoser" mean?
2/10
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
FUNNY AS CRAP
After reading all the reviews, I was not expecting this movie to be as funny as it was. I was laughing after the first three minutes! I was on the floor after the bit where the narrator ponders whether or not it's physically possible for the lead character to have taken out a clean, bloodless cylindrical chunk of another man's torso. I had not laughed that hard in a long while. I watched it two more times and it was still just as funny.
All the people who say this is bad and compare it to Freddy Got Fingered are crazy. THIS IS FUNNY AS HECK!!!
Go rent the DVD as soon as you can. It has alot of special features and it's much better in widescreen.
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Golden Capstone of the Austin Powers Pyramid.
The Austin Powers series saves its best for last. The series can be likened to a three-piece pyramid: The first film as a foundation, the second as fill material, and the third as the golden capstone. This is the funniest and most in-depth Austin Powers movie of them all.
The film opens with some hilarious cameos. I won't say who. This mole- uh, movie does many of the same point-of-view and silhouette gags, but they're still funny- Funnier than the last one! It doesn't take a genius to come up with toilet humor, but it certainly does take a genius to come up with the hilarious ways of executing it as seen in the film. The scene with the classical urinating fountain brought the house down, as did the later scene involving Mini-Me, a large dress, and some apple juice.
mole
I must give credit to the production designers for the hilarious exterior appearance of Dr. Evil's submarine.
Mike Myers introduces a FOURTH character to his auto-cast (a term I invented to describe mole..tiple characters played by one actor). He's a physically gifted but mentally challenged Dutch metallurgist who goes by the name Goldmember, as he lost his you-know-what in an "unfortunate smelting accident", moling---making him crazy. His calling card is spray-painting other people's peckers gold.
He likes gooooooooolllld!
Michael Caine plays Austin's distant, self-minded father, and is very convincing as such. He wasn't there when Austin graduated International Mole of Mystery School. Wait, I meant "MAN" of Mystery. There's a hilarious gag with un-shadowed white subtitles that you have to see to believe.
Moley Moley Moley Moley MOLE!!!!
The revelations keep on coming until the ultimate ending twist- one you would never expect. It ends rather like the last episode of a television series. It's awesome, baby, yeah! Go see this movie and laugh your head off. You'll never look at the other two Austin Powers movies the same way again.
9/10
The Time Machine (2002)
Too Short
POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS
This movie was interesting, but it had one problem: It was too short. It ended right when it really was getting good. But if that's how the book went, then so be it. The time-lapse effects and exploding-moon stuff was cool, but there wasn't enough of the latter. But if that's how the book went, then so be it. I won't spoil the ending, but it's not emotional or complex or LONG enough. But if that's how the book went, then so be it.
Industrial Light and Magic did some really cool visual effects on this film - watching 800,000 years pass by in 30 seconds is really fascinating - the thing where the vines over the arbor UN-GROW themselves is really strange to watch.
Morlocks are said to be descendants of humans. Well, they look nothing really like us. If there really is the DNA in human beings to creat such animals, please, God, let my family be an exception. We ain't no cannibal apes here.
This movie seems EXACTLY like a Tim Burton film. In fact, the latter half reminded me instantly of last year's PLANET OF THE APES. Also, Guy Pears looks uncannily like Johnny Depp in this movie (whom Tim Burton cast in almost every one of his films).
Anyway....on with the interesting stuff. This guy invents a time machine. He travels into the mid-21st century, where he goes into a museum and there's this holographic dude with all the information of the Internet at his command. A construction project on the moon has gone horribly wrong and broken it in half. He then goes back into the time machine, but gets knocked unconscious while the time machine progresses for 800,000 years.
800,000 years in the future, people live in these hammock-like scallop structures plastered onto the side of a canyon carved out by the Hudson River, surrounded by jungle which now occupies the area of land formerly known as New York City. The people have gathered the last remains of New York into the walls of a small pit which serves as a teaching center.
P.S. Gore Verbinski directed part of this, and he only gets credit in Special Thanks? Simon Wells must be a snob.
MY RATING: 6/10
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Hilarious and Charming Comedy
This movie is really funny, and also has a sweet love story to go with it. Mike Myers does his "Shrek" scottish voice on his senile father, which is totally hilarious. The movie also has some really eerie moments as well.
The best part of this movie has to be Phil Hartman's hilarious performance as "Vicky", the deranged Alcatraz tour guide who obviously spent too much time around the prisoners.
Basically, Mike Myers falls in love with Harriet, the butcher woman who sells him a haggis (a Scottish delicacy which has a reputation of being one of the most disgusting foods on Earth). However, there's nothing to be grossed out about it when you see it - it just looks like a sausage. There's a hiliarious scene that ensues where Charlie starts goofing around with the meat (the DVD chapter for this scene is called "Fun With Meat".)
Anyway, Charlie Mackenzie (MYERS) is a beat poet who hangs out at a poetry bar called "Roads", which happens to be on a street called Jack Kerouac Boulevard. This place serves enormous cappucinos which Charlie likes to make fun of. His friend is a flamboyant Italian detective who is something of a glutton for punishment. Charlie's father, also played by Mike Myers, gives a truly memorable mockery of some kid's giant head. "It's like Sputnik"
Then there's the thing in the car on the way to a really creepy place called "Poet's Corner", where Charlie does all the talking FOR Harriet. Pretty funny. Then there's a hilarious cameo by Charles Grodin. (see the Quotes section for this page).
All in all, a great and fun movie.
Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (2000)
One Big Giant Anachronism
My father was John Denver's photographer, and spent over 20 years travelling around the world with him. When he saw this, he called everyone he knew and was saying, "hey, did you see 'The Hal Thau Story'?" He then must have told me about 20-something anachronisms that occured in this film. I cracked up myself at the total lameness of John Denver's character talking in a voice that didn't even sound like him, and then lip-synching to crappy old recordings. It could have been good, but the director obviously had no idea who John Denver was as a person.
The Mind's Eye (1990)
It still fascinates me.
Although by now this looks very blocky by today's CGI standards (I can do better stuff on KPT Bryce), I am still captivated by this priceless compilation of CGI experiments, and the way the artists did what they did with the then-limited rendering technologies they had at their disposal. True, alot of this is done in an abstract or cubist fashion, but this to me only adds to the intrigue. Many of these images are so amazing, even in their relative simplicity, that they stick with you for a long time. Take 40 minutes of your evening to enjoy this mesmerizing feast of eye candy.
Spy Hard (1996)
I just love this movie.
Although I am a big Leslie Nielsen fan, you don't have to even know who he is to laugh hysterically at this one. First of all, I love the feel of this movie. The Secret Service headquarters is just full of secret crannies where weirdos are hiding. Especially the director's office. You always find something goofy hidden in there. In addition to Nielsen's trademark spotlight-stealing sight gags, there are many subtle insults, including the use of the Disney Animation Studio façade as the establishing exterior shot of the Agency headquarters (you can see the Seven Dwarfs in the architecture), and the fact that Agent 3.14, in addition to her number being pi, speaks with a huge French accent, even though she's Russian. I particularly love the character of Coleman. I always laugh when he sees the Rancor tape and utters a Bostonese "Gooed Gwad!". The characters are great in this. There is Steele's trusty sidekick Kabul (who has a different car in every scene), and Andy Griffith is an excellent villain. One of the best parts of this movie is Weird Al Yankovic's opening title song (spoofing Thunderball's).
For goodness' sakes, rent it if you haven't seen it yet. WATCH FOR THOSE CAMEOS!
Adventures in Wild California (2000)
40 minutes well spent
This is a spectacular experience. From beautiful SpaceCam shots of the Sierra Nevada to the dizzying heights of the Golden Gate Bridge, this film will put you on top of a tree without having to climb it, drop you 6,000 feet to San Diego without getting out of your seat, and take your breath away with beautiful cinematography. Get strapped in for a ride you won't soon forget.
The Matrix (1999)
One word: WOW!!!!
I really regret that I didn't see this in the theater. I saw this for the first time when I rented the DVD in January. Digital reciever. I really like the way they make everything look "dead", because in essence it is, due to the fact that evereyone is in the Matrix. This film deserved every Oscar it won. The special effects are like nothing ever seen before, in fact, the concept of "bullet time" was invented for the film. This is a technique in which an actor surrounded by bluescreen does a stunt, and is photographed in a film sequence by an arc of over 100 still cameras. Therefore, a quick jump can appear slow and the camera can quickly pan around, etc. The sound is also awesome. If you have a surround system, crank up the volume and turn your subwoofer up as high as it can go, and brace yourself. The scene on the roof, where the bullets are going slow and making weird trails, sounds absolutely amazing. In fact, that scene is an excellent clip to use in showing off your surround system. I'm really looking forward to the sequel in 2001.