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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Hype above substance
I've read the first Harry Potter book and I greatly enjoyed it. (As an aside I'm also a conservative fundamentalist Christian who does not think that Harry Potter is recruiting tool for Satan).
However, I was greatly disappointed with this film. With an hour to go I was looking at my watch and hoping it would end soon. The pacing was terrible and for long stretches I was very bored. Visually I felt it was excellent but the screenplay adaptation was poorly done and at times the acting was abisimal.
The book is far, far better and I doubt I'll bother with any future films. For a long book adapted right try "Fellowship of the Ring", a longer film that did not drag and handled the "premise building" necessary in the first film of a book adaptation series much better.
The next films better be much better if its going to go the distance....If this series goes to 7 films I'll eat a golden snitch.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
It couldn't have been done much better.
Not much needs to be said. I love and have loved the books for years. Obviously changes had to be made in order to adapt the story well for a film but the changes are reasonable for the most part. Considering how much "premise building" had to be done in this first film and how much history had to be told I thought that the pacing was very well done. The cast is excellent and I hope to see some of the characters who didn't get as much time for development really blossom in part 2.
This is the correct way to adapt a long well loved book. "Harry Potter" producers take note. Jackson made 3 hours fly by. Columbus made 2.5 seem like a week.
Captain America (1990)
A prime example of what a "1" vote should be reserved for.
This is without question one of the worst films I have ever seen. It fails in so many ways that I feel it is a perfect example of a what a film should be to rate a "1" on the IMDb Vote.
1. It fails as an adaptaion of a comic. Captain America is not a great hero who is frozen and thawed in this film. He is a ill prepared looser who gets his butt kicked in his first ever fight. Then we don't even see the red white and blue and shield again until the final fight. Captian America was an "action" comic folks. A film about Captain America should have lots of action!
2. This is somewhat related but even if you decide to give the film maker a break on the lack of action the rubbish in the middle is so boring that you will wear out the head on your VCR as you fast forward looking for something that looks promising.
3. I don't care what the apologists for this film say the acting is not good in this film.
4. The plot is terrible. Come on. Even if Cap could have diverted the rocket launched at the White House by kicking the fin, and even if he could have survived the impact I really have trouble figuring out why a rocket that is supposed to only have to travel to Washington DC has enough fuel to get to Alaska.
Over while the beginning and ending of the film show flashes of what this film should have been like the incredibly boring middle of the film and the lame plot make this one of the few films I feel really deserve a "1". For other "1's" see "Superman 4" and "Hudson Hawk"
Sticky Fingers (1988)
Go read a book instead.
I gave this film a 2 mostly because it does actually have an ok cast but the film itself is just so (insert unusually rude word beginning with the sixth letter of the alphabet)-ing pointless that I felt bad that at the time I voted for it its lowest vote was a three.
Very predictable plot....two nare-do-well musicians have no money and plenty of money problems. However when a friend leaves a bag full of money (that belongs to drug dealers) in their care they of course spend it and then the "fun" begins.
Not an original idea in this whole film.
Sgt. Bilko (1996)
Why this shouldn't have happened....
The trend of reviving old television series as films has had a few really entertaining results but unfortunately it seems that most attempts fall terribly flat.
This film is a perfect example. It is always a mistake to try to remake a tv series as a film when the TV series was so dependant on the characterization of a key role by a key actor or several actors.
The original show was The Phil Silvers Show NOT Sgt. Bilko. Silvers WAS Bilko. The strength of the show was not in how fresh and different the writing or the concept was but in the performance of Silvers. If one takes him out of the mix you have a very average show concept....that translates to a below average movie.
What's next? A new movie called Sherrif Taylor that doesn't have Andy Griffeth or Don Knotts? Unthinkable....
Like Father Like Son (1987)
Worthless and mindless...
I could fill pages on why this film is such a pathetic attempt at the "kid/parent" switch comedies of the 80's but let me just give you a quick summary.
This film completely fails to portray how people put into this situation would behave. The best (worst) example of this is the scene when Dudley Moore, playing an 18 year old in a 40 something body, is staying at home alone. He's supposed to be a senior in High School and yet when left at home for 5 minutes he behaves like a 6 year old....playing loud music and jumping on the furniture. Obviously the director just couldn't resist having Dudley Moore jump around like an idiot for a few minutes.
Had the writer and director spent 30 seconds thinking about how people might really try to act in this situation it might have been entertaining...but then again this movie was made about 5 times in the space of 18 months in the late 80's anyway so I think the best idea would have been to get an original idea and not waste everybody's time.
Ravenous (1999)
Would love to see this on TBS's Dinner and a Movie....
Really a very nicely done horror film. A great cast. My personal favorite is Jeffery Jones as the Post commander.
This is one of those films that makes nice use of fear. The hero of the film is afraid from frame one until almost the ending and it translates very well to the audience. There is a nightmare like quality that makes it well above average when it comes to horror.
To me the only weakness was in the ending which was a fairly predictable final battle. With as many nice plot twists all through the film it seemed a shame to end so typically.
The League of Gentlemen (1999)
Visit beautiful Royston Vasey......
This is a terrific show but understand a few things before you watch. If you are a British Comedy fan and think that this is going to be a nice little "Keeping Up Appearances" or "Are You Being Served" you've go the proverbial another thing coming.
This show is dark. I mean Dark. Really DARK. Its got murder, torture, scatalogical references and a bit of people just being generally horrible to each other. Oh and if you adore Dawn French as the Vicar of Dibley then you have just got to see...no, I'll let you meet her for yourself.
If you can deal with the darkness, however, you will find a really witty and biting satire of rural life and life in general. As horrible and loathsome as many of the characters are you can't help but recognize some of the odd balls you know from real life.
Watch and be appalled and amused at the same time.
Red Dwarf (1988)
A great series...but stick with the original versions.
This is a great sci-fi and comedy series but I highly recommend that you try to find the older versions. The re-mastered, (or re-massacred versions as many RD fans call them) are very distracting and pointless. They have taken out scenes in order to include some updated SFX and have given the entire thing a "film" look that had me trying to adjust the brightness on my set until I realizes what I was looking at.
A perfect case of Special Effects guys not knowing when to leave well enough alone.
Dip huet seung hung (1989)
Good but not as good as I'd heard...
I'd been told a long time ago that I needed to watch this film because it is some of John Woo's best work. However while I thought it was excellent in some ways I found it falling extremely short in other areas.
The film was done very well from a stylistic point of view. It had good pacing and the characters made you care about them. The overall story was pretty good too.
The gunplay scenes however I just found to be really so over the top as to be a detraction. Not since episodes of The A-Team have I seen such an endless flow of bullets and bad guys. The hero rarely reloads his gun, especially in the early part of the film. Also there are numerous careless continuity and accuracy errors. (A trunk-full of weapons that is apparently untouched after a grenade is blows the trunk of the car up....a supposedly experienced hitman who doesn't know that unloaded automatics lock into open position...Inspector Li not knowing The Killer's name even though the girl has been shouting it all through the previous scenes.)
I'd like to see more of John Woo's work but I hope that he took more care in his other productions.
Hamlet (1996)
Worth the time...
Yes it's long!!!! But it's great!!!! How millions can sit through a dialog black hole like "Titanic" dozens of times and complain that "The Bard" was too long I'll never understand.
Lavish, wonderfully acted, and worth the evening you will spend watching it.
Clifford (1994)
Springs to mind quickly when some one asks "What's the worst film you have ever seen?"
When I mention this film as the answer to the question "What's the worst film you have ever seen?" I usually have to explain my answer a little. I hate this film so much because of the way it totally fails to live up to its potential. Martin Short playing a young boy should have been funny but it was dismal. I had heard that this was a bad film but had just thought that it had to be better than I was hearing. It wasn't and I am scared for life after putting myself through this misery. Charles Groden was horrible as well but then I find him kind of wooden and unbelievable in most of his roles.
Hudson Hawk (1991)
Every bit as bad as you heard....
I think most people that watch this movie go in having heard how amazingly bad it is and are just unable to believe it. That was honestly the attitude I had when I rented it. I just knew it would be better than everyone was saying. It wasn't....
The story was inane and silly and the acting was pretty much bad across the board.
Do yourself a favor. Don't think that you will give it a try just because it "can't be that bad". If your choice is between this and something off the free public service video stand take that video on Prostate Cancer, you'll be glad you did.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Worse movies have been reported but not by reliable witnesses.
Obviously when this movie was made they were intent on removing all possibility of having to do Superman V. I have never seen such a bad job of writing, such poor performances by usually good actors, and such inept technical film making in my entire life. The editing of the final fight between Superman and Sun-guy or what ever his name is the worst few minutes of film I have ever had the misfortune to witness.
What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
An overlooked Allen gem.
This is way different from Allen's other films but you can't help but see his stamp and unique humor all through the new dialog. It reminds me a lot of the kind of humor in his prose writing.
Watch this after 60's Bond film and it's even funnier.
Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
Who is right!! Cause this ain't him!!!
Not at all a generally accepted part of the Doctor Who canon and it is not even good taken by itself. I've never been sure why this film was made to begin with unless it was just to exploit Dalek-mania in Great Britan at the time.
Skip this and try to catch the real thing late night on a PBS station.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Great Film but I still think that kid killed his father.
I have watched this film dozens of times and I like it more each time. One of the greatest casts I have ever seen in a film and the writing is amazing.
Great, Great, Great!!!!! ...but the kid was guilty.