Film reviews 98

1999 1999

*Title*	*Grade*	*Review*
Enemy of the state		This film is so full of paranoia that you probably will sell all your electronic stuff after you have seen it. All technical stuff shown is possible to perform but off course not in the manor used in this film. Will Smith is excellent as well as Gene Hackman. The tempo and the actors makes a perfect 3.
Matrix		Finally something new in the action genre. The Wachowski brothers has created a lovely cartoon filled with great actors and action. Some scenes are really breath taking and should set the standard for some years.
Postman, The		Well, well... Finally I got to see this newest failure of Kevin Kostner. It is not as bad as feared and without his reputation and the critics chainsaw massacre it would have done better at the box-office. A classical matinee adventure it is a bit silly but alright.
Ronin		Well, with these actors you can´t really fail. Robert de Niro, Jean Reno, Jonathan Pryce and Stellan Skarsgård makes this movie by themselves. Not that the story is not up to it - it is. With a very mysterious plot and a slow pace its feels like an European movie.
Saving Private Ryan		A very strong and realistic movie quite a long way from Jurassic Park and more in line with Schindlers list. Its impossible not to be moved by either the story or scenes. Tom Hanks also lays another brick to his excellent career. In a way it is a 1990s The Longest Day.
Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace		To be honest I am very disappointed. What easily could have been a masterpiece is at best a warming up for things to come. The worst is the first 45 minutes which is a mix of teenage comedy and PC game advertisement. Jar Jar Binks is every bit as ridiculous as rumours say. In this part of the film there is no adventure feeling at all. This picks up later and with the rest of the crew being excellent together with the special effects it gets a grade of three and in my mind I see it only as a too long trailer for part 2.
Titanic		Well - it is the best selling movie and i finally could not resist it. In one way it is all that scared me away and in others it is a very good piece of work.
There's Something About Mary		My first movie seen 1999 is absolutely hilarious. Its a great laugh and the actors are splendid. In a way its a return to the 1930s slapstick which means it is actually very difficult to make something funny without being silly. Some sexual jokes must have made the great American success plus the rage from the mid west. Cameron Diaz is lovely as usual and the Farelli brothers are bound to make more movies after all successes.
The Truman show		My anticipations where rather high for this movie and in some respects they where fulfilled. Its a little odd story (for Americans) and its really trying to be rude to the soap TV of today. Unfortunately the film is not really entertaining. The first half hour is actually boring and even if the it gets a little tension as soon as Truman tries to escape it never lifts to the right level. One of the reasons could be Jim Carrey which is not up to his best moments. In one way he is better than usual as he often is when he is a little bit more serious but he doesn't fit as this character. Perhaps its so that he is no actor but only a stage comedian.
Wild Wild West		Well! This movie will not go to the history as the film with the most intelligent story. Will Smith and Kevin Kline (always likeable) stars in a film where the engineers has had a time of their life and all invented apparatus are fantastic. The jokes and the dialog are not above average but the fantasy machines makes three stars.