All
Signs of Austin Powers lead to XXX rating
By Mu S. and Dave R.
See any good movies this summer? Yeah, us neither. But the summer did have its exceptions, they were few and far between. Here’s a recap.
XXX
What do you get when you mix bad writing, cheesy
dialogue, horrible acting and clichéd scenes? You get XXX,
Vin Diesel’s action- packed summer blockbuster. Failing to deliver
on it’s promise of a “new breed of action hero,” it seems
like more of another of Deisel’s attempts at becoming the new James
Bond. For those of you who actually like Vin Diesel you may not find his
bland and one-dimensional acting so irritating, but for us his role was
terribly played and one of the many downfalls of the movie. Add to that
the awful one-liners, ridiculous plot, and overplayed action and you get
a movie that proves unbelievably unexciting as a whole. The gadgets are
cool but they are used sparingly, and many of the critical scenes feel
rushed. Those even expecting anything more than mediocrity from this film
are sure to be sorely disappointed. Verdict: F
Minority Report
This is the best film of 2002 so far, without a doubt.
The collaboration of two of the biggest names in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg
and Tom Cruise, created a movie that excels in every fashion imaginable.
Along with unique and original concepts and scenes, the acting and directing
are top-notch and create an intense and authentic piece of cinematography.
More intriguing than the movie itself are the moral questions it poses
to the viewers, as well as the endless thoughts it leaves the audience
with. Spielberg continues his mastery of film, and this is truly one of
his greater works. Truly a masterpiece to behold, this is one of those
movies you will want to see over and over again. Verdict: A+
 Graphic/Mike Borses |
Austin Power
in Goldmember
He’s back, baby, yeah! Okay, so that was a cheesy
opening line for this review, but then again, this movie was quite cheesy
as well. The real money truly is in gross-out humor and Mike Myers has
become the master of this domain. While the original Austin Powers
was a relatively original spoof of Bond movies, and the second an over-the-top
sequel, the third was just a recycled mish-mosh of everything that was
funny from the first two. Although this movie does acknowledge the reuse
of old jokes, that does not make it excusable. It seemed that Myers tried
a bit too hard with this one, but its success in the box office practically
guaranteed the continuation of the Austin Powers series. Not bad,
but not great either. Verdict: C+
Road to Perdition
Sam Mendes’s latest foray into film, Road
to Perdition, is another Oscar-deserving film. Tom Hanks, Paul Newman,
Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh make up a stellar cast, and Mendes’s
direction was no less than incredible. Even better then the direction
was the cinematography by Conrad Hall. Unfortunately, this movie was still
one step away from perfection, as the script lacked slightly in the presentation
of characters and overall believability. At times, the story felt forced
and it was hard to become emotionally attached to the characters despite
the overwhelming talent on screen. Overall the acting in this movie was
amazing, the direction incredible, the cinematography beautiful, and the
slightly underdeveloped script was not enough to out way the overall greatness
of the film. Verdict: A-
 Graphic/Mike Borses |
Men In Black
2 (MIIB)
A secret organization has to ensure Earth’s
survival when a space bug lands in New York, intent on destroying the planet.
That was the basic plot line of the original, MIB. Replace “bug”
with “snake” and you essentially have the sequel. Nothing is
new in this installment, with the same basic storyline and sequence of
events. MIB was a tolerable movie, yielding a winning combination
with Will Smith’s funny one-liners and Tommy Lee Jones’s usual
no- nonsense self. But does that mean we needed a sequel? With the same
story and hackneyed humor, Men in Black 2 gives you more of the
same that you saw in the original, and although not completely bad, it
begs for a little more attention. Verdict: C-
Lilo & Stitch
In Lilo & Stitch, the latest Disney animated
comedy, a cute Elvis-singing alien teams up with a little Hawaiian girl
and finds a great new friend. This was undoubtedly a kid’s movie,
with cheesy jokes and obvious morals, but at the same time the cute factor
overrides any corniness, and all-in-all it is one of the best “feel-good”
movies of the summer.
While at first Stitch is the epitome of evil, you cannot help but fall
in love with his floppy ears and goofy charm. Chris Saunders, the director
and writer of the film also provides the great voice of Stitch that just
makes that audience want to giggle. Despite the failure of previous animated
attemps at the “lost girl and her little companion” plot, Lilo
& Stitch pulls it off terrifically. Verdict: A
