Reviews

Not even good performances by Julie Andrews and Hector Elizondo could save this from being a dreadful waste of time. It was so predictably awful that I can't believe it did even relatively well in the box office. My only surmise is that a lot of people thought it would be good and by the time they discovered it wasn't, it was too late to get a refund.

The story had potential, but as usual it was taken to such extremes as to defeat the original purpose. The melodrama and the predictable bad lines were so consistent that we actually started a betting pool to call what would happen next. It was the only way to survive watching the film.

If this is the sort of thing we allow our children to watch, it is no wonder they grow up with their minds made of mush. There was absolutely no substance to this movie - nothing you could wrap your mind around and think about. There are good movies out there aimed at teens, such as 'Ten things I hate about you' and 'She's all that'. These movies center around fairly normal people with normal problems, mixed in with good lines and imaginative plot twists. But this movie seems to say that your life will wind up perfect only if your grandmother happens to be a queen and you wind up being a princess. The only thing you might improve by watching this movie is your ability to groan.

My first thought when I first watched this movie was of how similar it was to the writing styles of P.G. Wodehouse and the famous English playwright Oscar Wilde. The storyline starts off deceptively simply and slowly builds in complexity until a frenetic climax explodes all over the viewer. It is virtually impossible to try and explain the plot to someone because it simply has too many twists and turns.

This movie is an unusual one for Ms. Tripplehorne in that she plays a glamorous Grace Kelly/Marilyn Monroe-esque movie star instead of her usual supporting actress role. I thought it was a lovely change and she did a stunning job capturing the mannerisms and acting style of the era. The little movie clip of her and "Don Lucas" in the preposterously titled 'A Kiss in the Dark' was so (very bad) Casablanca that I just had to laugh.

The story progressed beautifully with little touches of absurdity in just the right places, such as the poor unfortunate maid walking (read 'running') the dogs across the manor grounds. And because good comedy comes in threes, we see her three times throughout the movie.

But for me, the real winner in this movie is Colin Firth's role as Peter, the ubiquitous nephew-in-residence. His lines are delivered beautifully, but it is his facial expressions, and soft, unspoken mimicry of Miranda Frayle that really clinch it. His smart-aleck remarks are tempered with just enough Britishness to keep them from being outright obnoxious. It's lovely to see him in a role that must have been so much fun.

On the whole, I thought the movie was marvelous. It's full of deliciously sketched characters, masterfully crafted dialogue, very effective camera work, beautiful costumes and props, and of course, ridiculous coincidences that serve to drive the plot towards its inevitable conclusion. A great movie to enjoy yourself and also to recommend to your mother or anyone else with discriminating taste.

I may have been wrong, but I was expecting an upbeat, extremely cool movie. The action sucked, the plot was disjointed and unsupported, and the character development left a lot to be desired. All in all, I felt disappointed in having spent the time watching it at all. It was entirely too serious of a plot for the image the producers wanted to portray. Those kids were just really, really messed up and I seriously doubt that was the trademark of the original series. I haven't even ever seen the original, and I am still convinced that this movie falls far short of the first mark.

There is probably no greater literary classic than the Bible, and as such it is an obvious choice for Hollywood. But why then are there so few attempts to bring the stories we grew up on to the Big Screen? A very simple reason. In filming a Bible story, producers tread a very thin line. They know they have to make the story interesting, the graphics new and innovative or the movie will flop. But they cannot tamper too much with the original for fear of upsetting those who hold the story dear to their hearts. Unbelievably, Hollywood has finally managed to tread that thin line in 'The Prince of Egypt'.

At the very beginning of the movie, a beautiful worded statement appears on the screen, and as I cannot possibly say it better, I will reproduce it here. "The motion picture you are about to see is an adaptation of the Exodus story. While artistic and historical license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Moses can be found in the book of Exodus." Now that was just a classy thing to do. Yes, they did tamper with the story ever so slightly, but they never did anything to mess up the main storyline. They took some liberties with the character of Zipporah, Miriam, etc., but they never messed with the core elements of the story. Some of their changes are debatable, but not to the point of destroying the main point of the story. As a strong Christian, even I found nothing whatsoever to complain about in their telling of it.

Technically, the film is a triumph of computerized animation. The chariot race scene is revolutionary in that the "camera" is able to move around within a moving frame. It is one of the many subtle ways that this animated movie hardly seems animated at all. The parting of the Red Sea was enough to take my breath away, and the Plagues of Egypt sequence was also very, very good.

There was obviously a lot of research that went into the making of 'The Prince of Egypt'. Many of the monuments, frescoes, pieces of furniture, statues, etc. are genuine and can be found in the real life Egypt. Somebody did a lot of studying on Hieroglyphics and Egyptian paintings, as several specific scenes in the movie can attest.

I'd also like to say a few things about the meshing of music with the story. In general, when somebody starts to sing a song, the action stops. Not so in 'The Prince of Egypt'. Indeed, almost the opposite usually occurs. Time compresses within the song, with the action happening at almost double the speed of non-song time. For example, one song covers a span of approximately 40 years, from the time Moses first arrives in Midian to his burning bush experience. In this way, the guys at Dreamworks got the nuts and bolts of the story compressed down in order to give themselves more time to develop characters and other things necessary to make a good movie. I was very impressed at the subtlety of this approach. And the songs themselves are very well done. The soundtrack is a great mix of reverence, ethnic flavor and adventure. Various themes associated with certain events and people wind their way through the music in a better-than-Wagnerian fashion. Moses' mother's lullaby is especially poignant - bravo to the composer. It actually made me cry.

The entire movie is a masterpiece. I'm so glad it made money and did so well. I hope that its great success will allow the people at Dreamworks to make another Biblically based movie, hopefully as good as its predecessor. 'The Prince of Egypt' is not only a great story, it has the advantage of being "true". The tone is very religious, while not being preachy. The burning bush scene is absolutely beautiful. Watch the movie just for that, and enjoy the rest of it as well. The Death of the Firstborn is very dramatic, but not creepy like in 'The Ten Commandments'. I was thoroughly impressed. But above all, the story is interesting, fast-paced and engrossing. The characters are real and their problems are very relatable. There are marvelous moments of comedic relief and moments of terrible mental anguish. This is no dry story from some dusty old book. This is a living, breathing, story. 'The Prince of Egypt' has become one of my very favorite movies and one of the few "cartoons" that continues to be frequently reached for.

Ladies, even at 70 Paul Newman is still sexy as hell. This is no 'As Good As It Gets', which kind of grossed people out with the Jack Nicholson / Helen Hunt romance. Newman and Fiorentino create a delicious sexual tension that makes the film always interesting and provocative.

Newman and Fiorentino deliver a fun, witty movie that is really entertaining to watch. This is not one to take your parents to, but definitely go and see it yourself.

This is an extremely serious movie masquerading as a comedy. I went to it expecting another 'Something About Mary' with some religious overtones. I was, er, in error. The story is full of tensions between friends, sex and religion. Since I was expecting it to be funny, I was unprepared for such depth of emotion and was hit quite hard. I strongly identified with one of the characters and it was difficult to see their life turn out less than satisfactorily.

Jenna Elfman turned in a wonderful performance, as did Ed Norton. Elfman's character showed a shocking wont of sensibility in dealing with her Priest and Rabbi friends. With the way she behaved, whether on purpose or not, it is no surprise the way the movie turns out.

As long as you expect the movie to be a philosophical look at religion, friendship and very serious relationships, you won't be disappointed. Just don't expect it to be a lighthearted comedy to see on your afternoon off.

I haven't laughed so much in a theatre in a very long time. Galaxy Quest is simply a superb movie. The casting was great, the interaction between characters was all you could hope for, the special effects were appropriately cheesy, the script was terrific, and Tony Shalhoub turned in one of his greatest performances. For a die-hard Star Trek fan, this was simply the greatest film of the year. Like all good spoofs, it made fun of its subject on the the surface level, but deep down it was really a vindication. I absolutely loved it and can hardly wait for it to come out on VHS. It's mine!!!