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teck lee
Reviews
The Mummy Returns (2001)
pure summer blockbuster material
y'know, i see people commenting about how much of a ripoff this movie was, and how cliched the one-liners were, and how it had no plotline... well, guess what? i say there's not enough movies out there like it! while i'll be the first in line for a thought-provoking, abstract, philosophical-type film if it's done well, i enjoy my fair share of "stupid" movies... the ones that are all about pure fun... while i say i enjoy "intelligent" films, the flipside is that i feel too many filmmakers these days try too hard to get that feel... that, of course never works... it's just jumping on the bandwagon...
now, something like this movie is a breath of fresh air... it's not "best drama" material, but everyone involved knows that and play it up... the film doesn't take itself seriously, just like the first film didn't, and everyone's just having fun with it... which is how summer blockbusters should be... T2 wasn't exactly the dark sci-fi action/drama that it's prequel was, but it was made to be fun... people loved it... it was special-effects laden (c'mon, tell me someone who WASN'T gawking at the CG effects) and star-driven... one-liners abound (everyone knows those)...
TMR is really how summer blockbusters should be made: ENJOYABLE AND FUN! leave your brain at the door... ;)
Progeny (1998)
surprisingly good
i caught this movie on showtime one weekend afternoon, expecting a good ole b-grade gore-fest... boy, was i surprised... :OP this turned out to be one of the better horror movies i've seen in a long time, and i've seen my fair share... while there were a couple of scenes which were extremely gory, they were the exception, rather than the norm... i rather liked the way in which the entire film kept you really wondering if the good doctor was really crazy, as everyone else thought... one thing i didn't really like about the film was the very last scene, which i personally felt detracted from the film... i thought it would have been more effective if it had left the ending more open to interpretation, which it would have been had they not included the very last 30 seconds... but that was about my only substantial complaint about this film, which provided a good sense of suspense and dread, as well as keeping you guessing as to the whole "crazy vs sane" aspect of the story... the alien abduction sequences, in particular the last one involving the wife, were quite reminiscent of japanese hentai, specifically tentacles... just thought i'd mention that... quite disturbing...
overall, i'd give this an 8 out of 10, but be aware that it does not cater to a large audience...
When Trumpets Fade (1998)
incredible
i happened to chance across this movie when i went to rent a video, and i remembered the title being mentioned favorably in one of the reviews here on imdb... the plot looked interesting, so i picked it up... i don't regret it for a minute! i've watched my fair share of war movies, including the quintessential pte ryan, which i enjoyed, but none of them have really really made me feel such a full range of emotions, and so strongly, as this film... i don't remember watching a war movie which actually moved me close to tears, but 'when trumpets fade' did just that... there's much to praise about this movie, but if i had to praise just one element, it would have to be the stellar cast... made up of relative unknowns, the only word i can use to describe their performance would be 'incredible'...
i would easily give this film a 9 out of 10
Drive (1997)
better than expected
i first saw mark dacascos in "only the strong" and i have to say i was truly impressed... i've seen a coupla other shows of his, including "crying freeman", which also impressed me...
this one, though, had something of a different slant to the fight scenes, as there were some spoof-y bits as well... loved the bit when he was handcuffed with kadeem, and he kicked the gun out of one of the goons' hands in anticipation of a typical "cool" catch but was instead held back by kadeem and missed the gun... hilarious! and when he made a wonderful jump kick and fell flat cos of kadeem as well... *laffs*
i also noticed that dacascos had a couple of scenes where after a jump/flip he landed in the style of jet li's older films, ie sort of a half-kneel thingie... if you're a true jet li fan, you'll know what i mean... ;O)
and talk about some WICKED fight scenes!
and i agree wholeheartedly with the rest of the reviewers' opinions about brittany... great! :O)
for a b-movie, i'd easily give this an 8/10