28. April, 2002 - another snowy Sunday in MN

• Update - 1130CDT - Welcome to the folks coming from Scripting News. You should note that the movie reviews below are MY takes on the movies. I've already had someone ask if I was drugged when I gave Red Dawn a 9 of 10. Well, I like the movie, but that's one that a lot of people won't agree with. Be aware that your mileage may vary.
• There's snow on the ground again. Sheesh. We've had one nice weekend all April this year. Blegh. It looked like we were going to have an early spring back in March, and when it hit 90 in April, I was thinking we were in for a long, hot summer. Now I remember it's just Minnesota, and we have weather here, not climate.
• You've heard a lot about the Critical Mass ride in Minneapolis and want to find one near you? Check out www.critical-mass.org. Nearly 300 CM rides are listed worldwide. [Jim]
• Critical Mass in Chicago tied their April ride in with May Day and toured major labor history sites on their 8 mile ride. Read about it in the Chicago Tribune (registration required, cypherpunk/cypherpunk works, natch).
• Mosquitoes may carry deadly viruses this spring. Just a warning message. Stock up on bug-juice. [strib]
• Gov. Ventura plans to campaign via video games. That's if he runs, of course. He still hasn't announced whether he's actually running again or not. [google news]
• Regrets only as Staff packs up governor's mansion. It'll close on Tuesday, April 30. To me, this is one of the worst things Jesse's done as Governor. [strib]
• Since my knee hasn't been too happy the past few days, I've been laying on the couch (keeping it elevated, you know) watching a lot of movies. I decided it was time to do a rundown of the last dozen movies I watched at home (which basically covers April), with quickie reviews of each. Let's see how it goes, eh?
  • Swordfish: It's another hacker-adventure movie. The most notable thing about it is Halle Berry's tits. They're nice tits. John Travolta plays the bad-guy he's discovered he's good at. Hugh Jackman plays the quirky hacker. No great performances, not terribly technically accurate, but it's good mind-candy. 7 of 10.
  • Rock Star: Marky-Mark plays a singer from a tribute band who ends up singing for the band they're covering. Up, down, good times, bad times. He finds himself in the end. It surprised me by being better than I expected, but my expectations were pretty low. I'd have probably rated it higher right after I saw it, but it left no real lasting impression. 5 of 10.
  • Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Party on, dudes! 10 of 10.
  • Jackie Chan is the Prisoner: It's nice to see a movie that gives Sammo Hung and Tony Leung prominent parts. But it ain't your typical Jackie Chan movie, and Jackie appears in less than a quarter of the movie. It's basically a Hong Kong version of Cool Hand Luke, and may appeal to some, but only if you're not expecting a Jackie Chan movie. I was. 2 of 10.
  • Heat: With DeNiro and Pacino starring, I expected a decent movie. I got one. It's an crime/action flick. Heavy on the bullets. One of the few movies I didn't pause in the middle to get up and go check email or something. 9 of 10.
  • Red Dawn: Wolverines! I liked it back in the 80s. I still like it. Kids fighting Russians (and Cubans and Nicaraguans) and winning. 9 of 10.
  • Unbreakable: Huh! Bruce Willis almost plays his typecast confused (or slightly dim) hero. It's a superhero movie of sorts. If you think Dark Knight Batman, you won't be too far off. Dark, moody, atmospheric. If you like that sort of thing, it's a good movie. The other thing that writer/director (M. Night Shyamalan) did that I'd heard of was Sixth Sense. 7 of 10.
  • Gladiator: Swords. Blood. Fights. The only thing that disappointed me about this was that there were some longer scenes that were setting the mood which seemed to me to just slow the movie down. With a running time of 2 hours 35 minutes, I think it would have been a better movie at closer to 2 hours long. I still liked the movie, but there were a few times I wanted to tell Ridley Scott to just get on with it. 8 of 10.
  • Lost Souls: Winona Ryder plays warrior (well, spriritual warrior) for God, saving a man from being inhabited by Satan. It's the first movie directed by Janusz Kaminski, and he still hasn't figured out pacing. It's a fairly predictable story, which doesn't help. 4 of 10.
  • Sleepy Hollow: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, and Tim Burton directing. What's not to like? It's a horror/suspense/mystery/comedy. Oh, and Christopher Walken plays the headless horseman. 8 of 10.
  • Slap Shot 2: If you liked the original, you'll probably like this one. Old-time Hockey! Like Eddie Shore! Dit Clapper! And Toe Blake! And Gordie Howe! There were enough homages to the original to keep me happy, even though it's not as good of a movie as the first one. Stephen Baldwin turns in a decent performance, but he's no Paul Newman. The woman coach didn't really seem to fit, other than as a romantic interest for Stephen Baldwin. Gary Busey's a bad guy (go figure). And it's got the Hansons. 7 of 10. It would make an 8 or 9 if you're a guy drinkin' beer. The guys at the Slap Shot Tribute don't agree.
  • Frantic: A Polanski thriller. It takes a while to get going, but turns into a pretty good movie. I end up madly in lust with Emmanuelle Seigner when I watch it. Harrison Ford plays the somewhat confused hero searching for his kidnapped wife. Arabs, Israelis, Americans and the French are all bad-guys, so there's something for everyone to hate. 6 of 10.
  Well, there it is. Looking back on my ratings, I think anything I rated 6 or better left me feeling I'd gotten my money's worth. Rock Star, Jackie Chan is The Prisoner and Lost Souls didn't make the cut. The movies that got a 9 or a 10 are personal favorites, and I'll watch them more than a couple times. The 8s will probably merit a second viewing sometime down the road.

Copyright 2008, Dave Polaschek. Last updated on Sun, 28 Apr 2002 11:54:16.