Originally set in 1975, the iconic series “S.W.A.T.” is given a welcome modern spin with all the original characters back in tow. Director Clark Johnson does a good job selecting an all-star hip cast to portray the famous characters from the original series. What this movie manages to do that most modern action films don’t is successfully establish every character, their personality, and their background which is interesting and then pulls the audience into the action taking place with the story. It’s reported among the stars that they actually studied the real S.W.A.T. training sequences and also interacted in exercises which can be seen in the very realistic and steadfast depictions of the exercises used by the S.W.A.T. infantry.
Monthly Archives: December 2003
The Greatest Store in the World (1999)
The Greatest Store in the World” is one of those films you can finish watching and look back on with a smile later on. What this film does is take a somewhat dramatic plot and turn it into a bittersweet tale with occasional laughs that a family can watch together. Like “A Miracle on 34th Street”, the film presents a large store so big it’s capable to house a small family. Dervla Kirwan plays Geraldine a basically free-spirited mother who uses the store as a home for her children and quite cleverly is able to dodge security guards, the doorman “Mr. Whiskers” and the stores snoopy Santa and his elf who swagger around the store bothering people.
Analyze That (2002)
“Analyze This” regardless of its critical acclaim has to be one of the most overrated unfunny movies to come out in years. Despite its large cast and top-notch direction and writing team, “Analyze That” is no exception from its predecessor. It’s comprised of two elements: a sequel that is unnecessary, and a sequel that should have never been made. This sequel is composed of nearly every modern sequel’s downfall: it doesn’t provide new material to an original property, instead it recycles it as “Scream 2” did, and as “Jungle Book 2” did. So, watching this is like watching the first except the plot is different. I’m very disappointed in Robert DeNiro for even agreeing to star in a film of this magnitude. Lately, the legend has failed to rake in a box-office or critically acclaimed hit, and this film brings him down a notch. He proceeds in this film in his character almost as if he know he’s too good for this film, and he is.
.com for Murder (2002)
“.Com for Murder” and director Nico fails in every aspect of what may have been a good horror film. This film is so laden with attempts at borrowing from other films, its original product is lost in the process. Heck even the high tech computer system the characters use in the film is called HAL which is another attempt at winking an eye at the super-computer from the masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but the name is such a blatant reference it becomes distracting.
Spellbound (2002)
A parent in “Spellbound” makes a point of saying, “The National Spelling Bee has been around for nearly a hundred years, and it’s a part of Americana that has been somewhat brushed aside.” I’m paraphrasing of course, but they make a good point. We live in a country where the strongest and prettiest are revered, a country where we strive to be the strongest and prettiest among our peers. “Spellbound” is an apt title and a glowing portrait of eight kids from humble beginnings who are training desperately for the national spelling bee. What comes with the territory of making it into the National spelling bee aside from adulation and respect is a lot of pressure which is set upon by parents who unwillingly and willingly apply pressure to their children and high expectations that they strive to reach.
John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
It’s not hard to believe that the character and presence among the entire film Sutter Cane is a depiction of Stephen King who also bears a collection of almost unearthly and creepy books as Cane does in the film, and they both have a mass following of readers. Of course, his fan’s devotion to his books is not as intense as it is in this film. John Carpenter manages to show people with “In the Mouth of Madness” why he’s considered among the best directors in film and among horror royalty. Watch “Halloween”, “The Fog”, “Vampires”, “The Thing”, just to name a few and you will witness his true aptitude for capturing horror in its true essence, and what he manages to do in “In the Mouth of Madness” is capture it in all its pure unrestrained essence onto the cells of this film.
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002)
What if “It’s a Wonderful Life” was directed by a mental patient with severe brain damage? What if it was written by a sociopath? This is the questions asked during the viewing of a potentially annoying and incredible unnecessary film called “Eight Crazy Nights”, a film supposedly created as a Holiday Chanukah film yet barely even covers the topic of Chanukah, the meaning of the word, or the holiday. Adam Sandler is disappointing; here is a guy who has so much money and resources yet piddles it away on these irrelevant and crude films that try so hard to be funny but end up causing people to roll their eyes so much it gives them a migraine.