MOVIE REVIEWS
BABE  My wife picked up this video years after it came out. I didn't know what to expect, and I was amazed. The story of a pig who thinks he's a sheep dog complete with talking animals is wonderful. This is a very funny story of farm life as seen through the eyes of the farm animals (including the farmer and his wife). Somehow it just strikes the right tone throughout and the characters are great -- all I can say is go out and rent it. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. BABE 2: A PIG IN THE CITY We rented this movie on the strength of its predecessor. As so many sequels, it's not as good as the first. Babe goes to the big city and has adventures trying to save the farm. Instead of farm animals, we have pets; instead of wit and charm, we have a moral about animal rights pounded into us. This movie is darker and much stranger - it's not hard to accept talking animals, but the every-city that it takes place in with its jumble of landmarks, architecture, and bizarre people is hard to take. Still, it manages some funny scenes and I suspect much of the preaching will sail over the kids heads. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. A CHRISTMAS STORY I first saw this movie with my brother in an empty theater right when it was initially released. At first we thought we were in the wrong theater, but after an awful opening scene, this movie settles down and delivers consistent laughs and insight. The story of a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun with the compass in the stock for Christmas tells a tale of family life both true and funny. Very true and very funny. This is a movie more for older children. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. FLUBBER This remake of The Nutty Professor with Robin Williams has it's moments. He plays an inventor who is so absent minded he even forgets his wedding day, but who nevertheless manages to invent a talking, flying robot as well as flubber. Of course there's a villain who is out to steal his girl and his invention, but with the help of flubber our hero is able to save the day and get the girl. There are funny parts, and sad parts, and scary parts, but overall its just a little too much - the professor is a little too absent minded, flubber is a little too bouncy, and the ending is a little too pat. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE LITTLE VAMPIRE My son I saw this one night because he was bummed his sister was going to a play and he didn't want to just sit around the house with the old man. We both really enjoyed this tale of a little boy in Scotland helping the local vampires. It turns convention on its head because in this story, the vampires are the good guys (sort of) and the vampire hunter is the bad guy. The movie has plenty of action and humor, and several times I caught my son slyly looking over at me to see if I got the joke. For the record, I did. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. POWER RANGERS TURBO Only Power Ranger fans will like this movie. It has nothing to offer but the big karate fights and feels like an overlong TV episode. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. DUNSTON CHECKS IN This is a fun movie. Set in a ritzy New York Hotel, it's about the adventures the manager's younger son has when a thief who uses a monkey checks into the hotel. While the movie rarely rises above formula, it executes formula so well you don't care. Besides I still laugh everytime I see the fight seen in the kitchen. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. SPY KIDS This is a perfect family movie. Fun, witty, exciting, inventive, and visually mesmerizing, this movie delights kids and adults alike. The movie tells the story of two children who must rescue their spy parents from the clutches of the evil children's TV show host Floop. Somehow the filmakers managed to always hit the right note, kept the pacing at just the right speed, and captured both kids and grownup feelings about family. When I see a movie like this one, I wonder not why doesn't Hollywood make more like this, but why doesn't Hollywood even try to make more like this. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |
| ALADDIN I really like this movie, mainly because of the fun Robin Williams brings to his role as the Genie, but also because of some breathtaking animation sequences. Mix a classic story, good music, and a maniac in a maniac's role and you have Aladdin. Aladdin needs the Genie's help to stay one step ahead of the evil Jafar while he woos the lovely sultan's daughter, Jasmine. Both children and adults will appreciate the movie's fast paced humor. The movie is suitable for young children. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ANTZ When my brother and family were in town one summer we all went to see this one because he hadn't seen it yet. The story of an ant who wants to be different, who flees the anthill only to return and save it later bears an amazing resemblance to A Bug's Life. However, this movie is really for grown ups as it is a Woody Allen movie (he is the starring "voice"). This movie has good animation, but not the best; it has a good story but is too predictable and formulaic. Still it is well worth seeing, although adults will probably like it more than children. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ARISTOCATS This movie has one of the funniest scenes in animation when a butler and two dogs tangle. When I watched it I remembered seeing this scene as a child and how funny I thought it was then. The music is also top notch, but the story line is so so and drags from time to time. A cat and her kittens who stand to inherit millions from their eccentric owner are marooned in the country by the evil butler so that he can collect the money. Songs and adventure ensue and I'm not giving anything away here when I let you know that good triumphs over evil - eventually. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. A BUG'S LIFE We all got to see this movie together in the theater. The animation is simply glorious, and the story is top notch as well. A retelling of the fable of the grasshoppers and the ants, only the grasshoppers are bigger and stronger then the ants and so take from them to survive. Flik, a bumbling inventor, is banished from the colony when he messes up the ant payment to the grasshoppers but returns to save the day with the aid of circus insects. This movie has plenty of laughs and inventiveness. Both kids and adults will like this movie. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. FANTASIA I bought this movie when it was re-released with high hopes. Made up of animation set to seven great works of classical music, it is a triumph of music and animation and yet boring. This is not a kids movie at all, although it is pitched as such, but a movie for grownups, and for a rather narrow selection of grownups at that. Oh, there are parts that children will like -- such as the Sorcerer's Apprentice with Mickey Mouse or the ballet of the hippos and alligators -- and these are the same parts I liked, if only because they are funny. Suitable but not recommended for children. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. JUNGLE BOOK This movie classic has great songs and a great story. Based on the writing of Rudyard Kipling, we follow Mowgli, the mancub, and his quest to remain in the jungle despite the return of Shere Kahn, the tiger, who hates men. Mowgli is guided in his quest by Bagheera the responsible panther and Baloo the irresponsible bear. The songs really stand out, and my favorite is King Louie's. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE KING AND I This movie is curiously flat. An adaptation of the Roger's and Hammerstien musical, it keeps some of the songs and story while adding a whole sublot and several characters just for kids. The result is an odd hybrid that is neither fish nor fowl. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE LITTLE MERMAID This movie marked the return of Disney to top quality animated movies. Ariel, the little mermaid, falls in love with a human prince and makes a deal with Ursula, the witch, to gain his love. The path of true love is not smooth, but it triumphs in the end. And we have fun along the way. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. MULAN Its easier for me to see kids movies in the theater because we don't have to hire a sitter that way, and this one is no exception. Brave Mulan decides to break the law and fight in the army in place of her aged father. Naturally, she saves China from a Mongol horde. Eddie Murphy provides some of the comic relief as a tiny dragon her ancestors send to help her. This movie is well done and enjoyable. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. RUG RATS I saw this one in the theater with the fruit. My wife wanted to get some stuff done so I took them all by myself. The plot is simple: the babies get lost in the woods as Angelica and their parents try to find them. This movie feels like an extra long episode of the regular TV show, but it does introduce the new baby, Dyl Pickles. There are funny parts, scary parts, and everything turns out fine in the end. A good solid little kids movie -- they'll like it much more than mom and dad. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE ROAD TO EL DORADO We didn't get around to seeing this movie when it was in the theatres, so we had to rent it. The story tells the tale of two ne'er do wells who set out in search of the legendary city of El Dorado, reputedly a lost city filled with gold. While set in the Americas, it really is based on Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King (at least the movie version of it). The musical numbers aren't much, but the the rest of the movie sparkles. This movie works for children a little older than most animated features. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TOY STORY This is a great movie. It has great, ground-breaking animation, a great story, great ideas, great dialogue delivered by a great cast, some great messages, and is great fun. This is what a family movie is all about. So I guess you could say I liked the movie. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TOY STORY 2 We saw this movie on a Disney Cruise and loved it. Woody and Buzz are back for further adventures in friendship. This time Woody has been captured by a toy collector who wants to sell him to a museum, and Buzz and the gang go to his rescue. Toy Story 2 is funny, warm, and exciting. Both children and adults will enjoy it. Be sure to catch the "outtakes" at the end of the movie. Suitable for children of all ages. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |
| ARMAGEDDON The premise of this movie is simple - a comet is going to smack into the earth and end life as we know it. To end the menace, earth sends an intrepid oil driller and his band of misfits to the comet so that it can be blown to bits by deeply buried nukes. Despite the exotic setting, you can't help but feel you've seen it all before. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. DEEP IMPACT The premise of this movie is simple - a comet is going to smack into the earth and end life as we know it. Deep Impact tries to be a big, sprawling movie but just doesn't come off. The special effects are good, but it's all downhill from there. Clichéd and hokey, it just never exhibits an ounce of originality and just never makes you care. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. INDEPENDENCE DAY I saw this movie on TV recently and I still liked it. This movie is the epitomy of a romp -- it moves along quickly, has a lot of flash but little substance, and it knows it. The characters and story are stock, but somehow the movie manages a certain charm that raises it above mediocrity. There is a point about a third the way through where a startling revelation elevates it beyond the standard end of the world movie. If you watch this movie, be prepared to be entertained, not made to think. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK I - THE MOVIE  Boy, did me and my friends anticipate this movie. A new Star Trek, and on the big screen. That's all that we needed to know or cared about. Unfortunately, that's all the producers, writers, and director cared about as well and so we got stuck with a complete clunker that could only appeal to a trekkie fanatic. Long, loving shots of the Starship Enterprise. Long, loving shots of everything Star Trek. The movie was nothing but long loving shots and a bald chick in a short skirt. No plot, no wit, no charm, no interplay between Jim, Bones, and Spock. Avoid it like the awful movie it is. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK II - THE WRATH OF KHAN This movie hasn't held up well compared to the other movies. When it first came out, it shined in comparison to the first one. This time the starting point was a TV episode wherein Ricardo Montalban played Kahn, a twenty-first century superman who along with his followers took over the Enterprise briefly but who was then marooned on an earth-like world. In the movie, the planet didn't stay earth-like for long and Kahn gets his revenge, complete with over the top dialogue and acting. Still, it is a good, solid movie and sets the stage for the next Star Trek installment. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK III - THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK This movie is set up by the previous one. Spock is dead, or is he, let's go find out. Those naughty Klingons, led by the Reverend Jim, oops, I mean Christopher Lloyd, interfere and pay the price for their meddling. This movie isn't awful, but it isn't very good. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK IV - THE VOYAGE HOME This is the funny Star Trek movie. It's different as well in that it takes place on the Earth of today with no Starship Enterprise at all. It was destroyed in the last movie and this one takes up right where the last one ended. This time, the crew of the Enterprise must save the whales to save the earth. Set on current day Earth, the movie has a lot of fun with modern day life (it could have been the pilot for Third Rock from the Sun). I missed the space ship battles, Kirk never gets to say "set phasors on stun", and Bones never gets to say "he's dead, Jim". Still, it is Star Trek, and it's the second best movie of the bunch. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK V - THE FINAL FRONTIER This movie didn't make much sense to me when it first came out, and after seeing the beginning of it again recently it still doesn't. It is dark in both tone and look. Spock's mystic half-brother takes control of the Enterprise (I wish I had a nickel for every time that happens in Star Trek) and set's off for the center of the galaxy to find, like, God, or perhaps just a god. The only good part is that they are chased by a couple of Klingon sisters in their bird of prey (that's a spaceship for you uninitiated out there) who are the only ones to provide any delight or characterization - only partly due to their push-up bra's being set to kill. Fortunately the movie didn't live up to it's title, and so you can skip this one and rent the next one in the series instead. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK VI - THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY This is the best of the Star Trek movies (which for the general movie-goer isn't saying much). The Klingon empire suffers catastrophe, and so wants to end hostilities with the Federation. Kirk is assigned to escort the Klingon leader to the peace discussions and then the fun begins. Christopher Plummer gets to do Shakespear as a warmongering Klingon and it works. The whole movie worked for me, and I think it will for you too. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK VII - GENERATIONS Between Star Trek - The Next Generation being a big success and the original actors getting, well, a little old for this sort of thing, this movie is the handoff between the two versions. The problem was afterwards, I would rather have seen more movies with the originals than with the TNG cast. Anyway, we find out the origin of Guinan, Data finds out emotions aren't all their cracked up to be, and the crew of the enterprise must find out what the wacky doctor Soren is up to and put a stop to it. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK VIII -FIRST CONTACT This movie is all TNG characters. The Borg, stalemated by the Federation in the present (the future for us), go back in time to stop the Federation before it gets started (still in the future for us), and so once again the Enterprise and her crew must time travel to earth to save the universe from the bad guys. This movie has some good parts (like when the crew is still on the Enterprise), but they've mined the time travel to earth angle too heavily over the years so their isn't much left. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. STAR TREK IX - INSURRECTION My wife and I finally got around to renting this movie - after re-renting Generations by mistake. Captain Picard and crew investigate why Data ran amok while under someone else's command and don't like the answer enough to go to war over it. This could have been a much better movie if they would have taken just a little more time to explain and develop the plot lines. At 103 minutes long, they had more time to do the job right. Nobody likes a taut movie more than me, but I don't want to keep thinking to myself "what was that all about". Proper pacing was always an issue for Star Trek TNG as a TV show: the worst was the three part season cliffhanger where they found Data's head in San Francisco and then with about five minutes left just deus ex machina'd the ending to get it done on time. This time, rather than rush the ending, they rush the middle. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TERMINATOR This is the movie that made James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, not surprisingly since it is as good as a grade-B science fiction movie can get. A perfect robot soldier comes from the future to kill the mother of the human leader of the resistance against robots. The producer saved money where possible (you see a lot of cheap cars, like Gremlins and Pacers, damaged) and spent it on special effects, which are effective but not lavish. While the movie is violent and not for the squeamish, it has a rich depth and feeling that make it compelling. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THEM! My son and I caught the tail end of this movie over the weekend. I've seen it a bunch of times, usually when home sick or on the weekend. This black and white film is the classic Science Fiction Monster movie. A nuclear test has caused a queen ant to mutate into a giant, and the U.S. Army must track down and destroy her descendants before they multiply and destroy us. This isn't the bumbling army of later movies, but the guys who won WWII. A good mixture of suspense and action, with a respected older scientist and his daughter thrown in for good measure, this film plays it straight, probably because it came before the genre was cliched. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TREMORS I caught "Tremors' the other night on cable (the only benefit to company travel that I can see). It's always nice to see a well balanced movie that knows exactly what it is about and what it wants to do. It has a good cast (not star studded, but appropriate), funny dialogue, plenty of nice touches, and plenty of excitement. This movie is in the tradition of those great old giant monster movies -- Them!, the Blob -- without the wholesale swiping that often happens (there's a fine line between homage and theft). This is not a great movie, but a fun one. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |
| THE AVENGERS I watched this movie in the hotel room in Chicago while the rest of the family frolicked at the pool. I didn't see it from the beginning, but I did watch it to the bitter, and I do mean bitter, end. I loved the original series that this movie was "based" on. Somehow they managed to keep the worst characters intact but completely revamped the relationship between Steed and Mrs. Peel - now they have "romantic tension" like every other movie. The TV Avengers plots were always preposterous in a fun, intelligent way. This plot was preposterous in a dull, stupid way. They couldn't completely crush the life out of it, and the movie did have some good scenes, just enough to keep me watching, but don't you waste your time. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ENEMY AT THE GATES I saw this movie with a couple of buddies after work. The story of a duel between snipers during the Battle of Stalingrad, it offers an unflinching look at the horror of war. While the production is top notch and the beginning promises great things, the movie somehow comes just short of delivering. A love triangle is introduced pointlessly because given the level of gore in this movie, no amount of romance can make it a date movie. The duel is unconnected to the real battle for Stalingrad, which merely serves as a backdrop. The morality of war isn't explored, but only touched on. A sniper's job, unlike an ordinary foot soldier, isn't to kill in the heat of battle, but instead to strike terror into the enemy by essentially killing the defenseless. The movie does a great job of showing just how awful a dictator Stalin was, and in so doing made me ambivalent about the victor of the duel. Oddly enough, I found the German sniper more appealing because of his greater mystery, competence, and most of all because he was portrayed by Ed Harris, a thoroughly likable actor. The feeling the movie left me with was that what could have been a great war movie was only a good one. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE FUGITIVE I love this movie. Great acting, great story, great characters, great movie. That's the formula for success, and this movie has it. Doc Kimble is wrongly convicted of his wife's murder and sets out to prove his innocence and find the real perpetrator, the one-armed man, while being hounded by U.S. Marshal Girard. Words fail me -- see the movie. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS My wife rented this movie the other night, whether on a whim or an attempt to appease me, I don't know. I didn't know what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story of a railroad engineer's attempt to build a bridge in Africa while two lions attacked the camp. It manages to combine tense, funny, and interesting into one package. I can't figure out how they sold this movie to the studio execs as it doesn't fall into any genre - perhaps as a buddy flick but the buddy part is much less than half the movie. This is not a movie for the squeamish, but well worth watching. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. GLADIATOR Wow, what a movie. This is what an epic should be. The battle and fight scenes are outstanding - it does the best job yet at making you feel what it would be like if you were there as a participant, while for many movies you are simply an observer. The settings are also outstanding -- the grandeur and scope of Imperial Rome are magnificantly portrayed. Another rarity is that traditional values are unabashedly promoted and Maximus hasn't have a wiff of anti-hero about him. The movie has edge alright - the bright shining edge of swords, axes, scythes, and spears. While there is violence and gore, they are much less than the title would indicate. The history isn't bad, and the grittiness of life and politics of Rome are conveyed more than adequately. Gladiator is far and away the best movie I've seen in many years. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE LAST ACTION HERO This movie didn't do well at the box office, and the reason is simple. It isn't a Schwarzenegger action flick, it's a parody of the same, and a pretty good one. No doubt most of the people who would have appreciated the parody stayed away and those that went didn't like how it mocked their favorite genre. An action hero jumps off the screen and has a real adventure with a boy whose only escape from a dismal life is watching action movies. It isn't sparing in either the action sequences or the satire. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE LOST WORLD Yes this movie has great special effects, but I can't help having the feeling I saw it all before in Jurassic Park. It has some very tense moments, but you pretty much know who will live and who will die. You just get the feeling that everybody is just going through the motions so that they can all just collect a big fat paycheck at the end of the day. By the end, the storyline gets just a little too preposterous. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. OUT OF SIGHT This movie has two things going for it - a good cast and a good script. The movie revolves around a charming male bank robber and his relationship with a female U.S. Marshal who is trying to bring him in. Like all Elmore Leonard stories, all the characters, even minor ones, are fully realized human beings. While it is a very entertaining movie that is well made, it lacks that special something that makes great movies. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. U-571 This movie was "inspired" by several actions in WWII when German Enigma code machines were recovered from German U-boats. So we have the story of an American sub setting out to capture a disabled German U-boat. There are a lot of twists and turns with plenty of action. U-571 suffers from two things: a few too many preposterous events and minimal characterization. It is an oddity that its one of the few war movies my wife enjoyed more than I. So if you're just in the mood for action and don't know much about WWII, then this is the movie for you. Otherwise, there are much better submarine movies out there (like Das Boot). Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. WATERWORLD Kevin Costner spent a lot of money on "Waterworld" and it pretty much sunk his reputation - with good reason. It is another story of a lone hero in a post holocaust world who helps some innocents -- which has been done before, and done much better ( "The Road Warrior"). There is plenty of action, but nothing we haven't seen before despite a pretty cool catamaran. Dennis Hopper chews the scenery as the villain pretty much the same way he always does -- maybe Kevin should have hired Alan Rickman instead, who was so enjoyably over the top in Robin Hood- the Costner version. This isn't an awful movie, just a waste of time and money. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |
| AMERICAN BEAUTY What an awful movie. It reminded me of Soviet Propaganda only with much better production values. The emptiness of average American life is explored through a disfunctional family with all the insight of a twelve year old. The stock characters interact in stock ways. A man finds liberation in returning to his adolescence after his hibernation as an adult. Whopee. The fact that this movie won critical praise is a testiment to the mental, let alone moral, bankruptcy of current criticism and leftist thought. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. BEING JOHN MALKOVITCH While at bottom this is a classic love triangle movie, it take weirdness to new heights along the way. A man discovers a portal in an office building that allows you to experience what John Malkovitch (yes, the actor) experiences -- and that's only a tiny part of the weirdness of this movie. It's twists and turns are amazing and keep you off balance. While it is definately not for everyone, it's a movie like no other. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. CAST AWAY I actually saw this in the theater with my wife. The movie tells the story of a Chuck, a Fed-Ex trouble shooter who is marooned on a desert isle in the Pacific when the plane he is on crashes. The movie is amazing in many ways, and is a departure in that during the middle of the movie, while Chuck is on the island, there is little dialogue, no background music, and not much plot. Tom Hanks has to carry this picture, and he does. All in all, I would have to rank this movie as a worthy failure. The movie is intended to be about big themes, and about the important understanding Chuck comes to while marooned. The problem is, while watching it I (and I think most people right along with me) don't understand what it is Chuck comes to understand. We don't find out until near the end of the movie, when Chuck tells us about his understanding, which he came to through action that took place off camera. And as every good writing instructor has ever said, show the audience, don't tell the audience. The ending too leaves something to be desired. I understand the point of leaving it open ended -- something which my motivated to closure wife doesn't like -- but again we are being told, not shown. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. COOL WORLD Don't see this movie. Even a Brad Pitt or Kim Basinger fanatic will find nothing to like about this movie. I saw this turkey with my brother when it first came out and we agreed it was the worst movie we had ever seen. My opinion hasn't changed since. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. DELORES CLAIBORN My wife and I watched this again on TV the other night. This is the kind of movie most drama's want to be when they grow up. Kathy Bates plays a tough Maine woman accused of murder. The flashbacks are well done and not confusing, the storyline is believable, and the characters are very well drawn and very well acted. The end provides understanding as well as resolution. No over the top melodrama but plenty of grit. This movie starts slow but draws you into a life of bitter disappointment pretty much for everyone involved. Be warned - this is not a happy feel good movie. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. DUETS My wife and I saw this slight movie while on a Disney Cruise. The intertwined stories of a bunch of losers as they head toward their meeting at a karaoke contest in Nebraska neither engages nor illuminates. No one has a chance to really develop, and the characterizations are stock shallow at best. The movie's climax neither satisfies nor provokes but at least ends it. While I got to see it a in a really cool theater, don't you waste your time. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ENCHANTED APRIL My wife picked this one out and we were both happy with it. After WWI, two unhappy English wives rent an Italian castle for the month of April and find happiness there. I suppose this is an authentic woman buddy picture, where the action is all about relationships (unlike Thelma and Louise, which was just like a male buddy pic except it was cast with a couple of attractive women). The plot isn't much, but the characterization is quite good, and it is, once we get to Italy, both a joy to watch and to experience. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. IMMORTAL BELOVED I rented this movie years ago and really enjoyed it while my wife gave it a lukewarm reception. If you like classical music, or are passingly familiar with it, then this is a movie for you. The story is a biography of Beethoven, told as a mystery because he leaves everything in his will to his "immortal beloved" and his executor tries to figure out just who that is. What makes this movie special is in how it places Beethoven's music into the context of his life, and how it makes his life come alive. After seeing this, he will be more than a name. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. JACKIE BROWN I really liked this movie. Quentin Tarantino does Elmore Leonard, and does him well. While it is a sprawling crime caper movie with a superb cast, the engine that drives the movie is the relationship between Jackie, a world wise flight attendant and Max Cherry, a world wise bail bondsman. No special effects, no teen idols, just a very well done movie that has interesting characters in a dense crime plot that never telegraphs what's going to happen next all the way to the credits. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL My wife and I rented this movie not to long ago, and I enjoyed it more than her. It's a mystery suspense type movie, set in the thirties in a seamy, corrupt Los Angeles. It follows one detective's struggle to find out just who is running the show, and leads through some surprising twists and turns and provides lots of genuine surprise. While the movie is very well done, not everyone likes a film noire, and for those who do, not everything is satisfactorily resolved during the movie. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. NO WAY OUT I first saw "No Way Out" years ago (when it first hit video) when my parents loaned it to us for a night. I didn't know what to expect, especially since my parents recommended it, but boy were we pleasantly surprised. This is a taut thriller with more twists and turns that just keeps going all the way to the end. A young Kevin Costner gives one of his best performances, Sean Young gives about her only good performance, and Gene Hackman is his usual topnotch self. I don't want to give anything away, so all I'll say is that this relies more on mental suspense than physical action. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. PULP FICTION This movie is revered by a lot of people. I'm not one of them. Oh, I grant it has some real brilliance associated with it, but at bottom I just don't care about the characters. Plenty of people will not like the revolting language, extreme violence, and overall sensibility of the movie. The story is basically about, shall we say, the adventures of a couple of hit men. I admire the skill that went into making the movie, and it is a very skillful, well put together movie. But I just didn't care because all the characters were so repugnant. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN I was surprised when my wife rented this movie the other night. It isn't her type of movie, but she said she'd heard how good it was. So we watched it, and she didn't like it because it wasn't her type of movie. While I was impressed by how well the movie was made, how well the little things were done, and how well acted most of it was, this movie showcases Speilberg's flaws. The story of a Ranger squad sent to find paratrooper Ryan in the confusing aftermath of D Day and return him to safety after all his brothers have been killed on D Day tries too hard. It suffers from having an overwrought framing introduction/ending set in the current day as a soldier returns to the graveyards of Normandy as homage to the vets who won WWII. The prologue of the invasion itself is good, although it suffers from too much compression - what takes 20 minutes on film took hours in real life. The biggest problems are Speilberg's penchant for pressing your emotional buttons with a sledgehammer, and the recurring theme about the logic of putting many lives on the line for the sake of one. It would have been much better to have left that theme as an implicit one instead of all the dime store philosophizing. In short, it would have been much better to play it as a straight war movie and let the thinking bubble up naturally -- I have little patience with movies that grind my nose in the obvious just in case I missed it. And grind away it did. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION I saw this movie on TV again on a rainy Saturday afternoon and was impressed anew with just how good it is. An unlikely film project about the friendship between two convicted killers in a Maine prison, it examines how they cope with being prisoners. The movie is engrossing, and far from being depressing is uplifting. Just see the movie, it's too hard to describe. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TITANIC At the risk of offending teenage girls out there everywhere, I don't think this is a great movie. Oh, the eye for detail is meticulous and it is a technical filmmaking triumph, but I wasn't the target demographic and so the story line was a bit thin for me. A young turn of the century slowly woman looses her inhibitions as she looses her clothing until naked, she is at last able to choose her own way in the world. Oh yeah, the boat sinks and kills a lot of people in just a horrifying hour or so. So it's a love story that turns into a horror movie that takes far too long to tell (more than three hours). It's also the highest grossing movie of all time, so what do I know. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |
| ANALYZE THIS I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. From the trailers, I thought this was just a cheap rip off of a sub plot in Grosse Point Blank. I'm happy to report that this movie stands on its own two feet as it tells the story of a mafia don and his psyco-therapist. While it won't earn any awards for insight, it will provide plenty of laughs for an evening. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ED WOOD We rented "Ed Wood" the other night. Here is a quirky (shot all in black and white), funny movie that starts slow as you get to know the characters and just gets funnier and funnier as it rolls along. It is the story of Edward D Wood Jr., who is considered Hollywood's worst director. While I thought Johnny Depp at times was imitating Jon Lovitz, the performance of Martin Landau as an old, crotchety Bela Lugosi is outstanding. Despite no special effects and no big stars, this is a movie well worth seeing. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. GROUNDHOG DAY I've seen "Groundhog Day" several times over the years since it's release and it is still one of my favorites. A simple premise - what would you do if you had to live the same day over and over, and no matter what happened, you started over again - is the driving force of this movie. Bill Murray, in his best, most restrained movie performance, discovers what really matters. This movie is funny, touching, and inspiring. Best of all, no groundhogs were hurt or mistreated in the making of this picture. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. ONE FINE DAY This romantic comedy profiles the day when two people start out hating each other but end up - you guessed it - in love. The movie doesn't really have a believable plot but Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney look good and feel good so what the hey. There is plenty of stuff thrown in not because it's believable but because its funny or cute and shows off just what kind of people Michelle and George are playing. The movie is well done and thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you enjoy this kind of movie. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. PATCH ADAMS This is two movies in one - the first a very funny comedy, funny enough that you overlook its hero worship of the title character, the second a very dull drama with no redeeming qualities. Robin Williams once again demonstrates he can be as funny as anybody, but nobody could make the last part of the movie work. The first two thirds asks why doctors can be such egocentric jerks; the final third asks why medical care can't be free. My advice is, go ahead and watch the movie up to the point where Patch shows his home/clinic to his girlfriend, but then stop and rewind the movie and do something else. Do not continue past that point. Don't say I didn't warn you. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. MEET THE PARENTS What starts as a funny movie about a man who meets his girlfriend's parents so he can ask her father permission to marry her soon blows through satire, past farce, and into no longer funny. When the movie sticks to the universal elements of dating and metting parents, it's funny. When it makes the dad into a particularly hard case, it loses its humor. It was one of those movies that I liked the first half much more than the last. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. NOTTING HILL My wife rented this one for us the other night, and I have to admit I was pleasently surprised. I wasn't expecting much, but the movie delivered on both humor and a love story. This is a romantic comedy about a famous American movie star played by Julia Roberts who falls in love with a struggling British bookseller played by Hugh Grant, and wisely concentrates on the bookseller. Hugh does a fine job as a bumbling but nice guy and provides plenty of laughs, while Julia is perfect as a gorgeous movie star who is trapped by her celebrety. A chick flick men will enjoy if they like British humor. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Women might rent this thinking it's a chick flick, but it really is much more than that, it is its own modern Shakespearean play set in his own time. Movies like this always make you wonder why they don't make more movies like this one. This is a fantasy about Shakespeare and how he overcame his writer's block to write Romeo and Juliet. Fun, witty, engaging, this movie helps you overlook its few faults. Best of all for the writers, they could freely borrow some of the greatest lines in English literature and be applauded for it and not condemned for plagiarism. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. THAT THING YOU DO VH1 has been showing this movie a lot recently. Why not - it wears well. The story of four guys from a small town who make it big in rock and roll in the early sixties is fun and engaging. They rise from pizza parlor obscurity to chart toppers by playing their song That Thing You Do over and over. Luckily, it's good enough to hear several times during the movie. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. TIN CUP My wife picked "Tin Cup" up at the video rental store as a chick flick and we were both pleasantly surprised by how much we liked this movie. In fact, if anything it's more a guy movie as it revolves around sports, male buddies, and pursuit of a woman. A good cast, a good story, a satisfying ending -- what more do you want in a movie? While I had trouble getting excited about golf, I know people who do. This is a funny movie, and the best scenes involve the interaction of Costner and his cronies. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. WAKING NED DEVINE We rented this in the foreign section on a lark and were pleasantly surprised. Ned Devine wins the Irish lottery and dies of the shock. Two friends decide the money shouldn't go to waste and try to claim it for themselves (it's what Ned would have wanted, of course). I suppose this is a combination buddy and caper picture, kind of like The Sting, but it's a couple of old buddies and not much of a caper, really. Still, it's a sweet, gentle comedy that's plenty funny. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY I've seen this movie a bunch of times - first in the theater and on TV after that. This movie is the modern romantic comedy - great dialogue, great plot, great humor, and a visual treat as well. Not only is it very funny, but it manages to capture the essence of romance and relationships, as well as allowing the characters to grow and develop in to a more mature understanding of the same. If you somehow managed to miss seeing it, rent it - and if you haven't seen it in awhile, rent it again. Return to The Table of Contents, or return to Reviews, or return to funmurphys.comTM. You choose. |