Tag: 1998

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Movie Review

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – E – Enemy of the State (1998) Movie Review

Director: Tony Scott

Writer: David Marconi (Screenplay)

Starring: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, Regina King, Stuart Wilson, Laura Cayouette, Barry Pepper

Plot: A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime.


Tagline – The only privacy left is inside of your head

Runtime: 2 Hours 12 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fast-Paced Tension Filled Thriller

Story: Enemy of the State starts as a lawyer Robert Dean (Smith) shows off his skills dealing with criminals, he is out shopping for Christmas when he bumps into an old classmate Daniel Zavitz (Lee) who has footage of the NSA and Thomas Reynolds (Voight) murdering a congressman, he is being hunted down for the footage and leaves a cassette with Robert.

With the team believing Robert has the footage, he must go on the run from the team using the satellite system to track him, turning to conspiracy man Edward Lyle (Hackman) with any chance of escaping the man hunt.

Thoughts on Enemy of the States

Characters – Robert Dean is an labour lawyer who knows how to get the cases closed at all times, he has been working on his latest case which has seen a gangster coming after him, he has been unfaithful in the past, but has managed to clean up his act, while still working with the lady he had an affair with. Robert does become a target by the NSA who target him after they start to cover up a murder which will expose a big plan, where he must work to stay ahead of them and figure out why they are after him, learning to go under the radar. Edward Lyle is the conspiracy theorist that has been living off the radar that reluctantly helps Robert, knowing how much trouble he has gotten himself in. Thomas Reynolds is the man pushing for the surveillance system being used, he wants the win the votes, which means getting rid of the problems that were against it, which means he is running the operation to keep things under cover. Rachel is the source for Robert, though she does have a past with from their previous relationship, there working relationship is always going to be difficult, she sees her life spiral out of control too.

Performances – Will Smith is wonderful in this role, he showed us a much more mature performance than we are used to after the fun performances he did before. Gene Hackman is great to watch too, you completely agree with his mindset through the film, while Jon Voight will always make for a great villain. We have such a big cast in this film, which sees all the actors performing strong through the film, which could be considered an early role for most of them.

Story – The story here follows a man who’s live is turned upside down when he gets targeted by the NSA who believe he has evidence which could ruin a bill being put into place by congress. This story does focus on the idea that the country wants to use surveillance to watch over the people for the greater good, while arguing where the lines could be drawn about privacy. We do see how quickly Robert has his life taken apart and how is almost feels too easy to make happen. This is a fast-paced story which might have become something that has dated because the surveillance world is now here and the warnings are here for the characters to get through.

Action – The action here is mostly filled with chases sequences that are entertaining to watch and show how the cameras keep everything on edge.

Settings – The film is set mostly in the big cities, showing they would have an almost endless amounts of cameras watching over everybody.


Scene of the Movie – You made a phone call!

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The end is slightly ridiculous.

Final Thoughts – This is a great action thriller that keeps the pace flowing showing just how the surveillance world has evolved through the years with wonderful performances throughout.

Overall: Great Action Thriller

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Movie Review

Ground Control (1998)

Director: Richard Howard

Writer: Mark Shepherd, Robert Moreland (Screenplay) Talaat Captan, Robert Moreland (Story)

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Bruce McGill, Kristy Swanson, Robert Sean Leonard, Kelly McGillis, Margaret Cho, Ruben Paul

Plot: A disgraced former air traffic controller is called back into service when the airport’s traffic control system malfunctions.


Tagline – No Radar. No Contact. No Control.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Smart Thriller

Story: Ground Control starts as air traffic controller Jack Harris (Sutherland) loses one of his planes in an accident, with nothing being his own fault. Jack is out the game working on developing a video game in air traffic controlling when his friend T.C. Bryant (McGill) comes to him in need of help because of the workload thrown upon his team.

When Jack reluctant agrees to work for one night, he must face his past, even with hot shot new trafficker Cruise (Leonard) not wanting to work with him and rookie Julie (Swanson) willing to learn off Jack.

Thoughts on Ground Control

Characters – Jack Harris was once one of the best air traffic controllers in the business, he does suffer the nightmare of all the air traffic controllers have, losing a plane, turning to the drink to blame himself for what happened. He has turned to designing video games, but it talked into return on a business night, where he must finally face his own past and deal with the pressure once again. T.C Bryant is the friend of Jack’s who has turned to him for help deal with the added pressure piled onto him, he controls the team with his work, which sees him showing off his micromanagement skills. Julie is the rookie on her first night in the team, nervous at the start, Jack offers to help her, while Cruise is willing to put her under pressure. Cruise is the hot shot that gets through the day with his abilities that could make him the best in the business, his attitude has been the one thing that has always held him back, where he is the closest to a villain we have in this film.

Performances – Kiefer Sutherland was a strange choice for this role, when it comes to being in the controller persons, he is great to watch, but when it comes to the unsure nervous filled with regret side of the character he does seem slightly miscast. Bruce McGill, Kristy Swanson and Robert Sean Leonard are all great to watch in their roles in the film.

Story – The story here follows one night in an air traffic control station which has had increased number of flights thrown onto them and the pressure forces the boss to turn to his old colleague to help even though he has been battling his own problems. This is a story that does come from a strange angle because instead of doing anything glorified or over the top, it simply just looks to focus on the pressure these teams will be facing while working on daily basis. We do have the incidents that will show how calm they need to be and how easily they can work to solve the problems they face and by the end you will find yourself gripped to what is happening.

Action/Adventure – The action involved in the film is mostly off camera, it follows what could happen with the planes during difficult decisions, while it does have an adventure tone through how Jack wants to overcome his problems.

Settings – The film is set within the air traffic control station which shows us how close the team must work together for when the pressure grows.


Scene of the Movie – The last plane to land, it is an intense scene.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Sutherland doesn’t seem to fit the nervous unsure figure.

Final Thoughts – This is a tidy thriller that does keep us guessing just to what will happen next with the pressure being piled upon the team, it does keep everything feeling realistic too by only showing the team at work.

Overall: Air Traffic Thriller.

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Movie Review

Point Last Seen (1998)

Director: Elodie Keene

Writer: Ronni Kern (Teleplay) Hannah Nyala (Book)

Starring: Linda Hamilton, Kevin Kilner, Sam Hennings, Kieren Van Den Blink, Mary Kay Place, Kory Thompson, Holly Bishop, Dana Reilly

 

Plot: Fact-based story about a tracker who searches for a little girl who was lost in the desert, but suffers internally because her own children were kidnapped by her ex-husband.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Standard TV Movie

 

Story: Point Last Seen starts by warning us that this is based on actual events. We meet Rachel (Hamilton) and Frank (Hennings) who get a visit from local sheriff who needs Rachel’s help tracking a missing little girl called Mandy. Rachel has been dealing with her own problems when her husband Kevin (Kilner) has kidnapped her own children and they have been missing for over a week.

We watch how Rachel starts her tracking while we learn how she became an expert tracker because of her abusive husband. The film continues to flick between the two timelines showing just how desperate Rachel situations are becoming.

Point Last Seen really takes a concept which could actually very exciting and makes it very slow moving and rather dull. We don’t need narration through the whole film while we watch Rachel walk around the desert. This really is one of those films that you see was made for TV and think, ‘yep 100% TV movie’. I understand how it is meant to be set on real events but a little imagination could have made it more interesting. In the end this really does come off badly with little positive about it. (2/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Linda Hamilton: Rachel Harrison is an expert tracker who gets called upon to find a missing girl all while battling her own personally problems where her own children have been taken by her abusive ex-husband. Linda doesn’t show all her skills in this film and ends up just mailing it in. (2/10)

 

Support Cast: Point Last Seen has a supporting cast that turn up through the film either in the flashbacks or the investigation but none of them are that interesting.

 

Director Review: Elodie Keene – Elodie does manage to make an easy to watch TV movie but I don’t see much of a career in feature films. (2/10)

 

Drama: Point Last Seen is one of the slow moving dramas that all end up make this hard to watch. (3/10)

Settings: Point Last Seen uses the settings very well to make the idea work but really could have been any desert. (2/10)

Suggestion: Point Last Seen is one to miss, it is too slow to really enjoy. (Miss It)

 

Best Part: Hard to find one.

Worst Part: Too dull.

 

Believability: Based on actual events. (8/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

 

Overall: Point Last Seen could easily have just be an episode in a television series rather than a full film.

Rating 20

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Movie Review

Deep Rising (1998)

Director: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald, Kevin J O’Connor, Wes Studi, Derrick O’Connor, Jason Flemyng, Cliff Curtis, Clifton Powell, Trevor Goddard, Djimon Hounsou, Una Damon, Clint Curtis

Starting out on a luxury cruise ships maiden voyage owner Simon Canton (Anthony Heald) has a celebration with guests including Captain Atherton (Derrick O’Connor) and jewel thief Trillian St. James (Famke Janssen). After stopping her stealing the jewels they lock her in a storage cupboard until they reach the next port. Something then attacks the ship and we are left to wonder what has happened.

Next we meet John Finnegan (Treat Williams) a boat for hire who takes any job for the right money and his two workers Joey (Kevin J O’Connor) and Leila (Una Damon). The have been paid by Hanover (Wes Studi) and his mercenaries Mulligan (Jason Flemyng), Mamooli (Cliff Curtis) Mason (Clifton Powell) T.Ray (Trevor Goddard) Vivo (Djimon Hounsou) and Billy (Clint Curtis) a truly international group from all corners of the Earth. They have paid to be taken to the middle of nowhere with a large amount of weapons.

Upon arriving at the destination which is the cruise ship which they are due to hijack they find the ship abandoned. With the ship they arrived on damaged they must search the abandoned ship for tools to fix theirs or a way to get the cruise ship moving again. While searching they find Captain Artherton, Simon and Trillian but they start hearing noises from the creature that seems to have attacked the ship. How will our heroes get out of this one?

This action horror is Stephen Sommers first go at the action genre and he has a very simple idea to work with a group of people on a boat in the middle of ocean. It has a atmosphere which Aliens created not to the same level of tension tho. The dialog is tongue in check with lots of one liners to cover how serious the situation is actually meant to be which makes the film enjoyable because as a stand alone horror this film would really fail.

If you enjoyed Stephen Sommers other movies you will enjoy this and he creates very similar characters and like using his relecutant heroes with almost comic relief side kicks. Also you see some of the creation of The Mummy visual effects with some of the death scenes.

My overall Rating a very enjoyable 86%

Categories
Movie Review

Armageddon (1998)

Directed by Michael Bay

Written by J.J Abrams

Starring: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Steve Buscemi, William Fichtner, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, Ken Campbell, Jessica Steen, Keith David, Chris Ellis, Jason Issacs

this movie is about an Asteroid the size of Texas coming to collide with Earth. This is an all out action blockbuster.

Starting with a normal day in New York city only for small asteroid pieces come crashing down destroying buildings having people running scared.

NASA later discover the asteroid the global killer coming towards Earth, so with all the resources they set out to find the best way to solve this rather large problem. lead by Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) and some of the smartest people on Earth, the best option is to land and drill into the asteroid and planet a nuclear bomb, simple. Now they find the best driller on Earth.

Meet Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) and his crew Chick (Will Patton) Rock hound (Steve Buscemi) Oscar (Owen Wilson) Bear (Michael Clarke Duncan) Max (Ken Campbell) and finally AJ (Ben Affleck) who is secretly seeing Harry daughter Grace (Liv Tyler). These men are chosen to go into space with astronauts Colonel Willie Sharpe (William Fitchner) and Co-Pilot Jennifer Watts. now with a montage we see the astronauts training and their last night on Earth.

Having to Dock with Russian space station and meeting Lev Andropov (Peter Stormore) we get another action scene before they go off into there main mission.

Brucie shines in the lead role, billy bob is great as the grounded determined head of NASA. Steve Buscemi as rock hound steals nearly every scene he is in. Mr Bay delivers a masterpiece in action movies. filled with happiness and laughter, but this will leave most people in tears at the end with one of the saddest endings there is out there. But it America that’s wins or becomes the hero nation as it often becomes over these end of the world movies.

Overall this movie gets a solid 96%