Enemy of the State, 1998

Enemy of the State, 1998
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Will Smith, Lisa Bonet, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Gabriel Bryne

Stage: Home TV selection, late Sunday night


Enemy in short: Robert Dean is a mild-mannered lawyer who works in Washington D.C. He is on the trail of a kingpin named Pintero. Meanwhile, a politician named Thomas Reynolds is negotiating with Congressman Phillip Hammersley about a new surveillance system with satellites. But, Hammersley declines, that is when Reynolds had Hammersley killed, but this murder was caught on tape, and this person was being chased by Reynolds' team of NSA agents, the guy must ditch the tape, so he plants it on Dean (unbeknownst to Dean). Then, the NSA decides to get into Dean's life. That is when Dean's life began to fall apart all around him, with his wife and job both gone. Dean wants to find out what is going on. Then, he meets a man named "Brill" who tells him that Dean has something that the government wants. That is when Dean and Brill formulate a plan to get Dean's life back and turn the Tables on Reynolds. 


Preps: Seen this already, however a loooong time ago. Still, seeing Will Smith normally is a good decision on any point of the day or week. 


Reality: The subject now is the lawyer, being haunted by different parties. It is a good hop into the history, taken that in that time they didn't have decent mobile phones, following devices, etc. However, I would assume it is the best there was in stock in 1998. Therefore, for that time, the movie is a really upgraded one, with the latest tech breaches.

Will Smith is brilliant in the victim's role. I adore watching him playing a smart ass. Still he has a strong, yet fragile figure, trying to avoid the villains and solve the puzzle. The side story with his wife is just a trigger, making this more exciting and the viewer curious what is going to happen.
The cast in complete is a good one. Finding Bonet Lisa is somehow surprising, because we were used of her from Cosby Show. But the others are natural born action actors, we are used seeing them in some kind of conspiracy type of movies.

All in all, good action, good representation of what could happen to every person if someone high enough should want to frame someone. The government and democracy don't work in these cases and you are left to your own surviving skills. At the end it's the higher bidder for your life, in terms of money, that will do the trick. I would see this piece as the pre-inspiration for many action thriller movies that followed, like MI2, Matrix.
The point would be that we aren't important enough to count if someone from state wants us dead. Noone will hear our voice, noone will help us. The other point would be what kind of society are we turning ourselves into - being wired, followed, giving our information out for free and open so everyone can follow. I would see this piece as some kind of prophecy. Although I remember when I saw this piece at the movies in 1998, I thought it was a bit of a science fiction. Noone should have this kind of power. This is a good movie for a good action fright.


My personal rating: 7,0 (solid action piece, filled with anger, and also some funny parts that make you think about Will Smith back when he was at his uncle on Bel Air).


Enemy of the State on IMDB

Hush, 1998

Hush, 1998
Director: Jonathan Darby
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, Johnathon Schaech


Stage: Home theatre, Sunday night


Hush in short: Helen is the young girlfriend of good-looking Jackson Baring. When Helen gets pregnant and marries Jackson, they decide to move to his hometown, Kilronan, and have a baby there. But his mother Martha, who lives there, starts to do weird things, and obviously she's not too friendly to Helen.



Preps: Gwyneth, mmmm. Need to see it, not aware of the movie or the entities it has or sets. Therefore, a blind walk in the park it is.


Reality: Well, it is hard to become a fan of this movie. It is a mixture of a really bad teenage movie on the topic of bad mothers and something that remotely resembles Single White Female or the Roomate, however, from a perspective of a mother that has a mixture of complexes and a husband, that doesn't really have Oedipus complex, but is nearly there.
It could be really a good piece, but the delivery is a disaster. Since I am a huge fan of Paltrow, I wanted to see it, still it lead me to a huge dissappointment. The act of Lange should also be better, they somehow don't seem to connect in the negative way, as they should, the stepdaughter and mother. They are supposed to express hatred towards each other, but they are cool as ice.
I don't really get where the director was leading to, but I was eager to know how far the mother will go and what is the story behind. You always know there is a story behind the scenes, the one you get to know in the process or somewhere by the end. The Oedipus complex is broken just at the end, as the truth reveals and the mother is left alone. However, at this point I should feel hate towards her, not sadness and some sort of compassion. Brings out the topic from before – what was the director thinking?

The movie is fairly old and I get that also in 1998 they didn't have special effects or something. Still, the movie feels like being dragged from a decade before it was actually made. The scenery, the photography, the costumography, music.. obsolete. The way of acting.. naive and obsolete. I didn't like it and it didn't make me anxious for more. The only thing that provoked in me, and that might be the only good thing about this movie, is curiosity. I wanted to know the story and it kept me alive until the end.

So watch it, if you are a fan of the main cast. Otherwise, a waste of energy.


My personal rating: 4,0 (well, if I had to choose, I wouldn't take the second look at this piece. It is made as a TV movie and I am not surprised it never appeared before in my radar. Don't waste your time.)


Hush on IMDB

Shakespeare in love, 1998

Shakespeare in Love, 1998
Director: John Madden,
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench



Stage: Home theatre, late Saturday night.


Shakespeare in short; Will Shakespeare is a known but struggling poet, playwright and actor who not only has sold his next play to both Philip Henslow and Richard Burbidge but now faces a far more difficult problem: he is bereft of ideas and has yet to begin writing. He is in search of his muse, the woman who will inspire him but all attempts fail him until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps. She loves the theatre and would like nothing more than to take to the stage but is forbidden from doing so as only men can be actors. She is also a great admirer of Shakespeare's works. Dressing as a man and going by the name of Thomas Kent, she auditions and is ideal for a part in his next play. Shakespeare soon see through her disguise and they begin a love affair, one they know cannot end happily for them as he is already married and she has been promised to the dour Lord Wessex. As the company rehearses his new play.


Preps: This is the oscar winner in huge sense. Took 7 statues and went to bed afterwards. One of the finests crew in terms of cast. One of the largest themes. MMMMMMMM. A swell selection on any night.


Reality: This is when too much poetry is turned into a poetic movie. I adore Shakespeare in whole, which means I have read virtually everything several times and know his words by heart. However, I am aware how many people there are with mere respect to the name (personal name) and none so ever knowledge about his work. Therefore it's a great challenge to put the poetry into a movie genre, yet alone to put it into a script.
The cast is amazing. Paltrow is amazing, the same goes for Wilkinson and Fiennes. Dench doesn't surprise me, because I am her fan anyway and know she's a great actor, even without the ironic black humour touch she has here. I believe those roles suit her well, however she exceeds any expectations here and goes beyond excellent.
The costumes /costumography is worth more than mentioning. They did an exquisite job with the roles and the wardrobe for them. Also, the music more than suits the suite chosen for each section of the movie. Scenography, applause. The scenes are filmed on a square that looks just like you would be there. The language spoken, also. For a fan of Shakespeare, this might be a kind of an insult, however, it is a well and carefully chosen language and the script, suitable for a movie, therefore I am more than satisfied and I enjoy the scenes, especially when the two lovers express love to each other thru rhymes.
There is a reason, why some movies get the awards, however in some cases you are awkwardly surprised, like in this year, 2012. Well, Shakespeare gets what he deserves. The main flow and the story revolves around love, obviously. You get a glimpse of Shakespeare's life and you like the man for his looks and words. Obviously charm. I wonder if the real guy really posessed it. Usually great artists are only a prism through which their heart is revealed (through their work and not as persons). The love he has is forbidden, and vice versa. Seems that the story of Romeo and Juliet gets inspiration along the way, with the development in real life, the story is written. Awfully romantic :) I just love it. The spirit you get from the two and the desperation in terms of getting to know one's duty and the need to follow your heart as opposed to what the queen told you to.. it's breathtaking and gets a tear or two from my heart as well.




My personal rating: 8,0 (my genre, my poems, my kind of a movie to breathe through any night. Love it. )


Shakespeare on IMDB

Armageddon, 1998

Armageddon, 1998 

Director: Michael Bay 
Cast: Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck

Stage: Home TV selection, a holiday day

Armageddon in short: It is just another day at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a few astronauts were repairing a satellite until, out of nowhere, a series of asteroids came crashing into the shuttle, destroying it. These asteroids also decimated New York soon thereafter. Then, NASA discovered that there is an asteroid roughly the size of Texas heading towards the Earth, and when it does hit the Earth, the planet itself and all of its inhabitants will be obliterated, worse, the asteroid will hit the Earth in 18 days. Unfortunately, NASA's plans to destroy the asteroid are irrelevant. That is when the U.S. military decides to use a nuclear warhead to blow the asteroid to pieces. Then, scientists decide to blow the asteroid with the warhead inside the asteroid itself. The only man to do it, is an oil driller named Harry Stamper and his group of misfit drillers and geologists. As he and his drill team prepare for space excavation... 



 Preps: Bruce per se. Don't need to say more. There is energy in the piece by default if you know he's in. Something he changed with Die Hard and let the trace in our hearts. Plus, superb cast. Have seen this several times and am aware of its faults. However, no action like saving the world, that can brighten my evening. 



  Reality: Storyline is similar to tons of pieces on the topic. Something is flying towards Earth and it will cause a great crash, up to the extention that it will blow the hell out of us and make us all freeze to death, if we somehow survive the crashing. Now, obviously you know that US has a backup plan and yes, Bruce is the man to save the world. Drilling oil, this is the US back up plan. Now, as we have seen Die Hard already, we know he can save the world and I believe the average viewer doesn't have anything against it. The crew, the training, preps, everything is upside down, but the curiosity speeds up as the movie delivers to the very end. Will they make it or die trying :) Another jewel in this piece is the music. Aerosmith gave a good taste to the movie, as well as some other performers. Crash itself and stages before it comes to the crash, are equipped with some nice pieces of instrumental music. Plus, we get to see how Nasa is supposed to work inside out. A special mentioning also goes to the effects of some crashings of the tall buildings and impacts some of the stones that are falling down, are depicted and vividly shown. Some great deeds are shown, as a some token just before they go on the mission. The day when you know you could end it dead and saving the world (which doesn't really bring redemption to your soul given you are dead and cannot inhale the fresh air anymore. Who wants to be a dead hero anyway. However, in this mission it is clearly shown what kind of assignements we sometimes need to cope with, even though we don't like them or accept them truly. Love between his daughter and one of his crew members is shown loveable and a bit naive. Still, it is a perfect role for Liv. I haven't seen her truly in some serious casts (in the sense she fits in the roles of sensitive dames, depressive women, touching spirits, etc. She feels fragile and should cast also in movies that support this. On the other hand, Willis as her dad, is the antipod in every cell he posesses. " I address you as the citizen of humanity", the glorious words of US president before he lets the wild 14 bunch on stage. No doubt, they will succeed. With a bitter taste of some lost souls. But what would a true heroic US movie be without fallen heroes, right;) ?  


My personal rating: 6,0 (solid adventure, no hard feelings when you leave it in the middle to get something from the fridge. On the other hand, Willis rocks the boat as hard as he can to escort you to the end of this piece).


Armageddon on IMDB

Patch Adams, 1998

Patch Adams, 1998
Director: Tom Shadyac
Cast: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter



Stage: Home TV, late night selection


Patch in short: Patch Adams is determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. Unfortunately, the medical and scientific community does not appreciate his methods of healing the sick, while the actual patients, medical professors, and hospital nurses all appreciate the work *he* can do, because they are unable to do it.


Preps: Home, nothing more important to do. I have seen this several times and love Williams in this role


Reality: How much is our life worth to a bunch of degrees in medicine? I mean the board you trust your health to, when you are in the hospital. Do you ever wonder how they are trained and if the right persons got the job? In Slovenia, medical university is one of the most demanding ones (if you dragged a poll of this, you would surely get the feeling it's the most demanding one and not just among those). Compared to an average study (in years), it takes twice the effort, and after that you get a job in a place you never heard of, etc.
Patch Adams sees other alternatives, challenges the ways medicine has always been taught the doctrine itself and the ways to address the patients. He reminds us that the patients are human beings and makes us filled with faith that most of the doctors in the world have seen this and will make it their way.
Enough with vain expectations. The hospital the piece is showing, is a surreality. No way in this world, with the existing politics, bribaries, governments.. this couldn't happen in my opinion, even though I am a strong supporter of all the systems that could work like this. The movie shows the good sides as well as the downsides. It is a good thing it doesn't demolish the image of the existing system, because we need it and I believe it also brings good with all the bad, that is exposed in this piece. Patch Adams challenges everything and almost gets expelled, which leaves the viewer with fulfilled expectations. In sense, that Adams is fighting for a greater cause, for something the complete medical section has forgotten in long years of training. Sometimes people need talk and compassion, instead of high medicine. And if they need high medicine, it should be delivered professionally, which means, with soul. This is a part of training that was left behind because all the obstacles medical world is facing. I believe it's beneficial for both parties to see the piece. The medical staff, as well as the patients. To understand and maybe build a bridge somewhere inbetween.
The movie will touch your soul and won't leave you empty. It could make you cry, because it gets deep within your soul, especially with the death of the only student that gets in Adams's skin, despite her true dedication. Lovely scenes, lovely scenario. A sight to see, especially if you are in a romantic spirit.


My personal rating: 8,5 (this piece came to my heart every time I watched it. Bullet point. )


Patch Adams on IMDB

Six days, Seven nights, 1998

Six days, seven nights, 1998
Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Harrison Ford, Anne Heche, David Schwimmer



Stage: Home tv selection on a Thursday night.


Six days, seven nights in short: Taking a romantic tropical island week off with her boyfriend, an ambitious, decisive New York girl agrees to help her magazine out by covering a story on a neighbouring island. The only plane available is piloted by a laid-back heavy drinker with whom she shares a mutual dislike. But she has no choice and he can't refuse the money. When the plane crash-lands on an uninhabited island with little chance of rescue they both wish they had made other arrangements - at least to start with.





Preps: Seen this at the movies a loooong time ago. I think once more or twice on TV. I am a huge fan of Harrison Ford. He just feels right. So I guess I cannot miss a mile by choosing this. Tired after gardening and chopping bushes, trees, I need a relaxing movie.


Reality: This is one of romantic comedies where you can easily do something aside and have this for the background. Especially if you have watched this several times, like I have. However, for the first time comers, it is a nice and lovely story about a couple, tearing apart, finding one of the cutest romantic places in the world to break up. Now, the story reveals itself in the shape of a proposal on romantic trip, deeply assasinated by her job, for which she needs to travel away, gets crashed on an island and tries to survive with Harrison Ford in main masculine role.

In a way this is a romantic version of Cast away. You have a three hour misery in shape of Tom Hanks, surviving on a desert island. Here we have a party for two and some romance to go along.
The movie isn't something extremely great, nor it would impress you beyond belief. It's a safe choice for a night of relaxation and non-thinking. Your mindset won't burst into deep philosophy. However, deep inside it hides the eternal question - how much do we appreciate time-being, present time, are we enjoying, or are we working for the time that will never arrive for most of us - so we will die trying, as Bruce Willis would say. Do you make every day count or not? Are you spending your time with the right person or are you wasting your efforts, energy and lifetime with people that don't deserve this?
Another thinking can be given to a woman leading a relationship. This is precisely the image of one, as she runs everything and he is a romantic cissy. I wouldn't expect something else from David Schwimmer, obviously he cannot get out of this Friends role and this is a perfect copy of his role in famous series. As per Anne Heche, I love her small energy burst and her cast. I think she did a good job, however, I didn't see real romance between the main characters, in this sense Ford and Heche. I can easily picture her as the main copy and editor for a magazine of women, however, she cannot really do romantic scenes, like these in this piece. I don't buy it.
The movie is filled with general sayings and no, it will not thrill you. But if your goal is to relax and not think of your job, angry partner, sassy kids, mean neighbours, it will do its job perfectly.



My personal rating: 5,0 (a decent romantic comedy, without getting a mile beyond average).


Six Days on IMDB

The Sphere, 1998

The Sphere, 1998
Director: Barry Levinson
Cast: Dustin Hoffmann, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson



Stage: Home theatre, TV selection on a fine Sunday night


The Sphere in short: 1000 feet below the ocean, navy divers discover an object half-a-mile long. A crack team of scientists are deployed to the site in Deepsea Habitats. What they find boggles the mind as they discover a perfect metal sphere. What is the secret behind the sphere? Will they survive the mysterious 'manifestations'? Who or what is creating these? They may never live to find out.


Preps: I have seen this a few times. Every time it gives me shivers. A splendid piece.


Reality: One of last decade's better pieces on extraterrestrial life, time journeys, subconscious fear of machines that can manipulate our mind, journey with scientists (that most of us only dream of).. well, this piece does have a lot of things going for him. In addition, it has a fabulous act, witty scenes and creative dialogues. A good music accompanying most of dreadful and scary scenes. A lot of logic you cannot convey and for this reason you just accept the facts as the scientists introduce them.

Speaking with Jerry, speaking with your subconscious, can be freaky. Being online with an alien mind, speaking to it through the computer, going into spheres, coming out as a complete wacko.. the line doesn't end. And you are thrown into a river that.

"I make a journey. You make a journey. We make a journey together." One of the things that Jerry makes clear to the crew. The point where you wonder if you are speaking to a child or is the child underestimating the speaking party on the deck. He's happy, one of the things that psychologist doesn't appreciate (Dustin Hoffmann in one of his good roles). What if the speaker becomes angry? Well, we see this happen in many different aspects. A lot of weird things happen on the deck, all of them trying to give us the lesson that sometimes we shouldn't poke our nose where it doesn't belong. But this is also the reason we are making progress in many fields, science included. If we all minded our own business, we couldn't progress anywhere. Here the team is prosecuted for doing so and biting their own meat from their bodies (between the members) as they are trying to fight the freaky opponent. How to fight something you don't know or aren't aware of how to fight? Learn in the movie. And find some great scenes along the way, like the one with jello fish and dying because of it.



My personal rate: 8,0 ( You will love the fright you will get several times along the way. And the psychological effect of pure deduction procedures done by brilliant mathematician. A lot of things to find in the piece for you. If you are a sci-fi fan, don't miss it!)


The Sphere on IMDB

The Horse Whisperer, 1998

The Horse Whisperer, 1998
Director: Robert Redford
Cast: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neil





Stage: Home TV selection on a good Sunday night


The horse whisperer in short: A teenage girl riding a horse is hit by a truck. To help heal her troubled/injured daughter, and horse, the mother takes them to Montana to recuperate at the ranch of a 'horse whisperer', a horse healer of mystical talents. The mother proceeds to fall in love with him, as well.


Preps: I have seen this several times. A beautiful piece, therefore I watch it for the soul reasons (as well as blog reasons). And I expect to be dazzled as always.



Reality: Amazing, beautiful piece on love towards animals. Living on a farm, living somewhere where time is a constant and not a dynamical component. The plot is fairly simple - the only way to recover a car injury (accident) is to get away from everything and try to figure it out. The same goes for animals than it goes for persons - in this case a married mum with her daughter.

The scenery is marvellous, the dialogues are good (solid). Considering that the director is the main act (I normally make fun out of those movies because you cannot be in god's role and play god's father. In other sense, you cannot be the main cast and director in my opinion). Nevertheless, this piece shows it can be done - maybe because of the crew, the genre, I don't know why in perticular. However, this drama/romance is pretty genuine and it touches your heart. Especially if you are fond of animals and feel sorry for the psychologically deluted ones, the ones that need special care, affection, attention. Those are also the ones this piece is targeted to. You will love the nature and sceneries chosen for the dialogues. The irony in bringing a city girl in the nature or on to the farm, makes place for funny scenes. And makes place for jokes you couldn't place on another location/time/space.

The mere idea of whispering to the horses seems funny until you see it for real. Some truly amazing footage of horses and the process of curement. A cover story for the relationship story that is really happening from behind (escape from everyday normal city life; parents never being present; time flying away differently on the farm as in real life for the people that are stealing the nature moments to fly away to their imagination). There are many stories that could reveal themselves, however they remain in cocoon of director's imagination.

A nice piece to have on a lovely evening. Nothing more, nothing less. I love the animal feeling, I adore the music and the scenery. I just love the idea of escaping in the nature and living there without the pressure of everyday life. I am sure that the most audience of this movie will appreciate the last few lines I have been writing. The escape is what we all want. The question is, do we have the courage.




My personal rate: 8,0 (beautiful piece, it will fill your soul and heart. Especially if you are fond of horses)

Horse whisperer on IMDB

Deep Impact, 1998

Deep Impact, 1998
Director: Mimi Leder
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Elijah Wood


Stage: Home theatre, late TV selection

Deep Impact in short: A teenage astronomer and his teacher discover an object amongst the stars at night. Little do they know that it's a comet on a direct collision course for earth. After the teacher dies in a car crash trying to report his findings the President announces the comet's existence. He also states that there is no need to panic, because NASA is going to send astronauts on the space mission, Messiah. Their mission is to destroy the comet before it gets too close to the earth. When Messiah backfires, the President announces that special caves will have to be built, and the government will have to have a lottery-of-fate to randomly select 800,000 ordinary American citizens to go along with 200,000 scientists, soldiers, and other officials. These 1,000,000 people will be set aside to save the population from extinction when the comet hits.

Preps: Hm, isn't this one of the "The earth will be destroyed unless" clones? I am not sure.


Reality: Yep, I am right. I remember now, when the plot comes thru the first scenes. I have seen this one before. It's a special genre, if it would exist for real, several very notorious movies would fit into this. Because they all describe the same thing, fear of all fears. This time not in shape of alien, but in shape of a comet (meteor), usually found by one weird scientist, then making all the world upside down. The first and maybe the one with most lovely actors, in this sense, would be Armageddon, surprisingly enough made in the same year. Who copied from who, remains the question. Because Deep Impact is virtually very similar to Armageddon or vice versa. But doesn't have the famous cast as the Armageddon has. Nevertheless, Deep Impact in comparison, holds a few plus points - for instance: the stories before the comet appears and the parallel stories about relationships, that go very deep (in comparison with Willis's ship). Surprise from viewer's perspective, and refreshing, anyway. In some deep imagination I would guess that most of the viewers just are anxious to see the impact or the rescue mission itself and the vaporization. They don't really care what the relationships between people in this story are. Just the mere wolfy observation of the impact would be enough. And can drive powerful enough.
In this case, you are dragged into various relationships and traumas the people going on the mission (or reporting about it) are having from the past. And the way some of it is resolved up to a point. Tea Leoni seems to have the last quote here, but I would rather not spend any money on trying to make journalist profession not a voulter one. It is such and any time spent on persuasing audience it isn't so, is a long gone investment. Beside the point, we are talking about extinction and therefore it doesn't fit into yellow journalism anyway. Why bring up the honour and pride (or commitment to the public must know dogma)?

In any case, case closed at the end of the day, humankind solved, heroes (again US and Russian - how predictable :( No extra adventure or fun here.


My personal rating: 4,0 (some entertainment and a good start. Also like the side part of the movie, when you wipe the impact out :)

Deep Impact on IMDB

Meet Joe Black, 1998

Meet Joe Black, 1998
Director: Martin Brest
Cast: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani



Stage: Home TV selection

Joe Black in short: Bill Parrish, media tycoon, loving father and still a human being, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. One morning, he is contacted by the Inevitable - by hallucination, as he thinks. Later, Death itself enters his home and his life, personified in a man's body: Joe Black has arrived. His intention was to take Bill with him, but accidentally, Joe's former host and Bills beautiful daughter Susan have already met. Joe begins to develop certain interest in life on earth as well as in Susan, who has no clue who she's flirting with.


Preps: Good cast, good storyline, good time to see this again.

Reality: One of the finest stories in the last decade. How to face the devil or how to accept you are dying - what to do next, what to do in the days that are left. Who to tell and in what way. And what to do if the devil is living with you in your last few days and just happens to flirt with your daughter.

Some of the questions, the movie is trying to answer. In my head, the most important one is how to indulge the days that are left and what to do with the remaining time. Do you actually look behind and try to improve some unjustice you might have done.. or do you act as if nothing happened, like Bill doesn't in this piece. The viewer is left with truly funny scenes of trying to implement the devil in god's body into his family, with some obscene lies that are put together because the identity of the devil must remain unknown, yet a complete stranger is walking through the family bedrooms and bad enough, flirting with the only child (that is unfortunately, up to the third of the movie, already taken by another man).

Now, the development between the beauty and the beast in the disguise is extremely interesting, the dialogues are well put together and also executed - you even get the feeling that Death /or Devil, you might put it as you wish, is a good man, that causes also redemption and forgives the sins you might have done. And cures /or puts people to the eternal rest upon their wish.

How deep is the circle we are living in and what is beyond -something to be terrified about or something to look forward to? This movie implies there is nothing to be afraid of, therefore it also implies the existance of heaven, God, Death also in impersonated figure and also, room for improvement, while you are still on Earth, living and breathing. The love game between Joe and Susan seems real, but may be hard to take. Hopkins cast is brilliant, firm figure of the power that is not yet willing to go. Yet to God, we must all bend - the movie says so. I remain doubtful. A good piece, but doesn't go hand in hand with my atheistic approach. Or philosophical seeking for the proof of concept.


My personal rating: 7,5 ( a strong piece in making you think about life versus death, things you need to go through before you leave this place. And a solid love story).

Meet Joe Black on IMDB

Practical Magic, 1998

Practical Magic, 1998
Director: Griffin Dunne
Cast: NIcole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing


Practical Magic in Short: Sally and Gillian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a household that was anything but typical--their aunts fed them chocolate cake for breakfast and taught them the uses of practical magic. But the invocation of the Owens' sorcery also carries a price--some call it a curse: the men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Now adult women with very different personalities, the quiet Sally and the fiery Gillian must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the Owens women.


Stage: Home TV selection

Preps: I think I have seen this in the theatres, but didn't like it a lot. Now, as I don't have anything constructive to do and I am a fan of Kidman and Bullock, let's see if I was wrong.


Reality: Well, sometimes you are correct in the first time you decide for something. This is a good example of not really brilliantly thought-through scenario and furthermore, a weak story. Practical magic should offer something more than the series Bewitched, in this sense or in this case it is not so. It is just a filmed version up to some extent, of the named series from 80'ies. Bullock and Kidman are picted as naive, the cast is weak. The fooling around with some magic is somehow cute or romantic in some moments, but nothing more. The curse they are trying to break, is weak and without any real background, therefore I don't buy it.

Apart from this, no really positive feelings. I get bored and despite the fact, that I love watching both ladies, in one hour I get bored to death and switch the channel. Not enough to stimulate my brais at all. So, I don't recommend it.


My personal rating: 2,0 (some cute moments and some practical ideas how to make some things more interesting - or try to pull out some magic).
Practical Magic on IMDB

The negotiator, 1998

The Negotiator, 1998
Director: F. Gary Gray
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse



Short synopsis: In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth


Preps: I have seen this piece one or two times. As one of better movies I have set my eyes on in this genre (negotiations in perticular) - one of the better ones is for sure The phone booth, for instance, or Die Hard trilogy - well, I wanted to see this again.

Stage: Home TV, regular choice of a Friday evening :)

Reality: Again, I find new things about this movie I admire. Samuel L. Jackson is brilliant on his side - there is something that can make his facial expression violent and all seems he can act a true villain if he wants to. It is a masterpiece to create a violent person that the audience loves and this piece, the Negotiator, creates precisely that. We all understand that there was no option than violence in this perticular case, although I would bet that most of the viewers are pacifists by their personal claim.

On the other hand, Spacey act is remarkable, on his own side, a true reconstruction of what a negotiator should do, make, think, act, .. I just adore the dialogue these two have. Filled with black humour, participation from one side or the other, filled with trauma and subconscious thoughts. Also a vivid recreation of what a cop/governmental institution follows, and even though sometimes you believe it's the negotiator that runs the business in such cases, there are often political dilemmas involved and orders from above, that can solve such cases, but with some corps to go along.



My personal rating: 8,0 (A good piece, worth seeing. HIghly recommended. Also, you see the softer side of Jackson, which is also worth your time.)


Negotiator on IMDB