Movie Reviews by the Jeremy Hubble

Fall/Winter 96-97

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Reviews by Jeremy Perkins

Liar Liar
Shine
Empire Strikes Back
Dante's Peak
Star Wars [Special Edition]
Evita
Beavis and Butthead Do America
Mars Attacks
Romeo and Juliet
101 Dalmations
Space Jam
The Mirror Has Two Faces

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Liar Liar (1997)
Rating: 10 out of 10, honest!

This is the funniest movie I've ever seen. (and I don't even like Jim Carrey!)

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Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Rating: May the force be with you: 10 out of 10

The best movie in the Star Wars trilogy.

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Shine (1996)
Rating: Almost a classic: 8 out of 10

It has a great soundtrack, a great actor, and a possibly great plot, complete with a touch of comedy. However, Scott Hicks, can't quite put it all togethor to make a great movie.

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Dante's Peak (1997)
Rating: Watch the town go boom: 8 out of 10

Twister meets Independence Day and Jurassic Park. Yes, it's filled with cliches, down to saving the family dog. The effects were excellent and believable. I really didn't see one that looked fake' (a la the cow in Twister). And for the first part of the movie I was deeply enthralled. However, it looks like Universal rushed just a little too fast to get this one out. The ended just didn't work. How about a little more explanation? Where did all these rescue crews come from? What happened to the Volcano? Was that it, or did was it going to blow again. A little more explanation would go a long way in helping the ending of this one. As for the plot, well, it has twice the plot of Twister, which isn't saying much. Of course, you have your contrived conflict between our hero and his boss, the romantic interlude between the hero and the towns mayor, the quest to save grandma, and the gung-ho hero who messes himself up. As for acting, nobody really caught my attention. I was more interested in watching the volcano blow up. Linda Hamilton seemed the same as in the terminator. Brosnon fit well as a scientist. The kids also did great jobs, and helped give at least some sense of character to the film. Overall, however, this is just special effects disaster film. As such, it delivers exactly what it promises.

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Evita (1996)
Rating: Don't Cry For Me Argentina, I made a decent movie 10 out of 10.

Musicals do great on the stage, but it takes a special talent to get it right on screen. Music Man and Sound of Music worked because they had music as their central theme. You expected a music teacher to break in to song. Others such as Oklahoma and West Side Story had nothing to do with music, and the sudden breaks from dialog to music seemed downright inane. Evita, however, has found a way to successfully overcome the problem - everything is music. The lines of spoken dialog are few and far between, and usually underscored by load cheers or music.

By using music constantly, Evita gives as an overpowering visceral sensation. The entire movie is a big climatic point. You don't have to wait through long lines of dialog to get to the strong musical build up. It is always there. The use of crowds, and further adds to the pageantry of the movie. It's not just a film. It's an event.

The story gives us a semi-accurate snapshot of the short life of Argentina's most famous first lady, Eva Peron (Madonna). Though the movie centers around her, Antonio Banderas (playing the part of Che) steals the show. He appears as a ‘common man' in scene after scene and performs convincingly in each role. He should definitely be considered for an Oscar for this film. Madonna, too, is not half bad. She should feel right at home: the movie is essentially just 20 music videos strong together (but she does manage to remain modestly clothed throughout - that must've been a challenge.)

Jonathan Price, however, left much to be desired in the role of Juan Peron. He was Argentina's most popular president. The ruling party of today, bears his name. It's easy to see how the Argentines could get offended by the movie's portrayal of him as a weakling.

The soundtrack is also impressive, featuring some of the best recordings of the songs. Hopefully, the box office take will be great enough to encourage Lloyd Webber to soon start production of Phantom of the Opera

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Star Wars [special edition] (1997)
Rating: Star Wars. 'nuff said 10 out of 10

Wow! I just felt the chills run down my spine as the music started up and the opening credits flashed up on the screen. These very credits that caused Lucas to leave the directors guild. Probably the most popular film score of all time. This was an event!

What is there to say about Star Wars? The movie was even better than I'd remembered it. The strong moral overtones and adventurous detail have made this one of the most popular films of all time. And with the enhanced sound and visual effects its still better. Not only do the effects add to the power of the story, Lucas' crew has also added extra little bits of humor, in scenes such as the new Jaba the Hutt scene and Han Solo's renegade assault on the storm troupers.

Perhaps my only problem with the movie was the music. At times it sounded a little tinny. Perhaps a new remix and rerecording could have been done to utilize the maximal technology in all areas.

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Beavis and Butthead Do America (1996)
Rating: Why bother? 2 out of 10
Jeremy₂ Review

I never liked the TV show. The movie is even worse. Luckily it was short. The best part was the retro-70s opening credits. After that, there were maybe two funny parts in the whole movie. It ranks right up there with Kazaam as one of the worst of the year.

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Mars Attacks (1996)
Rating: Now that's some fresh beef! 7 out of 10

It almost appears as if Tim Burton was working from the script for Independence Day when filming his sci-fi spoof. There are so many parts that seem to be direct plays on ID4. But then again, both have borrowed heavily from the 50s camp sci-fi films. (Maybe Burton was a little too enthused by "Ed Wood")

Mars Attacks is filled with celebrities, many of whom die by the hands of aliens. It's hard to figure out who will save the day. (Though, the way in which its done is absolutely hilarious.) The computer generated Martians are great. Danny Elfman made a great ‘sci-fi' score. The movie however, gets off to a slow start, and at times seems to get carried away with grossness (But, hey, the "Mars Attacks" cards were banned way back when for their ‘grossness') The final part of the movie is absolutely hilarious, and well worth it.

Internet Movie Database - Official Site

Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
Rating: And Barbra has a big ego 6 out of 10

This movie had so much potential, but it just didn't quite make it. After seeing it, I just longed get hold of the original French work from which it is based. Here, the plot was excellent, but the script could use some heavy work. Furthermore, in the end where Barbra Streisand supposedly becomes ‘glamourous', she doesn't seem to look very much changed at all. (And if anything, looks less attractive than before.) I was really scared thinking the movie might end there. Luckily it didn't. Eventually, it was better, with a great bit of movie in movie humor. But as a whole, Barbra's latest adventures didn't quite make it.

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Willam Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1996)
Rating: Purity in the midst of corruption: 10 out of 10

Claire Danes is reason enough to give this movie a ten. Her performance was absolutely brilliant. Her faint smile shined thorugh the whole movie. In spite of all that passes, she remains in the happy daze of love. Romeo, too, is a step above the world around him. Even though he hangs with crazy scum, he is the kinder gentler man, and the perfect match for the sprite-like Juliet. Their star-crossed love can overcome almost anything.

In this modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's classic, the dialog stays the remains intact. The setting is still [sort of] Verona. But all the other 'unwritten standards' of the Bard's work have changed. This is perhaps one of the beauties of Shakespeare - lack of significant stage instructions. With minimal modification, a completely new and different work could be created, relying on the same plot and story. This movie succeeded brilliantly in movie the classic tail of lovers to the courruption of our times. The setting is no place easily recognizable. This is better. It's not a specific place that is being portrayed, but instead, an amalgamation of the evils of the world. It is against this background that the basic goodness of our heros shine through. Though they are born in the evil world, they try their best to overcome it, and even to help others to achieve the same. They can only hope that their death do really bury their parents' strife.

The cinematography is excellent, and the blending of ‘classical' and ‘modern-rock' music worked excellently in this adaptation. My only qualms was that the scumminess was perhaps a little too carried away (do we really need a drag-queen Mercutio or a tattooed priest) But this made the purity of our protaganists shine through even more. They were really not part of the world in which they live. Juliet, especially stood out. She was often dressed in white, even had angel wings at the costume party. Her face continually held that mystic smile, and the dialog seemed to roll of her with ease. Claire Danes should get an Oscar nod for this one.

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Space Jam (1996)
Jeremy₁ Rating: 9 out of 10
Jeremy₂ Rating: Film worth $3 to see

Recently we've seen a string of horrible basketball flops. In Kazaam, His Shaquness proved to the world that he can't act. Celtic Pride, that Whoopie Goldberg movie, and another forgettable movie all have come and gone. There hasn't been a decent basketball movie since Hoosiers.

Enter Michael Jordan. His airness as Martin the Martian says so convincingly. How is the world's most famous man going to alter the trend? How else? Call upon the world's most famous supporting cast - the Loony Tunes. How can a movie that gives top billing to Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan possibly go wrong? Add Mugsy, Shawn Bradley, Sir Charles, Daffy, Tweety, and host of others and you have the cast of the century.

The plot is simple, but confusing. Basically it ends up with Michael Jordan and the Tunes taking on a team of Morons (that's their planet!) who have stolen the Basketball talents of 5 NBA stars. The 5 intergalatic bad guys are great. You can see some of the original player's characteristics come through. The exploits of the 5 basketball-less NBA stars also adds a comic break to the action throughout.

There are plenty of basketball shots, but this movie is first and foremost a cartoonish comedy. The basketball game is filled with one gag after the other. In the fashion of Roger Rabbit, the Tunes are succesfully mingled with the human actors. Even the fat guy from Jurassic Park adds his own humour in an annoying way. It's a clean movie, suitable for little kids, but adults will love it to.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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101 Dalmations (1996)
Rating: 9 out of 10 - ooh, those puppies are so cute

Mr. Holland's Opus and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure were two of my favorite movies, so when I saw that Stephen Herek had directed this movie (and Michael Kamen had scored it), I immediately had high expectations. The music fits great, the action is smooth. At times, it comes across almost as Babe meets Home Alone. Glenn Close, however, helps to set it apart. She is sooo evil, at times it is almost scary.

It's been so long since I've seen the animated version of this movie, that I can't even begin to compare them. However, my 7 year sister (who watches the animated version continuously) says that the new version is better, so I guess I'll take her word for it. The animal actors are superb. Pongo should be nominated for an Oscar. The human animal interplay works great in the first half of the movie. The second half has some classic moments. However, it does go a little overboard on Home Alone style humor (two bad guys having everything bad happen to them as they are outwhitted by little good guys).

Rating: 9 out of 10 puppies prefer Pongo to Cruella.

Best of 96
(In no particular order, and very subject to change)
Evita - Musical event
Romeo and Juliette - Claire Danes
Emma - Gwynneth Paltro sure can act
The Quest - Van Damme makes a good film
Dragonheart - strong morals, Sean Conney
The Arrival - totally unpredictable plot
Harriet the Spy - great soundtrack, Nickelodeon
Matilda - hillarious, great soundtrack
Independence Day - the biggest hit, needs to be seen on the big screen
Mission: Impossible - really confusing plot, so-so acting, but a great theme song!
The Stupids: Hilarriously Funny and Literal, along with adventurous, great video

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Movie Reviews by the Jeremy Hubble

Fall/Winter 96-97

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