Rodent's Reviews

Nice review I didn't pick the plot as easy as you

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Cheers Nebs! I couldn't help notice them to be honest, there were some faults throughout but the main one just completely threw me at how big it was.

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In the distant future, the world will be covered with water after the ice caps melt and humans will live in a Mad Max Apocalyptic style world, but based on the ocean.
When a young girl appears in the company of a surrogate mother, it's learned that she has a map tattooed on her back. It is said that the map gives directions to a mythical place, unseen by human eye for centuries... a place called Dryland.

When a particular group of pirates called 'Smokers' hear of this map, they make it their mission to capture the child, but while escaping from the attack the child and her surrogate mother end up in the hands of a mysterious sailor known only as The Mariner.
Together they must protect the girl and the map (of course, if it is real), and help a bunch of stranded survivors to avoid the Smokers, and see if this apparent myth known as Dryland actually exists.


Still regarded today as the biggest box office failure of all time, Waterworld is actually a very clever movie, filled with imagination and a rather broad range of acting.

The overall feel of the movie is along the lines of Mad Max, but without the darker more brooding subject matters... instead, Waterworld swaps the darker stuff for more fantastical, even comicbook style adventure and action.

Though at the time, 1995, it cost near $240m to make... in today's money that's near $350m which actually outweighs today's movie budgets by $50m... Waterworld still manages to have a B-Movie feel to it.

The overall world built for and around the movie is still very imaginative though. There are numerous ideas throughout and characters and races of people that were going to be built on by the filmmakers, sadly though, in-fighting between cast, crew and studios cut short a lot of the production... leaving the finished product feeling slightly void of any real history or quantity.
There is an element of history there, just not as much as there could have been.

The film does utilise humour though, and does it in a very, very subtle way. Some of it is in jokes too that mainly sailors will spot but there's a number of scenes of odd-trio/buddy-movie comedy that shines through between the main trio of actors.


The main problem with the movie is, and this might sound a bit odd, is the imaginative premise: A water world.
The major plot hole is why Dryland is still mythical after centuries and centuries of people floating around on the ocean.
It doesn't quite work in the grande scheme of things.


The acting though is really good for a movie of its type.
Kevin Costner as The Mariner is brilliantly quiet and grumpy. He's also incredibly tough and carries the burden of secrecy perfectly. There's more to Costner than meets the eye, not just in the character, but in the actor too.
Tina Majorino is also on top form as the tattoed girl Enola. Majorino is extremely annoying to Costner's tough Mariner, eventually finding a common ground with him and becoming stalwart buddies.
Jeanne Tripplehorn does an apt job as Enola's surrogate mother, she has an air of toughness and wisdom about her and plays the more motherly and softer scenes perfectly.

The standout role though is Dennis Hopper as The Deacon, the leader of the Smokers. He's very good in the role. Think along the lines of a cross between his role in Land Of The Dead with touches of Frank Booth and King Koopa in Super Mario Bros. and you're getting close. He's also the main actor to give the hits of humour involved throughout the movie.


Now... the action. It's highly charged, contains masses of explosive adventure and the humour involved, though as I said mainly comes from Hopper, lifts the action to greater levels of enjoyment.
Backing up the choreography is some really well rendered and pieced together special effects, and it's mainly practical with only the odd matt-painting and miniature work. Pretty much the whole film is on the ocean too and the technical aspects of this are exceptionally well put together.

I agree, everyone always talks about how bad Waterworld is but I have always found it to be a fun and exciting movie to watch.

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Oh yeah and really great review of American History X, I loved that movie and think that everyone should watch it at least once, now do what I say and bite the curb.

Waterworld was just too farfetched and full of plotholes for me to fully enjoy without going all Mystery Science Theater on it. I still get a kick out of watching Costner "act" and seeing the over-the-top action scenes and acting of Dennis Hopper. It's everything else that I can't really get into.

Waterworld is one of my guilty pleasures I love it

How about a review of The Fifth Element, Rodent? Assuming you haven't already. I've been watching a lot of Bruce Willis movies lately, and that one just popped into my head.

Cheers for the replies guys... Fifth Element is one of my favourites... so here you go...





When an apparently unstoppable force is discovered to be heading toward Earth in the distant future, humanity finds itself looking to an alien race of beings capable of halting this force forever.

But when the plan goes awry, it's down to an alien clone, a priest, a radio host and a taxi driver to save the day.
What awaits them all is a grand explosive adventure that will take them among the stars and into the Galaxy to fight for the human race against not only this evil force, but also a human traitor and another more powerful force of alien beings.


Luc Besson's flick is a bit of a Marmite movie really.
It contains all the right ingredients for a sci-fi action adventure... comedy, explosions, gun fights, great acting, superb action and lashings of effects... but it's Besson's usual stylish take on the story and the overall look of the finished product that puts a few people off.
The highest ratings I've seen for the film were around the 70%-75% region and is classed as a Cult Film by many websites and critics alike.


However, for me, what makes the movie special is the overall finished product... it's campy, hammy even and has masses of original ideas combined seemlessly with existing sci-fi ideas and the overall story and plot are absolutely fantastic.
There's also some extremely well pieced together plot devices and some lovely history going on throughout the film too.
The history in question is within the well rounded backstory of the plot and story and with the characters as well, they're all really well developed and have actually been written rather than just thrown together hurriedly.

Another thing that stands out is the overall colourful and bright costumes and setting of the world that Besson is directing.
Most of it comes from highly camp fashion desinger Jean-Paul Gaultier as costume designer and the artistic talents of Jean-Claude Mezieres and Jean Giraud.
The overall feel of the artistic talent on show can seem a little tongue in cheek sometimes but Besson's direction and the acting involved really give the film its own flavour compared to other sci-fi movies.


The acting is also great.
Bruce Willis as Corben Dallas (taxi driver and ex Marine) is brilliantly put together by Willis. He plays the comedy very subtley and edges more toward the invincible hero of the 80s actioner... but Willis' natural on-screen presence lifts the character brilliantly.

Milla Jovovich as Leeloo (the clone) is on top form though. It's not Jovovich's usual action character really, she's full of humour and has a real personality about her in this movie. As far as the action goes, it's the film that made her career, it's just a shame that since this movie the rest of her actioners have been pretty dull. This is by far her best action character.

Chris Tucker makes a great appearance as Ruby Rhod, radio show extraordinaire. Tucker seems to have been given free reign with the role and it really shows. He's funny, annoying, makes the more serious scenes a bit more light hearted and really nails the role of a sex god with a difference.

Gary Oldman as Mr Zorg is another top performance. He's never actually on-screen at the same time as Willis though, which seems a bit odd that the main antagonist and protagonist never actually meet... but still, Oldman really makes an impression as the greedy, slimy, mildly psychotic yet still likeable bad guy. He's the kind of baddie that you love to love really.

Back up comes in the form of Ian Holm, Brion James, Tommy Tiny Lister, Luke Perry, Tricky and comedian Lee Evans.


As for the action, it's explosive, full of high kicking stunts, lots of gunfire and the budget hasn't been spared on anything really. The CGI effects and occasional wire work also blend in perfectly with the louder action scenes.
It's also very exciting when it gets going and the humour that's laced throughout the film works brilliantly with the camp and colourful characters involved in the various explosions and fist fights.

Very nice review. Welcome back Rodinsky.

the fifth Element

The Fifth Element is a great movie, but I say that about almost anything Milla Jovovich is in..

I really like The Fifth Element due to how goofy, yet sophisticated it is. I'm a sucker for films that show intelligence, but are still comfortable enough to sprinkle some ham and cheese here and there. Makes for great entertainment, in my book.

Love Fifth Element. Made it onto my last top 100 list, somewhere around the 60s/70s I think.

So much for the rest! And yes I would have been pleased had I not decided on my own hiatus for a while.

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Hmmm..... I smell a conspiracy. Did you guys collude with Bumblebee?

Just been talking about this in the Stallone thread... so here's a review.





The town of Garrison, New Jersey, is a town which is basically where most of New York's police officers live. Sheriff Freddy Heflin is the guy who has to police this town.
Heflin is a failed New York cop, he's partially deaf and not really very bright... but he's trying, hard working and friendly but still, isn't exactly the role model cop that he would want to be. He's also not super fit physically either.

When a particular incident occures within the city limits which results in the deaths of innocent teenagers at the hands of a cop, it seems that corrupt cops and some almost political cover-ups are taking place...

... and Sheriff Heflin ends up (whether he wants to be or not) smack bang in the middle of it.
He is after all the Sheriff of Cop Land and he must do what is right, as he has done all his life, and bring an end to the corruption... but not only will he be taking on the entire New York police force, but people he considers friends and allies will become involved in his clean cut law abiding ways.


A very, very well pieced together drama-action with a very well used plot (good cop fighting corrupt cops etc) is brought to the screen by director James Mangold.

Cop Land actually plays against type with a lot of the actors involved and steers itself away from the typical Hollywood explosions and superhuman hero cops and goes for as more realistic take on the well used plot devices.

What gives Cop Land a different feel is the screenplay. It's been written absolutely brilliantly. There's a backstory there in regard to story and plot, there's backstory to the characters involved and there's also a lovely brooding outtake on the turns of events by all the actors involved too.
The other thing is the mystery involved that turns into more of a 'do the right thing' movie in the third act.
Some of the actual mystery falls a little flat and is opened up to the viewer relatively quickly, but the movie does this knowingly to give the audience something to get behind the heroes on as the movie progresses.


There are some hits of action throughout, but it comes in drips and drabs but the well rounded character writing adds much much more to the action involved... it adds a massive element of real life and realism to the overall feel of the more exciting scenes.


The other thing that gives the movie an edge is the ensemble talent on show, Sly Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Janeane Garofalo and Michael Rapaport are just a handful of recognisable faces on show.

Stallone in particular is a massive surprise as Sheriff Heflin. He's playing against type. He's real, believeable as the torn hero and his take on the simple minded, half deaf Sheriff out to do the right thing is exceptionally well played. Definitely Sly's best acting performance.

The onscreen chemistry, not just between Sly and De Niro (which is fantastic by the way), but between all the actors on screen is exceptional. They all play their roles perfectly. Some roles are kept off screen a little more than I'd like, namely Ray Liotta and De Niro, I wanted to see more of them and their disparate exploits in the story.
Still though, as I said, the performances they give are top work.

I LOVE The Fifth Element.

Oh yeah, and Cop Land is underrated too. Stallone was a perfect schlub.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Cop Land - another film I really like. We certainly have very similar tastes. And I love Stallone's performance in it


Says the guy who seemed to disappear for about 3 months!!!

But yeah Bumblebee hasn't been about much

145th review, 205th movie... bit of a Special Favourite of mine and in keeping with my 140th/200th Special...




Jessup County, Mississippi 1964, two white Civil Rights workers and an African American Civil Rights worker are murdered in cold blood by the Ku Klux Klan.
Brought in to investigate are two FBI Agents Alan Ward and Rupert Anderson.
Anderson in particular was a Mississippi Sheriff back in his younger days and has a rather heavy handed and hard-headed way of getting the truth out of his suspects. Ward however is a Liberal, and prefers to talk and use paperwork as a weapon.

When it appears that pretty much the entire town is part of the murder and are members of the KKK, the two FBI Agents must do everything they can... even if it means coming to loggerheads with one another, to get to the truth of the murders and bring an end to the racial tension and basic terrorism that is taking place in the rural areas of Southern America.


Based loosely on the real life murders of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, albeit with a number of the facts changed around, Burning gives the viewer an incredibly exciting, disturbing and extremely well pieced together story of morality, drama, emotion and the odd hit of action too.

The other main part of the story is friendship and loyalty... whether it's the relationship between the FBI Agents, the KKK members and their families or even between the black/white divide of the populous... the movie is laced brilliantly with the torn relationships of all involved and plays on the feelings of the viewer wonderfully.


A lot of the action toward the end is also felt brilliantly by the audience. The viewer can't help but get behind the good guys and spurn them on in their heavy handed exploits at getting justice for the victims of race crime. The audience character connection is absolutely top notch, including the connection to the bad guys and it gives the louder and more exciting scenes a real lift.


The acting is also top drawer.
Gene Hackman as the heavy handed Anderson is an absolute mark of genius. His cool calm persona is second only to the harder scenes where Hackman really comes into his brutal element. He's one of the stand out roles... and certainly one of Hackman's best.
Willem Dafoe as Ward is also on top form. His pencil pushing Liberal is played perfectly and Dafoe is almost unrecognisable as the FBI Agent who changes his mentality toward violence as the film goes on.

Brad Dourif and Frances McDormand as Deputy Pell and wife respectively are also two more stand out roles... McDormand in particular has massive chemistry on screen with Hackman and Brad... and Dourif's character lives with the viewer even when he's not on screen.

Back up comes in the form of an ensemble cast of R Lee Ermey, Michael Rooker, Gailard Sartain, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Tobin Bell, Yaphet Koto and the brilliantly underrated Kevin Dunn.

Well... the recent thread on '80s movies has got me thinking...

... I've reviewed a bunch 80s classics and their sequels in my thread over the past few months, here's the rundown on them so far:

#1- Young Guns
#9- The 'Burbs
#11- Predator
#12- Robocop
#13- John Carpenter's The Thing
#15- Terminator Foursome (1-4)
#22- Full Metal Jacket
#26- Christopher Reeve Superman Foursome (1-4) And Superman Returns
#29- Ghostbusters
#30- Star Wars Franchise (1-6)
#31- Critters
#36- The Abyss
#38- John Carpenter's The Fog
#40- The Shining
#41- Indiana Jones Foursome (1-4)
#44- Rocky Franchise (1-6)
#45- The Lost Boys
#47- Alien Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #8)
#49- Gremlins Duo (1 & 2)
#55- Bladerunner
#61- Ghostbusters Duo (1 & 2 Includes A Rerun Of Review #29)
#65- Cat's Eye
#68- The Karate Kid (Original Movie)
#69- Die Hard Franchise (1-4)
#70- Poltergeist
#75- Critters Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #31)
#78- The Fly (1986 Remake)
#80- Back To The Future Trilogy (1-3)
#81- Lethal Weapon Foursome (1-4)
#82- Star Trek Franchise (1-11)
#84- An American Werewolf In London
#93- Highlander
#94- The Goonies
#95- Burton's Batman
#113- Little Shop Of Horrors
#126- Legend
#127- Dead Calm
#129- Top Gun
#131- Twins
#145- Mississippi Burning


What got me thinking, is that I did a 5 Pixar Movie Marathon a while back so I've gotten myself in the mood to do another Marathon: 80s Classics And Their Sequels.

15 reviews, mixed bag of Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama, War, Thriller and a few from in between.


To kick it off then...