June 26, 2001

Movies - Some good, some not so good

I saw Tomb Raider a couple of weeks ago. Boy did that movie suck! Maybe if I were an adolescent male just beginning to enjoy the enhanced female form, the movie would have been better, but I'm not. The movie begs the viewer to compare it to the Indiana Jones flicks, but to do is a grave disservice to Indiana Jones. Those movies are superior in every way. Tomb Raider had not one ounce of suspence, fun, realistic action, scary bad guys, or, sadly, plot. Angelina Jolie looked good, but I can't say that I was ever afraid she was going to die. Bad Guy was scary in the "muahahahaha" sort of way, very cartoonish. Actually the fake nipples sticking out of Lara Croft's shirt were the scariest thing about this movie. I won't even get into the nonsense of the plot here, but I must mention that a number of much better films were ripped off, such as the previously mentioned Indiana Jones, Galaxy Quest, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Mummy, and others.

Shrek, on the other hand, was really terrific. It was not a kid's movie, but it was fun for kids. I've always enjoyed "twisted" fairly tales like the Princess Bride that throw in a lot of really fast jokes that you have to be on your toes to catch. Computer animation never looked this good, either. I never saw a donkey that short, though.

I'm looking forward to seeing A.I. this weekend. I've kept away from spoilers, but I have investigated the online game related to the movie. I've heard that the game and the movie are not related except that the game takes place in the same time and place as the movie. The game is really amazing in its complexity and using the Internet in such a creative way. I hope there's a good payoff at the end for people who are sticking with the game, since the Evan Chan story is very cool and fans deserve answers for playing along.

Published: June 26, 2001
Editor: robin