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| All reviews written by David Brook. |
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| Jurassic Park 3 I was sceptical after the cheesy trailer ("Is this where they make the dinosaurs? - No, this is where they play god!" didn't give me much hope), but although its not a great film, its certainly a lot of fun. Going for quantity rather than quality in the set-piece stakes, this never gets boring, but the order of the set pieces really should have been changed. The first dino-encounter is the best by far, and some other very good scenes pop-up in the middle, but the most dissapointing attack is left for the end, which doesn't leave you very satisfied when you walk out. The plot and characterisation is pretty minimal too, although I didn't expect much, and didn't really care. Some bits are ridiculous though - the on going raptor intelligence point is laughable, and when we first see the child co-star on the island is unbelievable (not in the good way, but literally). Jurassic Park 3 is probably a little more consistently enjoyable than the second film, but is never outstanding, and won't keep you desparate for more. 6/10 |
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Being a big fan of Clerks, and liking (if not loving) Kevin Smith's other films, I was thoroughly dissapointed with this. I didn't really expect the famous stoners to be able to carry a film by themselves though. There are some very funny moments (watching Matt Damon and Ben Affleck take the piss out of their careers was a high point), but too much of the humour is (not meaning to sound like Mary Whitehouse) far too purile. Fart gags and monkeys do not make good comedy anymore. What I enjoyed about Clerks was the inane and realistic conversations about nothing. Here this is replaced by endless in-jokes (which are funny for a while, then start to feel lazy) and constant swearing in place of real gags. There are also some highly gratuitious scenes of attractive women pouting in slow motion with very little on, which is nice to look at obviously, but makes the film look like low rent porn, and seems mildly offensive and sexist. It is still quite funny though, if not that consistent. 5/10 |
| Jason X Why they've dragged the series on this long no one will ever know, someone should kill it quickly, the end of this even blatantly hints at a sequel. Having said all of this, I did enjoy watching Jason X, not because it was well made or even scary at all, it was just very funny to see how bad it was. It is presented quite obviously with its tongue in its cheek, and its so daft I did find myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions. This doesn't really make it a good film though and in the latter part of the film you do start to tire of the terrible acting, music, and lack of actual suspense or horror. The script isn't too bad, it has some terrible one liners, most of which are so bad they did make me laugh though, and also one or two slightly subtle stabs at the series itself, but all in all its nothing to write home about. Overall, this is a poor film, but enjoyable for it. I wouldn't bother watching it at the cinema, but would thouroughly recommend it as a rental with the lads and a couple of six-packs. 5/10 |
| Jackass: The Movie This is basically just an extended episode of the popular TV show, so reviewing it is quite difficult. If you love the series, odds are you'll love this too. Being a partial fan, I was also a partial fan of this. Some of it is hilarious - I liked some of the jokier stuff like when they make themselves up to be old men and do things like shoplift, hold up traffic and pretend to have an out of control motor scooter thing. I didn't like the more painful and disgusting stuff as much though, but I didn't in the series. I could barely watch the shop toilet one or the yellow snow one, and the paper cut sequence is excrutiating. That said, the film has a nice fast pace, and was pretty much enjoyable throughout, aside from some of those disgusting moments. There's not much more to say about the film really, its not a stylishly made film, nor can you comment on the acting, so basically all I can say is, if you've got a strong stomach and you like the TV show, go watch it. If not, steer well clear. 6/10 |