Z/Web

Amazing movie. Bizarre and surreal, with a lot of depth. Weak ending, and doesn’t completely live up to its early promise, but well worth the viewing.

Schwartzenegger shoot-em-up is all special effects (very impressive ones) but a silly plot that’s part “The Devil’s Advocate” and part two dozen other movies. Pretty ridiculous, and Arnold’s character does nothing heroic but constantly get beat up until the very end. Watch it for the special effects.

Excellent, very impressive. Hilarious and poignant. Never read the book (it didn’t sound funny) but will now. Kurt V’s great.

Light, mildly interesting. Unexpected ending I liked. Sandra Bullock’s charm almost carries the movie but somehow it still falls flat.

Made for Showtime remake about the world after nuclear distruction. A bit disconnected in places, and seemingly pointless today (nuclear annihilation is not the threat it used to be), but interesting, and a bit moving (and sad) at the end.

Not as good as I was expecting; predictable and rather ordinary Mob movie, but with good performances. (Disclaimer: I don’t like Mob movies.)

Excellent action flick, 100x better than the original. The plot is simple and performances are decent, but this doesn’t try to pretend to be anything but a shoot-em-up. If you don’t like action, forget it. (For some reason these movies have none of the psychological manipulation aspect of the TV show, which is what I liked best, but this one is fun and stylishly done.)

I’ve been just too busy to update the site properly, so I’m going to forget (for now) the Amazon links and some of the other info on the stuff I read or watch. Reviews will mostly be short, one-line reviews (thumbs up/down). But I’ll still update this list — I find it fascinating for myself even if no one else cares.

Slow, surprisingly boring, and ultimately unsatisfying. Pop psych hokum dialog. Not worth the rental.

Very cool light comedy, mixed with serious gangster stuff; a bit tedious and too serious at times, and the finale’s way over the top. Favorite moment: The “THE THE END” title at the end (you have to see the film to get the joke).

Intense. Great performances. Subject matter not unusual by today’s standard, but must have been dramatic in the 70’s. Like the sudden ending. Overall, however, a bit empty. Homo angle questionable.

This was a Showtime movie about the two brothers who redefined the pornography industry with the film Behind the Green Door. Interesting biopic, but predictable (except for the ending).

I’ve been watching few movies and reading few books lately because I’ve been working hard on my software program, Z-Write. It’s finally out! It’s an innovative word processor for creative writers: it lets you create multiple files within the same file — great for keeping together all the zillions of notes associated with a project. Microsoft Word is doomed! ;-)

I traveled up to Oregon to my old high school to wish my speech teacher, Bob Jones, a happy retirement. It was great to see some of my old high school friends and the stories and photographs brought back lots of happy memories.

Rather bizarre crime drama about a guy being falsely accused of being a serial killer. Fun.