Tag: Robert Duvall

video review : Falling Down

video review : Falling Down

The most interesting character here is an Army-Navy store owner who also happens to be a sexist racist neo-Nazi. “I’m your friend”, he says to the movie’s actual bad guy, but Bill Foster doesn’t want a friend. He just wants to go home to his wife and kid. The problem is that he’s divorced and the wife has a restraining order against him. He was an abusive husband, she suggests to police, and a nut. His breaking point comes when he gets stuck in a traffic jam one hot day.

From there, the former Notec worker abandons his car and goes on a one-man rampage on his way back “home”. The violent outbursts he lets loose when confronted with even the most minor of annoyances from the people he encounters along the way; his rage is often laced with socio-political rants; serve as an action-packed plot device. It’s the overall believability factor; some of the things he and other characters say or do are over the top; that goes against it.

my rating : 3 of 5

1993

video review : Deep Impact

video review : Deep Impact

The premise is captivating. A huge comet is headed toward Earth and will hit in less than a year, which means most, if not all, people will die. It’s a extinction-level event; an “Ele”, as some unimaginative government official dubs it. But such a thing is hard to take in. Earth hasn’t had one since the dinosaurs, after all. So an MSNBC news reporter named Jenny Lerner carries on with her job, looking as lethargic as ever, as the end of the world grows near.

A decision she makes near that end is stupid, but it’s the boy who discovered the comet while looking thru a telescope in astronomy class who’s the ultimate idiot. His impeding doom is a secondary concern for him. He cares more about the classmate he’s fallen in love with. Time wasted on such trivial silliness instead of more hardcore realism; The President addressing the nation are the best parts; cushions the blow with a layer of schmaltz.

my rating : 3 of 5

1998