One Paragraph Review: Robin Hood

This movie was pretty fucking awful. It's as if Ridley Scott finished watching the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, and concluded the biggest problem was that the 4 and 1/2 hour movie was not nearly long enough. Ridley Scott's Robin Hood — which, by the way, is actually a prequel to the story you and I know — contains a cast of a thousand named characters, barely coherent plot and a rather curious interpretation of the Baron's War. I actually thought Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett did pretty good jobs, but the pacing was all wrong. There were too many characters to keep track of anything. The movie relies on the fact that you already love the Robin Hood characters, and just sort of drives the story along. I get what Scott was trying to do: create an action packed prequel movie to the legend/series we know and love. But wow did he miss the mark.

One Paragraph Review: Congo

Recently, I've encountered something termed "The Saint" effect. This effect is noticeable when watching a loved movie from one's youth in adulthood, only to realize that the movie is actually pretty freaking bad. This effect comes from the movie "The Saint" which rules but is actually pretty lame. Michael Critchton's Congo, I'm proud to report, doesn't suffer from this effect. The movie is decidedly mid-90s in its effects and filmmaking, but it's still pretty fun and enjoyable. There's good acting performance from the three main characters, and a fun sci-fi/fantasy storyline. Fun movie for a Sunday afternoon once football and all other interesting sports have concluded.