degracia

Is it just me, or does this film feel like an end-of-the-world remix of "Devil's Advocate" in some ways? If you had to describe this film in one word, it would be "blah." Overall the movie is somewhat slow and incoherent. The first part of the film drags too much, while the second half moves too quickly. As a horror film, this film isn't too successful. Most of the "horror" scenes have all been done before, so the element of surprise is pretty much wasted. As an end of the world film, we need not even comment how bad "End Of Days" is (the scene where Schwarzenegger ponders whether he has until 12:00 in general or Eastern Time till the world goes to hell says it all.) As an action movie, "End of Days" does even worse. For an Arnold Schwarzenegger film, its somewhat surprising that the action isn't as intense or crammed with the classic overkill factor that most viewers have come to expect. Not to sound sarcastic, but when Arnold is on the loose, you almost expect the bad guys to show off how 'bad' they really are, only to be surprised a second later when Arnold shows up in an AV-8B jump jet guns ablazin. (Just think about how bad Arnold messed the Predator and imagine what he could have done in "End of Days.") Instead, no overkill in this movie...the best that Arnold gets to ripping the bad guys a new one is him walking around with an 9mm x 19 Parabellum MP5 submachine gun equipped with an underslung M203 grenade launcher (and a glock for close encounters, respectively).

Granted, I went into this movie expecting it to have a mediocre storyline and plot, but I expected more action for my money's worth. Well, guess you can't win 'em all.

"The Wraith" is pretty typical for an 80s movie: fast moving with hard music, slick styled, and a novel plot. Overall "The Wraith" is an enjoyable movie to watch just for all the 80s memories (not to mention excessive use of explosions, explosions, and more explosions), but it has a bumpy storyline which is somewhat disappointing. Still, in terms of total concept, I suppose you can't expect that much out of a film like this. Too bad Randy Quaid's role is somewhat limited in this film.

A&E's "Longitude" is perhaps the most emotionally compelling, made for TV dramas yet. I was so impressed when I first saw Longitude on A&E that I had to buy it on DVD the minute it came out. A highly realistic, fully drawn out, historical drama of how one man's dream tamed time and space, "Longitude" strikes home with its all-star cast (including Jeremy Irons and Micheal Gambon) and two-part storyline. The first story is that of a carpenter, John Harrison, who struggled for almost 50 years to perfect a "practical and useful" marine chronometer. The second story revolves around Commander Rupert Gould, a man who discovers Harrison's forgotten prototypes and fights to not only restore the timepieces but to also restore the honor of Harrison.

"Longitude" is filled with tons of edge-of-your-seat, gritty scenes, and every second of the 200-minute film glows with a profound message. The ending scene is especially powerful, in which Rupert Gould remarks, "What makes a man great? A man may be great in his aims, or in his achievements, or in both...but I think that man is truly great who makes the world his debtor..who does something for the world which the world needs, and which nobody before him has done or known how to do."

Definitely a great educational film to watch, and an excellent film to own. "Longitude" is an unforgettable experience and a demonstration of just how good a movie can be.