Three Kings

Rating:
Summary: I've Seen Better Film On Teeth!
Review: This film had me in tears......from boredom! The hype that was created prior to its release made me want to see it very much, but once I rented the DVD version...I wish I'd gone for a root canal instead of wasting two hours of my life watching this drivel.

Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, and Ice Cube are all very talented actors whose films I enjoy very much. This movies was a complete waste of their talent and time. I would suggest watching something else they've starred in and save yourself the agony of sitting through Three Kings.

Rating:
Summary: Yeah, right
Review: Yeah, this is the best war movie ever...if you've never seen Gallipoli or Paths of Glory or Kelly's Heroes, which it was apparently stolen from along with the Kuwati gold. The fact that so many people "looooove" this film is sort of a sad comment on the MTV generation that doesn't know what's come before and can only sit though a film that sifts scenes as often as an eighteen wheeler heading up a hill. And for a film that is supposed to be important, it sure treats war, death and destruction frivolusly, then tacks on a studio ending so we're supposed to feel good about greedy soldiers who desert their unit to make some money. At the very least the movie should have examined why they were driven by greed. I guess the director was more interested in cool shots than a good script. Yeah, it's the best film of '99, as long as you don't count every other film that was made.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE!
Review: After reading the reviews on Amazon.com I decided to get this movie, and let me tell you something it's awesome. The camera work is great. The acting is great. (THERE ARE NO CHEESY LINES) The plot will blow your mind. I highly recommend you buy this movie, because you'll definitely be satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: where do you put those codes?
Review: I will say this: the movie is great. Now, can anyone tell me where on the website on the DVD-ROM you're supposed to enter those codes found on the DVD? I've looked all over, but I can't find where to enter them. Someone help!

Rating:
Summary: If you love film you must see this movie.
Review: I understand that during the production they had trouble getting anyone to insure the negative since it was shot on Kodak 35mm film. This differnt medium gave the movie a special feel that anyone who loves movies will appreciate.

Rating:
Summary: Looks are the Key
Review: It's amazing to me to see a film on my television screen look almost as good as it did in the theater. "Three Kings" was was shot in such a flawless manner and it really shows through on the DVD. I think all DVD's should be layed out like this. There is the film, in widescreen format, a documentary about the making of it, audio tracks with the director and the producers, and special links to go with the website. DVD's are for people who are avid about films, and when you invest in one, you should get a little more that you expect. With "Three Kings" I did.

Rating:
Summary: The perfect DVD
Review: This was the fifteenth DVD added to my collection and let me say, this is what I expected from the DVD experience. I thought Three Kings was the best film of 1999 and I won't go into it's political and stylistic genius. What is praiseworthy about the DVD is not only the picture and sound quality but the wide range of features, which are often short but very informative. In a short "video journal" director Russell takes us from through some of the casting, rehearsals, production meeting and then to premier night. David O. Russell is the star of this DVD, coming off often like a kid in a candy store as an independant director breaking into big time, studio film making, but his presence in the video journal, the documentary "Under the Bunker" and full legnth commentary through the film and deleted scenes is very insightful and allows the viewer to become a film making insider. Other features include a commentary by the cinematographer and a "tour" by the set decorator (two people who were robbed of oscar nominations along with the director by the way). The "Intimate Look Inside the Acting Process with Ice Cube" is basically a two minute joke directed by Spike Jonze and there is also a full legnth commentary with the films producers (which I haven't found interest enough to watch just yet. All around, it's a tight package with DVD ROM features that I haven't even had the chance to explore yet.

Rating:
Summary: THREE KINGS is an amazing, angry film -- Best of '99
Review: Proving yet again that the Academy Awards mean absolutely zilch, THREE KINGS was stiffed in every category. Oh well, a movie this good doesn't need that Hollywood Popularity Contest's blessing. It stands on it's own as one of (if not THE) best films of '99. It's certainly much more coherent and important than the good but over-praised AMERICAN BEAUTY.

The film is a real surprise. It has something that almost no other major studio film can boast (in this or any year): Moral courage. THREE KINGS harkens back to the last great era of mainstream cinema -- the '70s -- with a clear-eyed and perfectly-aimed political anger. This is not a movie that will be celebrated by members of the political right or anyone who still labors under the delusion that the United States accomplished something in "Desert Storm."

THREE KINGS balances so many different moods and changes in tone -- from black comedy to horror to righteous anger -- so expertly that it's almost a revelation in the midst of the usual pap and drivel that constitutes the bulk of American cinema these days. It's about real people making real, difficult choices, not just cardboard constructs from Screenwriting 101.

So there it is. I'll say it again: This movie really surprised me. It's kind of depressing how amazed I am these days when a movie's merely decent, much less great (as THREE KINGS definitely is). Show's you how much of what we get is pure garbage...

I bet former President Bush is a big fan of this one. I smile just thinking about that.

Rating:
Summary: ANTI-U.S.A, MADE IN U.S.A .....BRILLIANT!
Review: When you talk about the U.S.A, two images imediately come to mind: the land of the free (with their american dream) and the world police. Baring these images in mind is acctually quite refreshing when we see a film such as "Three Kings". A film made by americans, with american actors, that criticize the american policy in the Golf War. For me, this film is brilliant because if you see pass the characters and the explosions and the music, the subtext of the film is simply saying: "We messed up. We were supposed to protect them and we didnt". And thats the moral dillema that the 3 main characters of the film debate with. Taking the gold or saving those peoples lives? In this aspect i consider the film simply brilliant. The actors were all great. They did an incredible job in maintaning the film and its characters as real as possible (congratulations to Mark Walhberg...he was great). The music also helped create the environment necessary (like in Apocalypse Now). Basically this is a film i think everyone should see and all i have to say is : JOB WELL DONE!

Rating:
Summary: Leave the Tricks for Halloween!
Review: While I really enjoyed the updated "Kelly's Heros" story line, I felt the film lost momentum every time the director got sidetracked by his "toys" -- the special effects they kept interjecting into the story for their own sake. For example, the night vision goggles Jaime Kennedy is sporting while on "lookout" would have seared his retinas had he used them outdoors in daylight. And what's with showing us Mark Wahlberg's insides as if the audience suddenly developed Superman's X-Ray vision? These "tricks" weren't treats, did nothing to enhance the story and should have been saved for Halloween. The washed out look of the video didn't do much for me wither, but having served in Desert Storm, I know it really does look that drab over there. That being said, Clooney, Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Jonze were credible in their performances, although I have a hard time believing a reservist as young as Wahlberg would ever make it to a sergeant first class rank (rank comes much more slowly to reservists!). The "Arabic" actors were good, and when the story was allowed to develop at a natural pace, it kept me interested. One note -- the title is never explained EXCEPT in the deleted scenes which are some of the bonus materials supplied on the disk. What's up with that! All in all, "Three Kings" was a decent film (or as I like to think of it, a good film trying to escape a passable director).