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When I think about it, it seems only natural that they would make such a violent movie and base it around the "Little Red Riding Hood" storyline. After all, have you ever really read those old children's stories? People being eaten, boiled, killed...it's no wonder there are so many screwed up people in the world when, as kids, we are told these stories before going off to sleep. What did our parents think we were going to be dreaming about? Pretty pink flowers? It's surprising that so many of us have turned out sane at all! Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now and stick to the topic at hand...Freeway. This movie, while certainly not for everyone, takes us on a brilliant though violent ride that will have you giggling to yourself while your stomach is turning over and your mind is telling you you really shouldn't be laughing at all. Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland give outstanding performances as the two principal actors, one being akin to Little Red Riding Hood herself and the other being the Big Bad Wolf. However, get half way through this story and you'll find yourself wondering just who is who. This Little Red Riding Hood has a lot of Wolf potential and I don't think she'd know the word "submissive" if she tripped over it.
Reese Witherspoon is Vanessa Lutz, an
illiterate young girl from a white trash family whose
If you don't like excessive violence and the constant use of four letter words then give this movie a miss. However, if you're not too squeamish and enjoy twisted, in your face films you're going to love Freeway. I think what appealed to me was the concept of the Little Red Riding Hood theme. Through all the violence, I kept telling myself "it's only a fairy tale" but then that little voice would whisper ... "but this stuff really does happen!" This movie invokes a lot of deep emotions and I thoroughly recommend it.
I've seen countless reviews that say this movie is really bad. Well, maybe there are a lot of holes ... some really big ones in fact ... but for pure fun and entertainment I'd give Armageddon a definite thumbs up! Although similar in storyline to Deep Impact, I found Armageddon to be a lot more exciting and enjoyable to watch. To be honest I was expecting nothing more than just a lot of special effects. Quite often these big budget sci-fi movies lack a storyline but behind all the special effects and testosterone there's a very watchable love story complete with sci-fi, action, and drama. The lowdown...
After NASA realises that there's a huge asteroid racing towards earth (Deep Impact???) they decide that the only way the human race has any chance of survival is by sending a team of astronauts onto the surface of the asteroid where they can drill a hole, throw down a nuclear bomb and then get the hell outta there before getting blown up.
Taking this movie too seriously will probably ruin the enjoyment. There's no doubt that it's absolutely full of holes but the acting is well done, there's quite a bit of tongue in cheek humour and there are enough special effects to keep you glued to the screen.
"Where's the sense of risking eight lives for one guy?" Despite the praise and all the awards this movie has received I didn't really have it on my "must see" list. I suppose I was expecting another American war movie with all the usual clitche's those movies contain. Even the broad storyline of finding the fourth son of Mrs Ryan and returning him home as her other three sons had just been killed in action sounded pretty cheesy.
One scene which stuck with me showed a man with his arm blown off picking it back up and carrying it back into battle ... madness!
The group, lead by Hanks have a harrowing time trying to locate young Ryan. Throughout the movie much emphasis is made of how each individual handles the pressure of war and how it simply becomes kill or be killed. Honour becomes excess baggage or as portrayed in the movie, dangerous. Enemies left behind or shown mercy may just be the other guys shooting at you the next time round.
I won't give any more of the story away. This is one powerful movie and one which everyone should see especially those types that like to play soldiers and think war is full of glory and don't realise that it is basically full of gore, pain and loss. (I'm not talking about the real ones in the army etc. who have a job to do and are prepared to put their life on the line for their country but those weekend warriors who think it's all just fun and games.)
"Spielberg has done it again by showing us that the reality of war is the ultimate horror movie"
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Starring - Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland,
Brooke Shields, Michael T. Weiss, Bokeem Woodbine, Amanda Plummer, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan
Hedaya,
You know, you
should have just let me out of the car when I asked you to Bob! See where bad manners gets
you...
mother is arrested for prostitution and possession of narcotics and
her step-father (Michael T. Weiss from The Pretender) is a no good loser who frequently
molests her. When her mother is taken to jail Vanessa runs away to find her
grandmother. Her car breaks down and she accepts a lift from Bob Wolverton (Kiefer
Sutherland) who just happens to be the I-5 killer, a psychopath who has been killing young
girls. Vanessa soon finds out that she is going to be his next victim and it is now
that the tables turn and Vanessa turns out to be far from the sweet young girl we think
she is. She shoots Bob ... and shoots him ... and shoots him, and then leaves
him for dead (well, after that many bullets to all parts of his anatomy, including his 
head, you too would presume he was dead) and takes herself off to a
diner where she cleans herself up, orders some dinner and then as she is leaving she gets
arrested by the cops. They refuse to listen to her explanation that Bob was the 1-5
killer and she was in fact saving many more girls from grizzly deaths at his perverted
hands and they put her into a Juvenile Girls Prison. 
While she is locked away, a grotesquely disfigured
Bob with the aid of his wife (Brooke Shields) begins a campaign to get Vanessa tried as an
adult. There is a lot of very funny sick humour in some of the courtroom
scenes when Vanessa makes fun of the disfigured Bob.
Starring - Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler,
Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Will Patton
A.J. Frost (Ben Affleck) is in love with Grace
(Liv Tyler) whose Dad, Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) happens to be the best deep core oil
driller in the world, he's also A.J's boss and doesn't take too kindly to A.J. courting
his daughter. 
With only 18 days to impact, NASA recruits Bruce
and his team, trains them in the ins and outs of space travel and sends them off to save
the world...you get my drift.
Starring - Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore,
Edward Burns, Jeremy Davies, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi
The first half hour dispelled any misgivings
that this film if nothing else would be realistic. Well, I thankfully have never
been to war (and don't want to) but the first thirty minutes portrayed war as I have
usually imagined it. A load of young men thrown into combat which is like an express
train to hell - total confusion, pain and a total waste of young lives which are summarily
shot or blown to pieces. It is almost too much to take in. 
Tom Hanks is a young Captain who tries to lead his men through this
insanity and despite the number of men he has lost under his command he displays much
leadership and commonsense. He is given the unusual task of taking a few good
men, going behind enemy lines and finding Private Ryan - whereabouts unknown.
"This
Ryan had better be worth it - he better go home and cure some disease or invent a
longer-lasting light bulb.
Hanks is pretty awesome in this role and is well
supported by the rest of the cast. This is one American war movie worth watching and
I thoroughly recommend it ... but not while you're eating dinner.