Twister

Rating:
Summary: "The Abyss" on land...
Review: Anyone see the similarities between Twister and The Abyss? Think about it. You might get it... bickering ex's, quirky group of eager and "hip" co-workers, the awe, the divinity... well, you get the idea.

Twister is SUCH a guilty pleasure. You don't dare admit to liking this cheezy cr@p. Too embarrassing to actually come out and say it's almost tolerable.

(That's why I'm goin' anonymous on this one)

Rating:
Summary: I like it anyway...
Review: OK, I've read the other reviews...I think "Twister" is entertaining, with great CGI effects. The plot is intense, and most sub-plots are silly. Helen Hunt is beautiful, and quite a good actress. Bill Paxton is customarily hammy. Still I enjoy this film as entertainment. It's interesting to note that a lot of our current best actors today got a start in this film. Philip Seymour Hoffman, in particular, shows great flair, as well as Jeremy Davies, playing the wimp. Director Jan de Bont seems to use Alan Ruck a lot, and for good reason: He's talented. I was disappointed when Jamie Gertz won the Razz Award as "Worst Supporting Actress" in '96. I thought she gave a fine performance...her character was written to be reactionary, and I thought her every nuance was touching and sincere. As far as writing, well, some of the soap opera stuff could've been cut short. Jan de Bont, with all the films he could've chosen, showed scenes from Kubrick's "The Shining" (at the drive-in), and Cukor's "A Star is Born" (before Aunt Meg's house is blown away). If these are homages, he has good taste. And Lois Smith was solid as the aunt; I've liked her since she played Nicholson's sister in "Five Easy Pieces". A fine character actress. With this stuff in mind, I watch "Twister" often, and enjoy it each time. Why be so analytical? It was made as mass-marketed entertainment and, on that level, it succeeds. Doesn't seem to matter that it was also on quite a few "10 Best" lists in '96. I like it a lot; if you don't, maybe you should get out more...

Rating:
Summary: Awsome
Review: This is one Helen Hunt/ Bill Paxton's best. I think they were very good together in this movie. I watch it again and again. AWSOME!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: An Awesome and Frightening Film!!!
Review: Helen Hunt and Bill Pullman star in this great film about tornado chasers and the life they lead, not to mention a side story which includes their on again, off again, marriage.

The special effects are SUPER, and you actually believe you are inside a tornado in one scene. Houses rip apart piece, a bellowing cow spins through the air, tractors fall like rain, and a 15,000 pound gasoline tanker becomes an airborne bomb, among other things. Then there's the unorthodox crew which Pullman and Hunt tag along with, and they go head to head with an opposing team, who want the glory as well.

This is a really fantastic film, and you won't go wrong. Just keep your fingernails intact and munch the popcorn instead!!!

Rating:
Summary: The Only Thing This Twister Does Is Suck Your Time and Money
Review: I don't understand why this movie gets so many good reviews. Other than some brief moments of special effects, this movie has absolutely no creativity or imagination whatsoever. The script and story line formulas are so generic that they were probably taken out of a textbook. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton deliver pitiful performances with forced acting and one-liners; mostly shouting "Now!", "Let's go!", "Move!", "Yeah!": you'd actually think you're with a drunken crowd at a football game.

As for the suspension of disbelief in this film, the other reviews have already described it ad nauseam. Save your money and don't pay Hollywood to see such garbage: they may eventually produce more good movies worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Twister is a twist
Review: Twister is a film that I first saw in high school, and going into seeing it I had some doubts. Truth is, I was highly entertained. I really had a fun time watching this movie. *sigh* Alas, it's another movie that had great potential to be a five star film but underachieved.

The plot of Twister is very simple, but applicable, you can follow it and I think the plot and storyline were well defined in this movie. It's basically about Tornado Chasers who are trying to make history by finding a way to learn more about them. It's an ingenius idea they come up with, don't know how real it is though.

The characters in this film are quite entertaining. I think Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play off each other quite well. Bill Paxton's character, Bill, is a weatherman who seems to have a nose for storms (human barometer). Helen Hunt plays Jo, the soon to be Ex-wife of Bill's. Jo is rather obsessed about this idea of theirs, called Dorothy, because she lost her father in a tornado. So right away, both characters have an interest, a purpose to the storyline which I really liked.

As far as the other characters go, they have either small parts or they are meant for comic relief, but do little to contribute to the plot.
You have Jonas, the rival to Bill and Jo's party, who steals their ideas and is rather a cheap skate all together.
Then you have Dusty, who's uglier than sin, but is a funny guy and I liked his character. I failed to really see the contribution of his character, however, at least as far as how he aids to the team.
Then you have Melissa, the soon to be new wife for Bill, who is a therapist who stupidely tags along and while finding herself in these life and death situations constantly is on the phone to a client. Her character wasn't really needed, other than for comic relief. She's always a step behind everyone else, and the movie attempted to portray her as an air head or some naive city girl with no clue about storms. Again, her character was worthless other than the humor she indirectly brings.
And there's a bunch of other guys part of this Storm Team under Jo and Bill that really don't have much of a part at all, other than witty comments here and there and little bits of advice and information they just happen to share.

To be blunt, Jo and Bill pretty much hog this film. The other characters are...well...just kinda there. I think it would've been great if the movie had just severed out Melissa's character all together and give the other Tornado chasers more time so we at least know who they are and why they are vital to this team. Because for the most part, you don't really learn any of their names but Dusty's.

This shying away from the other characters is one of the reasons why it lost a star, the other is that this film had almost too many unreal parts in it.

Unreal part 1: Jo and Bill huddle under an old wooden bridge together as a tornado blows directly over them. No sir, that bridge would be ripped to shreds and so would they. Unreal.

Unreal part 2: Jo, Bill, and Melissa get cut off by two sister twisters who spin around their truck, making the truck spin around on the road, but doesn't get damaged, doesn't get thrown around. This was pretty bad, because I don't think this was even close to real.

Unreal part 3: Jo and Bill's truck gets stuck on a branch and can't move, while the tornado slings a gas truck at them. The gas truck hits them, dislodging them from the branch. Later the gas truck blows up in front of them and they drive through the flames. OK, a gas truck semi hits them and it just spins them free? No, I think it would do more than dislodge them. And driving through gasoline flames? Uh-uh, if any of those flames hit your gas tank you're history. Too unreal.

Unreal part 4: Jo and Bill out run a tornado on foot. Then they anchor themselves to a well and while being sucked into the air, they look up and see the center of the twister. Um, I don't think it's even remotely possible to out run a twister on foot. And I don't think you could look up into a tornado because I think there would be so much dust, you wouldn't be able to see.

So, despite all these unrealalities that take place in this movie, it's still quite entertaining. Unrealism doesn't bother me unless there's an abundance of it. At least the characters recognized they were lucky, and didn't get away with these unreals because they were skilled.

On the plus side:
1. Pretty good acting, with some cliche parts and lines.
2. Very suspenseful
3. Awesome sound and special effects, can follow the sequences of the action all right.
4. Great storyline and plot, with sub plots that present challenge to each of the main characters.
5. Drama and action mix well in this.
6. It does provide some education on twisters and how they form, what they are, the classes of twisters, and the different types.
7. Helen Hunt is stunning in this *wink*

So overall, this is a film worth owning. It's entertaining, it's fun, it's a pretty good disaster film considering it. My only complaints, and what brought it down to four stars, is the lack of involvement in other characters and an abundance of unreal parts that almost took away the credibility of this film; as far as how much Hollywood really knows about twisters or how much they really cared about being accurate.

See this film, you should enjoy it, but I think you'll agree with me when I say this film could've been even better. But it's good enough.

Grade: B+

Rating:
Summary: Was Emerson watching?
Review: There are three stars in "Twister": the obsessed, almost vindictive woman who wants to defeat tornadoes, the obsessed, ingenious man determined to thwart tornadoes with technology - and the American Corn Belt, where superfluous humans and their artifacts are scrubbed from the landscape every year by tornadoes. Although they're not alone in chasing twisters, the Paxton/Hunt team is the focus of the movie - and this team is no bunch of Evian-swilling Sierra Club wimps. One of the best scenes shows the team stopping for a quick (feast) of steak, eggs, mashed potatoes, and gravy ("Meg's gravy is famous - it's practically a food group") at Hunt's character's aunt's home, right slap in the middle of Tornado Alley. The professional camaraderie in this team is wonderful, especially when we see how the members of the other team (led by Cary Elwes) don't get along so much as they get in line. (Critic Emerson will probably be played by Elwes the same way, if anyone ever makes a movie of his life.) By the way, I bought a copy of the soundtrack album - and then threw it away: none of the wonderful, driving original music is on the CD!

Rating:
Summary: About so much more than tornadoes and a love triangle
Review: Let me begin by saying that I agree with all who wrote about the great special effects and all-around fun that this movie offers. I don't know what the folks who disliked the movie were watching and thinking as they experienced the flick. It really is a whole bunch of fun; just sit back and relax while watching it. If you approach it as though you weren't critiquing Kant's "Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics", you'll enjoy it!

But I need to say something so much more about the movie than was said by any of those who have commented before me, positive or negative. This is a beautiful movie to watch and it is an AMERICAN movie about an AMERICAN phenomenon and with characters who in many ways represent the AMERICAN spirit (how is storm chasing, in many ways, different than the dangers the early settlers and explorers of this country were willing to subject themselves to for the purpose of the betterment of others?) I don't want to come across as though I am waxing patrioic, but one can and should try to watch this movie with an added dimension or angle outside the obvious. This is not the greatest movie ever made (though entertaining as hell!), but if you open your mind to what I think are the more subtle messages contained in this flick you will gather a certain meaning which you may find satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Much different than watching it on broadcast TV
Review: I didn't much care for this film when I first saw it on broadcast TV, but the DTS version blew me away (along with the twisters). The special effects in DTS more than made up for the mediocre acting and rather inane plot. I didn't much care if the actors survived the tornadoes or not. Maybe when I watch it again, I will not be quite as taken away by the effects and return to disliking the film.

Rating:
Summary: A dust-devil of a movie
Review: Like "The Perfect Storm," another Hollywood blockbuster about extremely bad weather, "Twister" gives us a script that it wouldn't have taken an F5 tornado to demolish. Add a nonstop series of lapses in credibility (e.g., some poor trucker in an 18-wheeler gets sucked into the monster funnel cloud, but Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton sidle right up alongside killer tornadoes repeatedly, and get nothing worse than a bruise) and some of the clunkiest dialog ever to boom out of multichannel sound systems, and the result is a movie that makes you grateful for the fast-forward and skip-chapter buttons on a DVD player. To be fair, the storm scenes are pretty entertaining, if not nearly as scary or realistic-looking as they could've been. (It's not that the CGI effects aren't convincing; it's that the neatly composed and precisely staged tornado sequences don't compare to the shaky, grainy, sometimes chaotic real-life TV news footage that the Weather Channel recycles for "Storm Stories" and such.) And the DVD is a terrific workout for a home-theatre setup, especially the subwoofer. Unfortunately, the storm scenes take up maybe a half-hour of a two-hour movie, so the remaining 90 minutes is a workout of your patience for bad dialog and bad line readings (Philip Seymour Hoffman excepted). If extreme weather is your thing, you might do better to buy (or rent) a documentary DVD about it.