Movie Reviews

The Two Towers
Excellent, fabulous, stupendous! It's only flaw is in being the middle film in a trilogy. We have to wait another year before we get to see the final act. Movie Reviews item Posted: 1/6/03; 11:10:23 PM

Scrooged
Still my favorite version of Scrooge ever. The only comic version I've seen too. My favorite part is when he is with 'Christmas Present', Carol Kane, who keeps whacking him while giggling like a child. Cracks me up. Of course, some of those whacks were not 'staged'. I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/25/02; 3:45:47 PM

The Crow

Fabulous and sad. I can't watch this beautiful movie without thinking of the life that ended during the making of it. Don't get me wrong, this is one of my all time favorites. It's just that it's very sad to think of Brandon Lee having died in a tragic accident while making this film. The girl who played Sarah was fabulous too, but this was her first and only film to date. That's sad too. The acting, the cinematography, sound, everything is fantastic. Graeme Revell is my favorite composer, and Alex Proyas (director) went on to make Dark City, another favorite of mine. Magnificent and tearful. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/25/02; 3:22:05 PM

Solaris

Beautiful, but very odd. I didn't much care for the ending and that made me grumpy about the whole thing. But Michael and I had a good conversation afterwards and he helped me see some of the layered beauty of it as a whole. I think that I have a problem with complicated, 'subtle', movies because I like to take things at face value. I am however able to see the subtler points if someone has the time to show me. And I'm more than happy to argue about the apparent philosophy of the thing, and whether it was communicated very well. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/25/02; 3:08:30 PM

The Princess and the Warrior

This is a very strange 'boy meets girl' film. Girl works in a nut house and boy is slightly crazy, but not a patient there. He saves her life after causing the accident that almost kills her. Some things come together and you learn interesting bits of information that fill in back story, but it all seems kind of throw away. Does it matter? Why should I care? Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/25/02; 2:57:36 PM

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Better then the first one. Not perfect, but it was fun. If you enjoyed the books (and that is who they are marketing this to) then it brings things to life rather well. Good visuals for the books. I think it is sad that Richard Harris has died, he did a marvelous job here, and I wonder who will play Dumbledore in the next film. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/16/02; 12:05:40 AM

The Scarlet Pimpernel

It's a bit goofy and over the top in places and it was made for TV in 1982 so the quality isn't exactly top notch. Oh, and it's in France of course, but no one had a french accent. But! If you can get over all of that, maybe pretend that it is an alternate universe where all of this is fine, then you may yet enjoy it. I especially enjoyed seeing a young Ian McKellen as the spurned lover, bad guy. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:54:54 PM

The Secret of Roan Inish
A lovely movie. Very sweet and bit slow paced, but I didn't seem to mind at all. It was just right. I love fairy tales and this one is about the Irish Selkie. Half human, and half seal. They can transform between the two shapes. It's a sweet tale and well done. I really enjoyed it. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:41:55 PM

The World Is Not Enough
Better then expected! I didn't know that Bond films got any real plot. I thought it was just a formula that got rewritten ever other year. Well, I suppose that it is, but this was better done then any others I've seen in the last .... ever. If you're looking for a movie that's a good ride, this one definitely delivers. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:38:51 PM

Hollywood Ending
Slapstick funny, but not so strong in the story or the 'ending'. There is definitely some falling down, and that's what we were after so we enjoyed it. It lacked for a plot though, so don't expect to get one, okay? It's just a lot of frayed loose ends if you look to closely. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:36:36 PM

That Thing You Do!

I love this movie. It's fun and fairly light hearted, but not flimsy or vapid. The story of a one-hit-wonder band in the early 60's. Lots of interesting characters and I do enjoy stories that present a peek at a time period I didn't get to see. Seeing it from the perspective of some kids who are pop stars briefly makes it pretty fun too. You have a few laughs and if you are a real sap maybe even a tear. I admit that I am a real sap myself. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:34:45 PM

Quills

Not a happy movie, but rather well done. Excellent acting by all those involved and I didn't even realize how many faces I would recognize. Disturbed. The Marquis de Sade seems to be a fairly popular character/topic of stories. Lots of people throw him in, for flavor I guess, whenever they are in the right time period. I think he has moved into the realm of myth. Here he is a man, disturbed and outspoken. Arrogant, of course. He needs to write in order to stay sane it seems. When they take his pen and ink away he writes in wine, and later blood. It spirals down from there. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/15/02; 11:28:41 PM

Frida

Frida Kohlo was a passionate artist who lived in a lot physical pain. After a trolley crash that shattered her body at the age of 18 (year 1922 I believe), it was amazing that she ever walked again, let alone living such a full life for another 30 years. The acting is fabulous and the story runs smoothly. It makes me want to read the biography that it is based on. (Frida by Hayden Herrera) The art direction was amazing. I cried a lot, it was wonderful. Movie Reviews item Posted: 12/1/02; 5:37:41 PM

SLC Punk!

What can you say? I wasn't there, but it looks real. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, and a couple of punks squatting and getting an education. Telling their parents to go to hell. Parties, sex, violence.) People who were there say that it is very real. Real people in a real place trying to figure things out. It's unusual and it's in your face. This is the second time I've seen it and do recommend it. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/25/02; 9:33:30 PM

Bandits

I enjoyed this movie a lot. Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett do a marvelous job. Troy Garity as their front man steals a few scenes. On top of it being a well made 'bank robber' movie, we were very happy to find that it had a positive polyamorous theme. That almost never happens! She falls for them both and she refuses to choose between them. She wants them both or she's leaving. Wow! That's unheard of in hollywood movies. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/24/02; 10:25:16 AM

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (IMAX)

The movies running time is listed here as 143 minutes (that's 2 hours and 23 minutes right?) Well the IMAX verion in 1 hour and 55 minutes, which means that almost half an hour was missing, and we noticed. Mainly because this is the third time we had seen it, and we noticed that lots of little scenes had been cut out. I feel sorry for anyone seeing it here for the first time because it had lost some richness. Michael did some searching and learning that IMAX has a 2 hr maximum capacity. My other complaint is that the IMAX screen seemed to be more the shape of a TV screen then a Movie screen. This is likely to be a problem when converting movies, if that is the way they want to go. Other then that, I like the movie, but it still feels very much like a 'middle' movie in a trilogy, lots of set up, but not much of it's own story. Oh and the romance scenes are mostly embarassing. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/21/02; 5:21:50 PM

Dancer in the Dark

I had no idea what I was getting into. This was a rather painful movie to watch. It's about a woman who came to America, set in 1964, to find a better life for her son. She loves her son very much, but she can't tell him why she can't buy him things, why she is working constantly or what the money is for. It's for him, but she can't tell him. This is only the beginning and it gets much worse when her neighbor/landlord/friend betrays her. It was hard to get into and the filming is awkward, but it's real, you know these people and their situation is real, you end up believing it, and it hurts. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/17/02; 11:02:46 PM

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

We picked up the extended version on DVD this weekend and it was great. All the extra bits were definitely worth it. The best part being something that I noticed was missing the first time I saw it. Gimli and how his tune changes about Galadriel. This is the beginning of his friendship with Legolas and I think it is very important, and I found it satisfying to see it added back in here. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/17/02; 11:02:38 PM

What Lies Beneath
Very tense 'haunted house' movie. Decent story. If it wasn't that a plot outline I read gave some stuff away it would have been even better. Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford both give wonderful performances that remind me why I like them. I'm not much for thrillers usually but I did enjoy this one. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/12/02; 4:26:15 PM

Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain
Gorgeous, sweet, lots of fun. I hadn't heard anything bad about it, but wasn't sure what it was. Kind of a fairy tale, kind of a romance, a collection of little stories woven together... I liked it. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/9/02; 5:08:08 PM

Onegin

I think this is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. The visual, the sound, the costumes, the acting, are all superb. I'm not usually much for tragedies, so this is the exception. Of course it is a Liv Tyler movie and that is why I actually saw it in the theatre the first time. This was the first time I'd watched it since (2 1/2 years) and I loved it. I think I appreciated the beauty of it all much more this time. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/9/02; 2:53:55 PM

Dark City
One of my favorites. Dark and gritty and original. There are a couple grains of ideas that you've seen before. Aliens studying humans. But here it seems like a minor element of the whole. Something completely original was grown from this little seed. It's beautiful, I love it. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/9/02; 2:42:28 PM

Anywhere But Here
The truth can be embarassing. Even if it is a little uncomfortable. It is a complement to the movie to say that I was so wrapped up in it, so believing in the characters as real people, that I cringed and covered my eyes when they did embarassing things. And it's about family somewhat, and family can be rather embarassing. Movie Reviews item Posted: 11/9/02; 2:31:04 PM

Monster's Ball

Minute by minute this was rather intense. As a whole interesting. You start off by not liking any of the characters at all. You wonder why you should care about any of them. One character managed to redeem himself in my eyes by the end and that was Hank (Billy Bob Thornton). This movie was worth seeing once if you can manage to get through it. It's really depressing, but it lifts up a bit at the end. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/28/02; 10:51:11 PM

Exit to Eden

Lame! And on this one my expectations were low. Bummer. There were a few funny lines here and there, but overall it really sucked. No gay folks in the BDSM paradise and no real dominant people running the place. The head mistress was lame and wishy-washy. The supposed plot about this guy taking pictures of diamond smugglers was weak too. It just gave the side tension of cops and robbers both trying to find him on the island resort, but not knowing about each other, and the target doesn't know about any of them. I had been warned, and I shouldn't have bothered. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/28/02; 10:46:22 PM

Moonlight Mile

Fabulous film! My expectations were fairly high and I still loved this movie. Set in the 70s, so it had a great sound track. The movie starts with a funeral for a young woman who was murdered. Her parents and fiance have to deal with all the well wishing friends and the impending trial of the man who shot her because she happened to be sitting at the counter being served coffee by his wife, the real target. This movie doesn't pull any punches. The characters are deep and real. They love and hate, they are scared and confused. And the movie gentle brings in a little romance. I highly recommend this one. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/28/02; 10:28:19 PM

Roman Holiday

Haven't seen this in ages. I love it. It's so simple and lovely. Audrey Hepburn is amazing as the run away princess. How can you help but fall in love with her? The one thing that surprised me was the camera hidden in a lighter. I had no idea they had tiny spy cameras so early. But I guess that's me being naive, I just never thought about it before. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/28/02; 10:21:29 PM

Bowling for Columbine

Michael and I went to see this in a packed theatre last night. My expectations were high and I was still stunned at how well it was done. I think I may have to see it again. Marilyn Manson speaks intelligently on the issues. After mentioning how interesting it is that Clinton dropped more bombs in Kosovo the day of the Columbine massacre then any other day during that war, Manson says: Who is more influencial here, me or the president? I was already impressed by him, but damn, this made me want to buy his albums for everyone for Christmas. This guy is too much. In contrast, Charleton Heston came across as pathetic. He says he's never been the victim of any violent crime, yet he keeps a loaded gun around because it is his right. He also appeared in Littleton, CO (Columbine) for an NRA rally 10 days after the massacre. It also includes statistics from around the world that show the USA as having not only the highest yearly death toll by gunshot, but our number is 15 or 20 times higher then the next in line. Over 11,000 a year. From the footage from Columbine high school's security cameras to a conversation with a first grade teacher who had to call 911 when one 6 year old student in her class shot another, this film was amazing. (Heston and the NRA appeared here (Flint, MI) a week later as well.) Michael Moore asks the difficult question of What makes Americans so different? So much more violent and likely to kill someone with a gun? I think this should be required viewing not only for Americans in general, but for families, and young people especially. Look what they get to inherit. Isn't it great. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/20/02; 6:46:09 PM

Big Trouble

I think I had my hopes too high on this one. It had a few funny moments, but it wasn't all that great as a whole. I think that the cast and that it is based on a novel by Dave Barry got my hopes up. The actors didn't do anything wrong really, they just didn't have the greatest material to work with. I don't really blame Barry since his stuff usually makes me laugh a lot, but I suspect something must have happened after it left his hands. Maybe they just tried to cram too much in, and it all became really thin. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/20/02; 6:44:17 PM

Monsters, Inc.
Very sweet film. I like that the monsters are just regular guys doing there job. The cast was fabulous. Perfect really. Things were well balanced. You knew who the bad guy was without really trying. Not unusual for a kids movie. I really enjoyed it. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/17/02; 8:56:19 PM

Freeway

Weird film based on the Little Red Riding Hood story. Little Red is a hoodlum in this film. A pun that had to be pointed out to me because I don't generally like puns. Her mother is a druggy whore and her step father is a druggy child raper. When they get hauled off to jail she is supposed to go to foster care but decides she'd rather find the grandmother she has never met. On the way she gets picked up by a serial killer. Did I mention that it's weird? Kiefer Sutherland and Reese Witherspoon as the Wolf and Red are great. Both play sociopathic characters and the wolf gets what he deserves in the end. If you can handle the violence and all it's worth seeing at least once. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/17/02; 7:47:59 PM

Life As A House

Good Movie. Not phenomenal. Just simple and sweet and real. Kevin Kline gives an amazing performance as usual. I wouldn't be surprised if Hayden Christensen got his Star Wars role because of this one. He plays the sullen teenager who does drugs and hates his parents and thinks the universe owes him something. Does that last bit sound familiar? Anyway, Kline does everything right as the father who wants to show his son he cares. He loves the kid, Sam, and tells him 'You can hate me, you don't know how much I hated my father. Let's call it a family tradition.' Then when Sam lashes out, he hugs him. I don't think I could do it. But then that is one of dozens of reasons why I won't be having any kids. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/11/02; 6:29:28 PM

Artificial Intelligence: AI

More astounding the second time. I saw it in the theatre the first time and didn't really like it at all. It was depressing and awful. I didn't appreciate it. Which doesn't mean that it wasn't well done. I think it was suppose to be depressing and awful. All of the actors give phenominal performances. Haley Joel Osment as David was more frighteningly impressive, Jude Law as Gigolo Joe was a scene chewing charmer, and William Hurt as the unethical creator of David was exactly that, only interested in what he had managed to create, not caring for David at all. It had more impact on me this time. I was more prepared to appreciate for what it was. Stanley Kubrick should be proud. Movie Reviews item Posted: 10/5/02; 2:00:27 PM