Movie Reviews
To get a general idea of how I grade movies, you need to know the following:
- I love movies with a GREAT story.
- I like all genres except low-budget horror.
- Uniqueness and originality impress me, as it's always difficult to create something that hasn't already been done.
- The tried and true can be pretty impressive, too, but only if it's done really well.
- Humor puts me in a good mood. If it's done well, it's even better.
- Good drama and deeper meanings move me if they're not too maudlin or didactically obvious.
- Action excites me, so long as there's a purpose to it.
- And credibility. I have to have credibility*.
With that in mind, you should know whether or not to pay any heed to my recommendations.
The most recent reviews will be posted at the top.
Happy movie-going!
Girl, Interrupted
Seen: January 16, Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Based on a true story. Susanna Kayson commits herself to Claymore and, with the help of her friends, has to heal herself psychologically in order to get out.
Comments: I'm guessing that the trailers will appeal to teenaged girls, and guys will think that this is mainly a chick flick, but this is actually a serious drama. I like both Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, so maybe I'm prejudiced... but I liked the film.
Grade: A
The Hurricane
Seen: January 7, Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: This is the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, prize fighter wrongfully convicted of murder.
Comments: I loved it. Denzel Washington was great, as usual, and I love Canadians. Go see it.
Grade: A+
Stuart Little
Seen: January 1, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Mouse gets adopted by the Little family and encounters a few problems.
Comments: I came for the animation, and apparently, that's all there was; it didn't even match what E. B. White originally wrote. The story was lacking; the characters were bland; and there was no real conflict. I think the kids in the theater liked it, but what do
they know?
Grade: C
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Seen: December 31, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to bring a tycoon's ex-patriot son home and learns what it's like to live the good life.
Comments: Matt Damon, with the face of a choir boy, actually creeped me out in this film; he's such a great actor. This very well-directed film was subtle and so full of emotion and meaning just beneath the skin, you can almost imagine entire trains of thought going on in the characters' heads. I mean, there's
a lot going on beneath the surface, homosexuality for one. If you liked The English Patient, you'll like The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Grade: A+
Galaxy Quest
Seen: December 30, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: The stars of a popular science fiction show somehow get involved in the real deal, where they must help save an alien race from annihilation.
Comments: I wanted something cute, funny, and brainless today, and this movie satisfied every need; it's extremely cute and funny. There was only a handful of an audience in the theater, but that handful laughed hard.
Grade: A
Any Given Sunday
Seen: December 26, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: The first and second string quarterbacks of a fictional football team are injured, giving the rookie quarterback a chance at glory.
Comments: This is a typical Oliver Stone movie. I always say, if you notice the movie-making behind the movie, then the director has failed to suspend your disbelief. As my boyfriend once pointed out, Stone's a film student that never got over it. There are a lot of conventions in the cutting of this film -- slow motion, montage stuff, etc. -- that are
very distracting, useless, and overly didactic. Stone also stretched the ending too long; it made no sense and wasn't realistic. I know the message he was trying to get across, but it could have been done better; I hated it.
Grade: D
Man on the Moon
Seen: December 22, Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: The life story of comic Andy Kaufman.
Comments: If Jim Carrey doesn't get nominated for this one, I'll be very disappointed; he has Andy Kaufman down pat. The beginning is especially funny, very much like what the real Andy would do -- so don't arrive late!
Grade: A
Bicentennial Man
Seen: December 18, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: An android strives to be as human as possible and, at the end of 200 years, finally achieves his goal.
Comments: The trailers for this movie will mislead people into thinking that this is a comedy. It's not. It's a serious science fiction story with something to say. I liked it because I love science fiction, but outside of that, I don't really feel very strongly about the movie.
Grade: B
The Green Mile
Seen: December 10, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A former guard of a death row block recounts a series of events involving a urinary tract infection, two bad men, and a wrongfully convicted simple giant with a miraculous gift.
Comments: I heard that this movie is at least 3 hours long, but I never noticed. It's as good as Shawshank Redemption,
and it made me cry. Go see it.
Grade: A+
Toy Story 2
Seen: December 5, Twilight
Very Brief Synopsis: Space toy Buzz Lightyear and friends set off to save cowboy doll Woody from the clutches of an unscrupulous toy dealer and the loveless fate of being kept in a museum.
Comments: G-rated movie, but I loved every minute of it. I want to work for Pixar!!! Those dog hairs were great.
Grade: A+
The World Is Not Enough
Seen: November 21, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: The famous agent 007's mission is to protect the daughter of a recently murdered oil king, only to find out that she's the one behind the murder.
Comments: You can't escape the formula of this franchise, really... or it wouldn't be James Bond.
For what it is, I liked it, although I liked the last one better.
007 as the womanizer still doesn't feel right, though.
Grade: B+
The Bone Collector
Seen: November 19, Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: A crippled but expert forensics specialist mentors a young cop as she acts as his eyes and ears in the field, on the trail of a serial killer with a taste for the gruesome.
Comments: I used free movie passes to see this because I wouldn't have paid full price initially, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The movie follows a formula, but it's carried out well in the red herrings and good editing.
Is it a sin to want to look like Angelina Jolie?
Grade: A
The Messenger
Seen: November 14, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: During one of France's darkest times in history, a young woman named Joan emerges from among the peasants to lead her country's army against the English in the name of God.
Comments: I love Luc Besson's work, but he could have done better.
The first half of the movie was great, and the battle scenes were especially good, but the Dustin Hoffman character ruined the second half of the movie for me.
The ending was also a little too brief, but I like the idea that Joan's visions or voices came from within herself and not from God.
Grade: B
Dogma
Seen: November 13, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: The last scion of Christ is called upon to stop two outcast angels from entering a church to absolve themselves of all sin, and therefore also rendering God fallible and destroying all existence.
Comments: Very cute comedy.
I don't understand why the Catholic church is so upset; it's perfectly harmless.
I don't think the movie was meant to undermine the church's beliefs; in fact, it educates people about the various chains of angels and myriad histories found in The Book.
There are moments in the movie I could have done well without, like the poop monster and some overly didactic speeches, but all in all, I liked it.
What really endears the movie to me, though, are silent Bob and the brightly smiling Alanis Morisette as God.
Grade: A-
Being John Malkovich
Seen: November 7, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Puppeteer finds a hidden portal to John Malkovich's mind and takes on his persona to live out his own dreams.
Comments: This movie is probably the strangest that I have ever seen or will ever see.
Every little detail is a weird but fabulous discovery.
It's quirky, funny, poignant, and it's the most original concept that I've ever seen on film.
All the lines are memorable, and it leaves you wanting to talk about the film long after you've left the theater.
If you haven't seen it, you should go out and see it now.
Grade: A+
The Insider
Seen: November 6, Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Fact-based exposé of corporate pressure to keep a big tobacco whistleblower's story from airing on "60 Minutes".
Comments: This movie is well done, and the fact that it's based on actual events puts it up two notches in my estimation.
Al Pacino is great in the role of the producer.
Grade: A
