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Adaptation
Seen: December 28, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman adapts a book called The Orchid Thief, by Susan Orlean.
Comments: I've seen another one of Charlie Kaufman's work... Being John Malkovich. Heck, and I thought that was weird. This one is even weirder. Charlie writes himself into this script, and he does not have a twin brother named Donald, and the internal monologues are strange and funny. I left the theater chanting, "Weird, weird, weird." Need I say that it's a weird film? It's a weird film. What I find most odd is that there's a bio for his fictional twin, Donald, on IMDB. Weird, weird, weird. Oh... and weird!
Grade: B
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Catch Me If You Can
Seen: December 25, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Based on a true story, this movie is about a young man who forges checks (and pretends to be a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer) and the FBI agent who is after him.
Comments: Awesome story! What makes it even more awesome is that it's based on a real person who now earns millions and millions of dollars by helping banks protect themselves from forgers like himself. Again, after Gangs of New York, I was even more impressed with DiCaprio. He's having a hell of a good weekend in the box office, I'm sure. Another must-see.
Grade: A+
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Seen: December 23, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: This is the second installment in a famous trilogy; surely you don't need a synopsis.
Comments: I found this much better than the first one. It didn't seem as long, for one. The imagery, as before, was fabulous, and everyone looked just as their character's race is supposed to look. Gollum as a schizo was great! He was the most interesting character in this one. Not much else to comment on, but if you're a fan of the books, you should definitely go see it.
Grade: A
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Gangs of New York
Seen: December 22, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Set in New York's Five Points in the 1840s-1860s, this movie is about one particular Irish immigrant's revenge against the man who killed his father in a gang war.
Comments: Awesome, awesome film. Very gritty, very realistic, very harsh. Daniel Day-Lewis as the villianous William Cutting was wonderful, very charming in a greasy way, almost a caricature, but only in the best possible way. Leonardo DiCaprio totally surprised me with his acting. Since Titanic, I haven't really thought much of him, but he impressed me in this film. He was great with Cameron Diaz. A must-see film. Definitely. I mean, it's a Scorsese film, so how can you not see it, really?
Grade: A+
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Two Weeks Notice
Seen: December 21, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Comedy romance about an idealistic do-good lawyer who works as a personal assistant to a tycoon.
Comments: I love Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, I really do, but for a comedy romance this movie was a little long and slow-paced. There's not much that goes on, not a whole lot of conflict, not a whole lot of plot. Hugh Grant had the cutest lines, though... very witty lines that seemed to have been written just for him. Chick flick.
Grade: B
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Maid in Manhattan
Seen: December 14, 2002 - Twilight
Very Brief Synopsis: Cinderella rags-to-riches story involving a hotel maid and a senatorial candidate.
Comments: Chick flick. Total fantasy. Still cute. I liked it like I like junk food sometimes, you know?
Grade: B
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Frida
Seen: December 1, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: The story of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's life with Mexican artist Diego Rivera.
Comments: Such an awesome, painful, heartbreaking movie. I really don't know how to comment on it. True story, though, and so intricately tied to other bits of history I've gleaned from other movies and things I've read. Indie, artsy, pure. If you like smart movies, go see it.
Grade: A+
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Die Another Day
Seen: November 29, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: James Bond takes on villians from North Korea this time.
Comments: This is the new and improved extreme-sports James Bond, taking a cue from Triple X and doing physical things that classy urbane older men shouldn't do. Still... it was nice. Think of it as an upgraded version of the Bond character. To maintain sexiness in the new generation, jump off this cliff. At least the wordplay is a little more subtle. And of course, Halle Berry rocks!
Grade: B+
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Seen: November 15, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: This is a movie based on the second book in a world-famous series of books. Do you really need a brief synopsis?
Comments: Much, much better than the first Harry Potter movie, which dragged. This one moved a little faster, and they were much more free with cutting out parts from the book so that the movie wouldn't drag. The special effects were better, too. If you like the book, you'll like the movie. Still a little long, but hey, movies based on novels typically are. Gilderoy Lockhart was perfect!
Grade: B+
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Punch-Drunk Love
Seen: November 2, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A small business owner with anger management problems gets harrassed by porn scammers as he's trying to romance a woman he's met and fallen in love with.
Comments: It's an artsy movie, so I thought it might be pretty good despite Adam Sandler's being in it. I was wrong. Adam Sandler was Adam Sandler. The movie, with or without Adam Sandler, sucked anyway. It was short and deliberately vague... because art movies are supposed to be vague. Only in this case, there was no justification for it.
Grade: C
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The Tuxedo
Seen: October 13, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A secret agent's limo driver suddenly finds himself posing as his employer in the middle of heavy-duty spy work and uses a borrowed tuxedo to help him bluff his way through.
Comments: The movie was cute! But then, I find all of Jackie Chan's movies cute. Jackie Chan is simply adorable and funny. Jennifer Love Hewitt, on the other hand, didn't really look the part; she looked like she could have been easily snapped in two in all of the fight scenes. Any other actress would have been better for that role.
Grade: B
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Red Dragon
Seen: October 6, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Prequel to Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, this is the story of the FBI agent who caught Hannibal Lecter, of how he caught him, and of how he used Hannibal's help to catch another serial killer, one who calls himself the Red Dragon.
Comments: There were mixed reviews on this one, but I loved it. I think it's far, far better than the second one and almost as good as the first one. Ed Norton was awesome; his character is much, much smarter than Clarice Starling, which I liked about him. The only downside is that I was able to predict some of the story, whereas the first movie led everyone by the nose hairs. Still pretty good, though. Way better than I anticipated.
Grade: A
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Welcome to Collinwood
Seen: October 5, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Five incompetent guys try to break into a safe. The keyword here is try.
Comments: As I type this, the movie is showing on only 16 screens in this country, this weekend. It's a shame because I think it would have done somewhat well. It's cute. It's funny. The characters are quirky, pitiable, and hopelessly unlucky in a comedic sort of way. Let's just say it's a wannabe Coen brothers flick.
Grade: A
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The Banger Sisters
Seen: September 22, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Two former rock groupies and best friends meet up and stir up a dull life.
Comments: I watched this the same weekend as Four Feathers because I wanted to see how mother (Goldie Hawn) and daughter (Kate Hudson) would compare at the box office on their opening weekend, and I wanted to give them both a fair chance. Well... Kate's movie is better; Goldie's movie needed more work on the script. It could have been really cute, but it went awry at the graduation scene; it felt forced and fake, and it made no sense. Otherwise, it's a fun movie.
Grade: B-
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The Four Feathers
Seen: September 21, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A British officer resigns his post just before his regiment is sent to war and he receives four feathers for his cowardice; he then spends his days redeeming himself and doing heroic acts so he can return each of the four feathers to its sender.
Comments: This is the best film I've seen in a long, long time. The story simply cannot fail. There's more going on in this film than in the last two movies I saw combined. It's a remake, and I've never seen any of the older ones, but it doesn't seem like a remake. It was well directed; the scene where Wes Bentley's character tells his friends that he's going to ask Kate Hudson's charater to marry him is the perfect example of how well this is directed—the stunned silence that befalls the group was tangible and deafening. Also, this movie is done like the movies of old, with real extras, real stunts, and real landscapes. Heath Ledger, whom I absolutely adore, actually does a running remount on a horse in slow motion. Good God. Color me impressed. Djimon Hounsou as Abou Fatma was great, too. His character is the kind of friend I'd want in times of crises; he would lie down and die for you, and all because he had no choice—God put you in his way. But again, the story is the best thing about this movie. Go see it! It's an A-plus-plus-plus movie.
Grade: A+
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One Hour Photo
Seen: September 13, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A lonely one-hour photo lab clerk, obsessed with a young, attractive picture-perfect family, goes a little off the deep end.
Comments: Robin Williams does rather well; he's as creepy in this movie as I'd thought he'd be in Insomnia. The script was a little thin, though, and just a touch over the top and transparent when towards the end Williams' character reveals his abusive childhood. My main complaint with this movie is the way it was marketed. It was all over TV for a while, and Williams was on every talk show, but the movie was in only 7 theaters, none of them within a 150-mile radius from where I am. Now come on. If you're going to advertise a movie like that and build up a desire to see it, have the movie available on enough screens! By the time it was available at a theater near me, the latest ad or promo I saw for it was weeks ago. The average person would have forgotten all about it and never bothered to see the movie at all.
Grade: B+
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City by the Sea
Seen: September 8, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Vincent Lamarca, whose father was executed for a 1950s kidnapping of a child, grew up to become a police officer, only to see his own son become a murderer. (imdb)
Comments: I went mainly to see James Franco's performance. He'd played James Dean in a TV movie and really impressed me, and I'm so glad he did a great job in this movie. The plot is very loosely based on a true story, but it was just a tad overwritten—well, a bit like a TV movie. DeNiro, as usual, was good. So, if you're looking for a reason to watch this, it's Franco and DeNiro; otherwise, you don't really need to see it.
Grade: B+
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Seen: September 2, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: This is a romantic comedy about a Greek woman falling in love with a non-Greek man and all the hullabaloo that goes with her big fat Greek family coming to terms with it.
Comments: Ohhh... this is an awesome movie. Sweet, funny, and oh-so-cute. John Corbett plays the non-Greek groom, and I must say that it's totally Carrie Bradshaw's loss; he was just perfect. The people who played his painfully white parents were the perfect WASPs, too. And Toula's Greek family, with all its quirks and tackiness, was just awesome and cuddly and warm. I especially loved the father with his penchant for Windex and etymology. Throw away your Oxy10, kids; Windex does the trick. My Big Fat Greek Wedding might be considered a chick flick, but it's a definite must-see.
Grade: A+
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Signs
Seen: August 4, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A farm family discover crop circles in their field, which leads to a lot of speculation, uneasiness, and weird happenings that may or may not have to do with aliens.
Comments: This movie is actually less about the aliens and more about Mel Gibson's character's faith. [He is a priest who gave up the collar because he lost his faith after his wife died.] Like Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, which were written and directed by the same guy, it's a one-gag movie that isn't really all that scary but so well done in a Hitchcock way that it makes you sit at the edge of your seat. The laybacks are a little obvious, but everything ties up in the end.
Grade: A
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Austin Powers in Goldmember
Seen: July 26, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Austin Powers, international man of mystery, fights Dr. Evil once again, this time with the help of Foxy Cleopatra.
Comments: The James Bond beginning was awesome. Awesome. The cast in that first 10 minutes alone was priceless. The rest of the movie was as funny as the first two movies, if not funnier, and it's so neat of Mike Myers not to do the same old thing over and over again. I mean, I liked the visual gags in the first two, but in this third movie, the visual gag is in the subtitles. Great date movie. Go see.
Grade: A
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K-19: The Widowmaker
Seen: July 19, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Based on the true story of a Soviet nuclear submarine meeting up with disaster on its maiden voyage.
Comments: I'm not a war movie kind of girl, but this was an awesome flick—technically correct and oh-so inspiring. Makes one wonder why we were in a cold war at all.
Grade: A+
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Road to Perdition
Seen: July 14, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Mike Sullivan is a hitman who is betrayed and must therefore flee with his son as he seeks revenge.
Comments: This is an awesome film, directed by the same guy who did American Beauty. The cinematography was great, and the acting was super—subtle, under-acted, especially the kid. I really liked the digital work done in the scene where Mike and Michael drive into Chicago; it looks very real and timely. And even though I knew where the story was going to go, I loved every minute of it and rained tears throughout some of the second half. A must see!
Grade: A+
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Men in Black II
Seen: July 4, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Agent J brings Agent K back to the force so they can save the world again.
Comments: Not nearly as good as the first one; in fact, it kind of fell a little flat in some places—at least in my opinion. It's still pretty good entertainment, though.
Grade: B
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Minority Report
Seen: June 23, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A pre-crime cop of the future is accused of a crime he is supposed to commit in 36 hours, and in setting out to prove his innocence he finds out the truth behind the system.
Comments: It's a little bit predictable, but Minority Report is great. I love the story, and it was wonderfully directed. The only glitch in the plot that I saw is in the setting up of Tom Cruise's character -- which would be a little too complicated to explain in a brief review. In any case, the eye candy was awesome; I want that technology!
Grade: A
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The Bourne Identity
Seen: June 16, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Secret agent loses his memory during a mission, finds himself and his only ally to be moving targets, and tries to find out who he is and why people are trying to kill him.
Comments: Awesome film. I don't think there was a part of it that I didn't like. The car chase scenes were extremely well done -- truly, truly awesome; I'm told it's the same stunt driver from Ronin. Way to go, Matt Damon; I think you have a hit. Go see.
Grade: A+
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The Sum of All Fears
Seen: June 2, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Yet another Jack Ryan spy movie based on Tom Clancy's books -- only in this one, Baltimore gets blown up with a nuclear bomb as a new order of Nazi terrorists attempt to get us to war with Russia.
Comments: I don't follow Tom Clancy's work; nor do I much follow the movies that are based on his books... but -- correct me if I'm wrong -- shouldn't the Jack Ryan character be older, not younger? Alec Baldwin played him in The Hunt for Red October, and now, many years later, a younger Ben Affleck plays him. The chronology of the whole thing confuses me. Not too bad a movie, though. Could be better.
Grade: A-
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Insomnia
Seen: May 25, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: An L.A. cop investigated by Internal Affairs is transferred to Alaska to help solve a murder case, only to find all his past transgressions catching up to him.
Comments: Predictable, but pretty good. I was hoping for better, perhaps for more in Robin Williams' character. I think they cheated him on the part because he could have done better if his character had as much creepiness to him as the character Hannibal (in Silence of the Lambs) does. They also kind of wasted Hilary Swank, but what's worst is using Maura Tierney as a plot device; it seems her role was to get Al Pacino to confess, so that the audience would know what the heck is going on with that blood-staining scene they keep replaying throughout the film. All said, it's still not bad.
Grade: A-
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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Seen: May 21, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Jumping Jehoshaphat! Do you really need a synopsis of this movie?
Comments: We weren't going to watch it -- honestly, we weren't. But we saw that a local theater was showing it "in pure digital," so we made plans to see it. The Boeing digital projection system was nice and sharp -- no scratches, no shaky float that comes from the film sprockets moving about. The visuals were definitely interesting. I most especially liked Yoda and the four-armed short order cook at the diner. The movie, however, was unbearably long and stupid. The dialogue sucked. The character motivations (did they even exist?) made no sense whatsoever. It would have been far better had I watched the whole thing with the mute button pressed. I think George Lucas spent so much time on making sure every matte background and 3D effect looked impressive enough to awe that he simply forgot to do any real writing. Attack of the clones? How appropriate the title! It was derivative not only of old myths and philosophies, but of other movies (see if you don't recognize Gladiator, Blackhawk Down, and Crouching Tiger in some of those scenes) and definitely of itself. I could be wrong, but I thought R2D2 and C3PO didn't meet until episode 4 or 5 -- no? Like I said, I could be wrong. In any case, it looked like they were slugged in to try to be the comic relief, but while it worked for me in the original trilogies, it didn't work for me here.
Grade: C
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About a Boy
Seen: May 19, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: Hugh Grant plays a hip yet shallow guy named Will, who learns from a young boy that no man is an island.
Comments: Awesome movie. Poignant, funny, interesting -- all the main characters have arcs, and everything pays off nicely in the end, with a great life lesson included. Hugh Grant was great. Rachel Weisz was great, too; she had far less lines than she did in The Mummy, but she did far more acting. Go see the movie!
Grade: A+
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Hollywood Ending
Seen: May 5, 2002 - Matinee
Very Brief Synopsis: A has-been director gets a chance at making his comeback film, but he loses his sight due to stress at the start of shooting and has to fake his way through the whole thing.
Comments: Cute movie. Considering that this was a Woody Allen, it could have been better. The ending seemed a little too quickly put together, and there simply should have been more scenes to foreshadow Téa Leoni's character getting back with Woody Allen's, especially since she was close to marrying the rival.
Grade: B+
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Spider-Man
Seen: May 3, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: Bitten by an experimental spider, Peter Parker gains special spider-like abilities and becomes a superhero.
Comments: The plot was by the numbers; it basically follows the familiar comic book story. The acting was kind of cartoonish (Peter Parker's aw-shucks attitude got a little old), which is too bad because I like Tobey Maguire's other work. Dialogue was bad, bad, bad writing. Treacle! Fortunately for me, I didn't notice it until the end, when Kirsten Dunst put her hand on Tobey's cheek and said those stupid over-the-top lines -- ick! Who in the world would actually say those words in real life with a straight face? A fun date movie, nevertheless -- good for a mindless night out. As I write this, it's made a ton of money and will continue to do so until Star Wars Episode II comes out.
Grade: B+
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Panic Room
Seen: May 3, 2002 - Evening
Very Brief Synopsis: A recently divorced woman and her daughter buy a house with a panic room, only to find out that it's the target of three thieves determined to get what's hidden in there.
Comments: Totally by the numbers, but an interesting concept. The right guys die, and the "good" bad guy gets the proper ending. The very, very end, however, was kind of a waste; it didn't make any sense to me at all, and they might as well have left it out. I was told that Jodie Foster's role was originally going to Nicole Kidman, who would have done just as well if not better -- especially since Panic Room is like Dead Calm on land.
Grade: B+
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