2002: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Wed, 05/26/2004 - 04:49
Tags:
Loved
About a Boy
... Hugh Grant's best role and possibly his best movie as well. Even with all the critical acclaim and good reviews from esteemed Listologists I liked this more than I expected. I think it's because everybody liked High Fidelity more than I did. The difference is that High Fidelity has an anemic heart while this movie has a huge pulsing heart. A very funny movie, but with a surprising amount of depth. It's amazing how Grant, in one voiceover, can describe his life and make it sound like he's the king of the world and then say the same things in the third act and make it sound like he has less than nothing. Toni Collette is nigh invincible as an actress. All I really look for in a child actor is to not irritate me, and Nicholas Hoult vaulted over that meager requirement by miles. One of the few "Dramedies" that hits the balance point perfectly. Who would of thought the American Pie guys had it in 'em?The Bourne Identity
... THIS is the car chase I was expecting from Ronin! Why did that car chase get all the hype and this none of it? Good stuff. Unlike onion rings--which I always expect to enjoy but never do--Matt Damon always delivers even though I never expect anything of him. Franka Potente pairs with him very nicely. I hope she has a good career; she's been good in all three movies I've seen her in. I don't really understand why good action movies are such rare birds, but they are, and it makes me all the more grateful for them when they come along. Two favorite moments: [1] the look on Matt Damon's face when he grabs the nightstick - it's just a flicker, but you can see the moment when he realizes he somehow knows what to do. [2] Franka Potente's solution to the bank problem.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
... While I favor the first movie, this is as good a middle child as could be hoped for, especially since it's impossible to get a movie made that clocks in over three hours. For me the emotional centerpieces of both movies were the tragedies: Boromir in The Fellowship and Gollum/Smeagol here. It's been awhile since I read the books, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the movie does a better job than the book in portraying Gollum ambiguously. Reading the book I remember siding with Samwise; Gollum was simply not to be trusted. Here he's still not to be trusted, but he is also so so pitiable. A marvelous character (the best?) and technologically amazing.Hero
... While I'm still a bit disquieted by the seeming thematic endorsement of peace through subjugation, a good friend of mine, and a student of Asian culture, assures me that I need to understand how important this concept is in Chinese history, not just to the government, but the people as well. Certainly there is no easy answer to the question of what's better: to have many warring factions and chaos, or peace under the heavy hand of the victor, and I think the movie does a good job expressing that problem. But enough politics! While this may have the loftiest ambitions of any kung fu movie I've seen, it's still a kung fu movie. As I've written before I'm not usually a big fan of wire-fu, but the choreography here is so graceful it's entrancing (and befitting of such sumptuous cinematography). Jet Li's rather expressionless performance worked for me nonetheless, and everyone else was terrific, even if the characters were more shallowly drawn than I'm used to in a Zhang Yimou movie (I do wonder even more if the rumors of Miramax pressuring him to cut 20 minutes are true). The color-coded Rashomon structure is anything but subtle, but I loved it. Update: I've been thinking about this more off-and-on. I don't have much to add at the moment, but I did find some interesting reading here, here, and here.Infernal Affairs
... One of the finest cat-and-mouse (I suppose it's more like cat-and-cat) movies I've seen. Tony Leung is the undercover cop whose been under cover too long. Andy Lau is the triad mole. Watching them maneuver as they (and their respective squads/gangs) become increasingly aware of each other is fascinating, and the leads are perfectly, perfectly cast (when is Tony Leung not perfectly cast?). Just the look of the two leads captures their through-the-looking-glass relationship to each other. It feels like an action movie even if it happens to contain very little action. Everything satisfies except the music.The Man on the Train
... I've only seen a few, but if my sample is any indication than Patrice Leconte only makes good movies, and this one is my favorite. Even subtitled, there are some great lines in this movie. For example, I love when the professor goes to his barber asking for something new, and describes the cut he wants as "in between 'fresh out of jail' and "world class soccer player.'" The camera loves our leads, Jean Rochefort and Johnny Hallyday, and even though the movie is mostly the two of them talking (and Hallyday doesn't say much), and it's an easy going and gentle movie through most of it, it's somehow still captivating. Also, a rare find (and spoilers abound), but here's an IMDB discussion about the ending worth reading. I don't buy the Fight Club argument, at least not on a physical level, but I do think many of the symbolic parallels are interesting.Spellbound
... That bell, oh that bell. Y'know those little push-button bells you find on service counters that you smack with the palm of your hand when you need attention? Well that's what they ring during the National Spelling Bee championships when a word is mispelled. By the time the tournament was underway I had enough invested in the eight young contestants this documentary follows that I would literally cringe or hold my breath as they finished up their words, and I waited for the bell to sound or not. The drama and tension of the competition plays out in each of their faces as they struggle with their various words, and it's a joy to watch. The concept of both the contest and the documentary are so incredibly simple, and yet it's surprisingly rich in drama. It's not life-shattering drama--it's just a spelling bee after all--but for conveying the drama of sport and competition, it doesn't get much better than this.Together
... It's possible that Zhang Yimou has an unfair advantage in the race to be my favorite director, since it seems I have a weakness for China's "Fifth Generation" directors in general. I haven't seen a bad movie out of Chen Kaige yet, but this one's my favorite of his - the story of a violin prodigy and his "peasant" father who travel to Beijing to secure a teacher for the boy. It's unabashedly sentimental, but genuinely touching, and beautifully shot (Kaige sure can pick imagery and cinematographers (Zhang was the cinematographer for Kaige's first movie, Yellow Earth). The gentle sense of humor here is perfect, and jumps the culture gap perfectly intact, which is a rare leap, in my somewhat limitied experience. The finales of most movies try to have their cake and eat it too, but this one doesn't and yet it's still filling.The Twilight Samurai
... Perhaps the most human samurai movie I've seen. It's almost certainly not a coincidence that it also features the most genuinely reluctant hero of any genre. Seibei Iguchi is a low-level samurai earning not nearly enough money to pay for his wife's medical treatment and funeral, and to support his senile mother and two young daughters. He takes work on the side, must manage all the household chores and field work, and is so overextended he can't even properly attend to the state of his own clothes or hygiene. His co-workers dub him Twilight Seibei, an moniker I've learned is rife with meaning. It's an insult in Japanese, he disappears at twilight to return to his family rather than go out drinking, and is likely also symbolic of the end of the samurai era. And yet his dignity runs as deep as his humility. But of course our hero's humble life must butt up against his duties to his clan, and the sense of impending loss is almost overwhelming. Ultimately though, this movie is rather hard for me to evaluate. There were times when I felt sure I was in the midst of watching a new favorite; a movie that would leave me either crushed and weeping or overjoyed at the outcome. When such an experience failed to materialize, I felt let down. Still, there's so much I admire here, and I have found, with parenthood, I've become a sucker for movies that portray parenting with realism and affection, and this one's got it in spades.Really Liked
Bloody Sunday
... A dramatization of the 1972 civil rights march in Derry, Ireland turned massacre as English troops opened fire on the marchers. The documentary style serves the film well, immersing you in the events of the day, and infusing the first half with a sense of foreboding doom, as you see the British troops gearing up for a crackdown, the Irish hooligans and militants gearing up to provoke one, and the marchers and organizers trapped in the middle. As for the second half, it's easy to forget you're not watching a documentary as the massacre unfolds. The filmmakers heap blame on the English, but not so uninlaterally that you don't understand the stress and fear in the trenches, as well as the ambivalence at various points along the chain of command. Of course, regardless of why this particular powderkeg was touched off, there's no denying the marchers cause (internments without trial, and then the prevention of the march itself).Bowling for Columbine
... I could write my own review, but I'd just be trying to find an original way to write what LBangs already said.Changing Lanes
... A morality tale. The moral? Turn the other cheek, fer cryin' out loud! Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck play two guys at war over a fender-bender. It was so deliciously frustrating to watch one guy be this close to doing the right thing only to have some time-delayed catastrophe instigated by the other guy harden his heart. The credibility of the plot stretches at times, but it never breaks.City of God
... The movie suffers slightly from two problems, one internal and the other my own damn fault. The film's problem I will dub the "Saving Private Ryan effect", where the opening is just so jaw-droppingly good that the rest of the movie can't hope to measure up. The other problem is that I had very high expectations for this one, and expectations of any kind are the root of all disappointments. So take my own baggage and compound the problem with an opening that thrilled me and I felt a bit let down when all was said and done. But enough about me. Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles have managed to put together a movie about kids killing each other in the slums of Rio de Janeiro that neither glorifies the violence nor wallows in overwrought pathos. It's hard not to feel a certain detachment from a movie that shows seven-year-olds running with murdering gangs because it's just so *alien*. I had to force myself to remember the film reflects real life in a real place, and the effect was at times stunning. A window into a whole 'nother world. The view wasn't always pleasant, but it didn't ring any false notes. It was interesting to me that the movie seems to have a narrator and hero, but he largely disappears for large chunks of the movie, leaving the movie without a focal point (perhaps a source of both the movie's strength and weakness). I'll have to think on that a bit more. Finally, as an aside, the movie's IMDb trivia page is one of the more interesting I've seen, and using amateur actors worked out brilliantly.Comedian
... First of all, while quite funny in spots, this is not a comedy. The production value was only so-so, and some of the audio was muddied, largely due to unavoidable background noise, I'm sure. Nonetheless, it's a fascinating documentary. Some of the lessons learned: [1] There is no such thing as an overnight success. [2] Stand-up comedy is an incredibly difficult job. [3] Bill Cosby is god. [4] In comedy like everything else, there's a large gulf between the best in the business and those that are merely great. [5] Jerry Seinfeld seems like a surprisingly grounded guy. [6] Robert Klein is revered by comics, and the one bit of his we see makes it obvious why. Two other things that make this worth the price of admission in an of themselves: [a] Seinfeld's retelling of a Glen Miller anecdote to a young comic, and [b] we can actually see the evolution of his "think tank" bit right before our very eyes.The Eye
... A ghost story that covers familiar, thoroughly trodden ground, but manages to make it seem fresh and interesting. The touted visual stylings of the Pang Brothers do not disappoint, and our heroine is much better realized here than in lesser ghost stories. Her isolation is played to great effect, as the isolation caused by her blindness is assuaged by activities for the blind, like her musical troupe. Those comforts are then stripped from her though, as she leaves the community of the blind after her cornea transplant, but can't fully enter the community of the sighted because she sees things nobody else does. The movie threatens to end poorly, and there are a few missteps (the waitress that can also see ghosts, and our heroine's failure to ask her any questions would be a HUGE ones, along with a confusing scene where our heroine appears to be in bed when our hero checks on her, but is really (?) somewhere else) but ultimately mostly satisfies. Horror fans may knock it for not being scary enough, but I was on the edge of my seat often enough, even if I never quite jumped out of it.Far From Heaven
... I've long thought Julianne Moore overrated, and naturally there's good reason for me to be in the minority opinion. She is excellent here, as are Dennises Quaid (good looks and playfulness firmly in check here) and Haysbert (brings the presidential voice and presence while still being a completely different character). Haynes pulls off what must have been an insanely difficult task: telling a modern story in a 50s style, complete with 50-year-old melodrama and dialogue intact, and making it work on its own terms rather than as a joke or a throwback.Gangs of New York
... Scorsese does Hamlet. Not really, of course, but I couldn't help thinking that both the Bard's play and this movie would have been much shorter with just an ounce of decisiveness in our heros. That wouldn't make for much of story in either case though, now would it? Like several of Scorsese's movies, the real star of this movie is New York itself, but interestingly it's a New York I never could have imagining existing. And yet all the stuff that I thought must surely be fabricated or at least exaggerated I found, upon further research, to be lifted from history. I really should have paid more attention in school. Anyway, as for the non-municipal cast, I saw a comment to the effect of, "thank goodness Daniel Day-Lewis is capable of channelling a young De Niro, since De Niro himself has long since retired from real acting." Amen. Day-Lewis is impressive, making a larger-than-life flamboyant villian surprisingly human. DiCaprio manages to hold his own, even if his voiceovers grate. Heck, while we're at it I liked Cameron Diaz too, even if her part was largely superfluous. Jim Broadbent was perfect, as usual, in a role I wish was larger. An average entry from Mr. Scorsese--perhaps a touch above par for him--which makes it pretty f__king good (sorry, I let Joe Pesci channel in on this review for a moment).In America
... A very enjoyable and heartwarming tale of poor Irish immigrants come to NYC. This is such an easy movie to botch by stumbling into overbearing sentimentality. I won't lie to you: this one probably crosses the line a couple times, but only barely, and I was really in the right mood to have my heartstrings tugged, so it worked for me.Minority Report
... A fine, fine near-future vision. I never thought I'd see the day where somebody's eyeballs would roll across the floor in a Speilberg movie, but that day has come. It's also a treat to see a movie with beautiful F/X that blends seamlessly into the work rather than distracting from it or overshadowing it. Speilberg has a penchant for throwing false endings at his viewers, and this movie is no exception, but here, as in A.I., it works for me. I may be in the *ahem*... minority in both cases though. Finally, my wife made a funny observation that the transparent computer monitors sure do look cool, but boy what a pain they'd be to use. We joked that if you stocked a real office with such monitors, they'd all have black construction paper taped to the back. Of course, I'm betting in this case the device was chosen because it lets us see the actor's faces as much as for the shiny futuristic look. Anyway, I'm thinking fans of this should seek out A.I. and vice versa. It's been a good decade for Speilbergian science fiction so far!Phone Booth
... When a movie spends almost its entire running time focussed on one character, trapped in a phone booth talking to a sniper that has him in his sights, the actor playing that character damn well better deliver, and Colin Farrell couldn't have done a better job. Of course, he's not the only element of this film's success. The supporting cast is uniformly strong (special notice must be given to the relative unknowns playing the "G-string Union;" they did a great job), and the cinematography keeps what could have been a very static movie visually interesting (if it entices you Aronofsky fans, Matthew Libatique of Pi and Requiem for a Dream fame is the cinematographer here). A good thriller, reminiscent of a top-drawer Twilight Zone, minus the supernatural element.The Pianist
... A wonderful holocaust movie. But have there been any bad ones? The material is horrifying and heart-wrenching by nature, and you've got to have a fair amount of confidence (and presumably that confidence comes from skill) to tackle such a subject. It seems to me that if you were a gambler and wanted to bet you could pick a good movie at random from a given genre, you'd stay away from the romantic comedies and gravitate toward the holocaust movies. But I digress, and this movie doesn't deserve such meandering. Thank goodness we got the Chinatown Polanski rather than his Ninth Gate doppelganger, and Adrien Brody is masterful. How has he avoided my attention until now? The unfolding of the Holocaust as viewed from his perspective is gripping and moving, and even relaying the story to my wife the next day (who is wise enough to stay from depressing movies) almost brought tears to my eyes, as I described the scene in which Brody opens a package and discovers a completely mundane object, shattering in its simple thoughfulness in a sea of tragedy.The Ring
... A very effective horror movie. Naomi Watts delivers, and the plot is tight (although it took me about 24 hours to piece together a narrative that satisfied my wife's initial plot hole complaints). Good scares, good gimmicks, good mystery.Ripley's Game
... Could this be the best direct-to-video movie ever? I know it got theatrical releases in other countries, but not here in the good ol' US of A. John Malkovich makes a great Tom Ripley, and when he says he's at peace with his lack of conscience, we *believe* him. Ray Winstone effectively bounces from smarmy to oafish (loved that recording studio scene!) to desparate, and Dougray "the man with three first names" Scott is surprisingly terrific. The movie is a bit broken in half, as Ripley shifts his plan seemingly on a whim, and I'm not sure if the movie is better or worse for this, but clearly it is necessary to bring us to our intended denouement. I dug it, and it's a shame it didn't get a theatrical release.Roger Dodger
... Finally, a ladies man presented as an overt dickhead. Campbell Scott turns in an excellent performance as the title character, who grudgingly agrees to teach his 16-year-old nephew how to get laid. His cynicism played against his nephew's guileless halting charm plays to great effect, and much tension is derived wondering just how much Uncle Roger is going to corrupt the youth. We know Jesse Eisenberg's Nick will learn from the experience, but we don't know if they'll be the right lessons, and we don't know if Roger will learn anything at all, or if any kind of redemption is coming his way (it's hard to teach someone so obviously intelligent--who things he knows everything--anything). The more I write about it, the more I like it.Secretary
... An interesting movie to watch as we here in Massachusetts are in the midst of a gay marriage imbroglio. I imagine folks who go scarlet with rage over the thought of what gay couples do in the bedroom would also blow a gasket over this sympathetic portrayal of an S&M romance, so of course the film scores points with me for that. I have no idea how accurately this movie portrays the S&M lifestyle, but it does a wonderful job demonstrating that love wears a thousand faces, and even those that are completely alien to us can still be beautiful. Maggie Gyllenhaal simply couldn't have been better, and it was nice to see James Spader making the most of a good role - he really should be offered more of them. The ending is perhaps too pat, and the cinematography a bit too lush and dolled up, but hey, baby steps...Spiderman
... I haven't read the Spiderman comic since I was a kid, but if recollection serves the movie is pretty darn faithful to the source, and certainly the essence of Spiderman is captured quite well - fear of bringing harm to his loved ones, a love/hate relationship with the public, teen angst, etc. All those themes are intact and handled pretty well in an appropriately comic-bookish way. I was afraid the action scenes would either be rehashed Matrix bullet-cam or Woo-Ping Yeun wire-fu, and while they were definitely derivative of those influences, they were fresh enough to be quite enjoyable. I'm a bit surprised at the glowing raves and BO record-shattering since it really doesn't transcend the comic book source, but it is pretty darn fun.Sunshine State
... John Sayles is quite amazing. I've seen a good chunk of his movies from Matewan on, and there isn't a bad movie in the bunch. I always wonder what the secret is of those few directors that just never miss (I'm thinking a pact with the devil is involved). Here Sayles again effectively captures a regional tale of intersecting lives and interests, this time centered around some Florida beach front developers are eyeing. We don't see much of the developers, but we expect plenty of sleaze from them, what with one being Miguel Ferrer ("Bob" from Robocop) and another being Sam McMurray ("Glen" from Raising Arizona). That, combined with my Hiaasen-influenced sensibilities led me to believe this would be lopsided David-and-Goliath tale, but it was enjoyably understated--almost as even-handed as you can be when it comes to Florida developers. Edie Falco completely disappears into her role as the small town local who never left, and the rest of the cast is uniformly strong. I must say though, their jobs must be easier with Sayles writing the dialog.Whale Rider
... Predictable the way navigating by road map is predictable. You know exactly where you're going, but you don't really know what it's going to look like until you get there. Keisha Castle-Hughes lived up to her Oscar-nominated hype. I almost wonder if she got robbed? I guess I'll have to rent Monster and see, but I'm guessing Charlize Theron benefitted from bonus points reaped for going all ugly.Glad I Saw
28 Days Later...
... If it weren't for a couple big flaws, this might have been a brilliant horror movie. The performances ranged from solid to strong, there's a palpable sense of tension, a few good scares, and the worst monsters of the movie aren't zombies. The digital cinematography lends a grilly realistic feel, and much like I loved the shots of an empty Times Square in Vanilla Sky, I loved the shots of desolate London in this. Unfortunately, I can come up with no good reason for the streets to be devoid of people and cars except as a mechanism for allowing those cool desolate shots, and for allowing our heros to take a long drive unimpeded. Those streets should have been jammed with corpses and abandoned cars. The radio problem is a significant one as well, especially considering the ending. Also, what kind of sick-o hospital leaves a patient totally naked on top of the sheets!? :-) There are numerous other improbabilities, and a few bone-headed moves by our heros to boot. Finally, the ending is fairly weak, even if I did kinda like it personally. Anyway, with all these flaws I found it ironic that my favorite ending (the DVD has 4 to choose from, including the original theatrical ending) ultimately didn't get made because it was unbelievable. If you're going to have all this other unbelievable stuff, go ahead and make the best ending despite it's implausibility. Boyle's commentary is pretty funny though, regarding the proposed plot device of a whole-body blood transfusion as the only cure. It went something like: "we've already established that a single drop of blood in your eye can cause infection, so how the hell can we make the audience believe they've cleaned every drop of blood out during the transfusion? All those fucking capillaries..."Barbershop
... Can you make a nostalgic movie set in the present day? The sense of community I got out of this movie seemed drawn from another age. Cedric the Entertainer lived up to his moniker, and everybody else fared well too. The humor is light and consistent, the dialog snappy, and the pacing even and quick. A very accessible feel-good comedy that I fear was not seen by as broad an audience as would have enjoyed it.Bend It Like Beckham
... I tend to like a well-done formula picture, so it should come as no surprise that I dug this one. Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley really do a wonderful job conveying the friendship of their characters merely by looking like they're having fun together, and it saves lots of exposition that would likely bog the movie down. The soccer scenes are really too choppy to convey the game, but it's all stylishly shot and still conveys a nice sense of excitement. And lets face it, soccer doesn't translate to TV well, so the choppy MTV approach is probably a good one for a movie like this. The only real downer in this feel-good movie is reminding me how sad I was when the WUSA foundered. Here's hoping they can put the pieces back together.Bubba Ho-tep
... Elvis is alive and living out his days in a nursing home, brought low by a bum hip. Or he's just an impersonator who's gone off his rocker. Same for JFK, played by Ossie Davis (yes, the excellent black actor, but of course he has an explanation for that). Together they must battle a zombie that is preying on their rest home compatriots by sucking their souls out of their... well, I won't ruin it for you. Two big surprises in this movie: [1] Campbell's surprisingly despondent Elvis, contemplating the meaning of his life, and [2] Davis going chin-to-chin with Campbell dishing B-movie schlock one-liners, and winning in a split decision (or is it a cleft decision when Campbell's involved?). Just because it's good doesn't mean you'll like it though. Remember, it's a Zombie/Elvis/JFK/rest home movie that deals with fame, impotence, and some odd soul-sucking mechanics.Cabin Fever
... A throwback in an age of post-modern horror movies. Reminiscent of Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre with all the same "don't be an idiot" shout-at-the-screen moments you'd expect when you turn a bunch of teenagers loose in the Deliverancesque sticks. Here the enemy comes from within, but in the forms both of flesh-eating bacteria and psychological infighting. It was silly, but had humor and scares, and after it was through I washed my water glass instead of drinking after an unknown family member, so I guess it did its job.Catch Me If You Can
... It's pretty easy to score extra points if you're making a movie about a true story. All you have to do is not fuck it up. I'm going to allow myself the F-word here because if Tom Hanks can say it, gosh darn it, so can I. Aside from Tom cussing (which just feels wrong), this movie does a good-enough job of bringing Abignale's extraordinary coming-of-age exploits to the screen. I doubt I would have liked it as much if it were purely fictional. I haven't thought much of DiCaprio since his remarkable performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but I quite enjoyed him here, even if he is a little long in the tooth to play an 18-year-old.Chicago
... I watched this back-to-back with Cabaret on purpose, and this one did suffer a bit in comparison, but I still enjoyed it. This kind of work is Liza Minelli's bread-and-butter, but it's just a part-time gig for the Chicago actors, and it shows. Ain't nothing like the real thing. Still, I never would have predicted this level of versatility from the cast of Chicago. I was particularly impressed by John C. Reilly, who turned in my favorite number (Mr. Cellophane) and my favorite non-musical moment (when Richard Gere finally gets his name right when he takes the stand - a wonderful thespianical moment). And y'know what? I liked Richard Gere for the first time in a very long time.Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
... Sam Rockwell is apparently incapable of turning in anything but a home run performance, be it supporting or leading, comedy or drama. Great stuff from him. As for the movie, there's no question this is a Charlie Kaufman script. Like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, it is endlessly clever, dark, and impressive. Also like those movies, I just don't quite get into his stuff, even though I really really want to. But I think this was my favorite of the lot, and even though all the theatrical-release reviews tipped me off to this, I was still surprised at George Clooney's directorial chops. Mark my words, that guy'll be a big star some day.Death to Smoochy
... Pretty good black comedy, despite bombing with the critics. I'm afraid I don't have much more to say at the moment; it's late and I'm tired.Devil's Playground
... On paper, the movie sounds very compelling: At age 16 Amish kids begin "Rumspringa", a period of months or even years when they experience the world of we "English" - the clothes, the parties, sex, drugs, rock & roll, etc. This allows them to make the theoretically informed decision as to whether they want to make the life-long commitment to the Amish church, or stay on the outside. Surprisingly, while the abruptness of the immersion into contentional teenagerhood and the momentousness of the choice they must make lends a bit of weight, this aspect of the movie is in itself about as interesting as watching a documentary about any ol' teenagers going through tumultuous adolescence. Still, it's fascinating to hear Amish culture described by insiders, and some of the revelations (the sexism!) were rather surprising. By far the best "character arc" was that of Velda, whose rise from guilt and depression is remarkable, and well-depicted in this documentary.Die Another Day
... I was prepared for this to reek of the failure that was The World is not Enough, but it was quite a bit better than that. I'd say it's roughly a middle-of-the-pack Bond movie, even if it does have some crippling flaws: it's too long, the sexual innuendo and double-ententres are too thick (even for Bond, or maybe I'm just getting old), and there's this one action sequence that features a painfully bad, lengthy CG effect involving a huge wave. Mary Poppins did a better job forty years ago integrating live action with hand-animation than these hacks did dropping Bond onto that abysmal water effect. I'm sure they were trying to pay tribute to all those great ski chases of old, but it didn't work (I'm not talking about the opening surfing scene, which was great). But enough of what's bad. The Q scene was good, Halle Berry holds her own and then some, the action sequences (except where noted) are quite good, and the villains are a step up from Jonathan Pryce's one-handed speed-typist, or Robert Carlyle's goon, who was only formidable because he once allowed himself to be shot in the head, and as a result now feels no pain. Oh yeah, great, give the world's greatest secret agent a nemesis who's already blundered his way into getting shot in the head before the movie even starts.Dog Soldiers
... Takes its sense of isolation from Alien, and military banter/bravado/fear from Aliens and both elements work quite well. That doesn't make this movie as good as either of those, but it's worth mentioning in the same sentence. More of an action movie with splatters than a horror movie, but still a nice low-budget hoot. Actually, it looks really inexpensive in the beginning, then starts looking a bit more pricey (but never expensive) as the movie progresses. One gets the impression of a lot done with a little throughout.Equilibrium
... After World War III mankind decides humanity's emotions were to blame, and rigorously stamps out human emotion via drugs and art-burning bonfires. "Sense Offenders" are hunted down and executed. The "Clerics" are the most skilled enforcers, practicing a form of Gun-fu that puts the practitioner where there aren't likely to be bullets, statistically. There's so much wrong with this movie, starting with it's shameless appropriation of every dystopian theme and image I know and ending with the fact that it manages to look expensive without quite having that A-movie polish. The ending is too neat, and I never quite felt enough compassion for any of our characters. But wait, isn't this supposed to be a positive review? Yes, in spite of all that I liked the movie, I never looked at my watch, and I find myself remarkable free of guilt, except for a twinge here and there. Some of the action scenes are too choppy, but others are quite good, and I liked the conceit of a martial art that explains the preposterous survival of our hero amidst a hail of bullets. On the other hand, this movie may have the lowest Tomatometer rating of any movie I've ever dared to call "Good", so enter at your own risk.The Good Thief
... I've seen quite a few negative reviews for this movie, but mostly from people that said they couldn't understand what anyone was saying, and who were bothered by the editing. I had no problem with Nolte's burnout gambler mumblings, nor all the European accents, and I thought the subtle freeze frame at the end of each chapter was a nice touch. So, unaffected by those complaints, I was free to enjoy a rather unconventional-feeling heist movie and a bravura performance from Nolte, an honorable drug-addicted washed-up gambler of a thief. You feel like you know this character's history, and while he might be in a sorry state at the beginning of the movie, you can be sure it was an interesting history. Anyway, I know from the reviews that this one ain't for everybody, but it worked for me.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
... Read my review of the first HP movie. This one is pretty much more of the same, but I checked the clock more often. Not a bad way to spend a little time, but basically forgettable. Oh, I did think Kenneth Branagh's casting and performance were inspired though.Heaven
... Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) directs Krzysztof Kieslowski's (Trois couleurs) script (it was supposed to be the first in a trilogy, but he died). Interestingly the movie watches like half belongs to each of these men. The first half is taut, brisk and earthy, the second contemplative and metaphysical. Even the acting follows this split, with Cate Blanchett completely nailing resolute anger plunged into despair as she realizes just how wrong her attempted assassination of a drug dealer has gone in the first half, but then falling into detached resignedness and/or emotional ambiguity in the latter half. Speaking of ambiguity, there's droves of it. Can anyone be redeemed for killing innocents in pursuit of revenge? This movie might make you believe it possible.Ice Age
... Much better than the throwaway Shrek knockoff I thought it was going to be. That's not to say it's great, but the movie has some genuinely funny moments and even a few moving scenes (like the cartoon-within-a-cartoon cave painting scene). They are too few and far between, but still a moderately enjoyable movie. And I got a kick out of the prehistoric squirrel/weasel/racoon thing and it's acorn. I hearby dub that creature a Squeasleoon.The Importance of Being Earnest
... I remember not really caring for this play much in it's written form, but now I think I must have been an idiot. I realize this film took some liberties with the script, but not so much that the timelessness of Wilde's wit doesn't deserve the credit for how much fun this is. Good cast, too. Here's a shocker: Judi Densch takes a rather small role and nails it, milking it for all it's worth. Again. Tell you what, from now on just assume she nails it in any movie I review, and I'll make special note of it if she doesn't. Runner-up honors go to Rupert Everett, who I always enjoy. I'm filled with trepidation for Shrek II, but I'm nonetheless looking forward to his Prince Charming.Lilo & Stitch
... Except for Beauty & the Beast, I think all the heros of Disney's 90s renaissance are upstaged by their sidekicks. So why not take a sidekick and let it share top billing? But instead of being a cute fuzzy supportive sidekickish, make it an ugly obnoxious (and yet somehow still oddly endearing) alien. Then, instead of giving our elevated sidekick traditional sidekicks, give him antagonistic sidekicks. On top of that, we'll keep the tactic of making the mother dead or missing (and father, in this case), but we'll actually let the remains of the family be dysfunctional! It's quite surprising to see Disney shake up their formula like this, and for the most part it works pretty well. While this movie by no means stands up with any of Pixar's efforts, it still makes me sad that Disney is closing their traditional animation studios. There's still plenty of gold to be mined in this vein. I can understand why talkies killed silents, and why color vanquished black and white, but I don't really see why 3D has to abolish 2D. After all, animation has never really been about verisimilitude, right?Lost In La Mancha
... I'd really like to see Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but since this documentary is about the foundering of that project, it seems unlikely. The thing that amazed me most about this movie was that you could see the doubt and reservations etched on everyone's faces from the very beginning, as they talk about only having half the budget they really need, and yet they still express optimism. Despite the reality of the situation, despite having no margin for error whatsoever, everyone plunged ahead with a seeming belief that they'd be able to pull off the miracle. Sometimes if you want something too badly, you'll never see insurmountable pitfalls for what they are. Sure, there was some awfully bad luck involved as well, but mostly it was the folly of misguided optimism writ large. An interesting study in group psychology, in addition to a sad tale of a movie that wasn't.My Big Fat Greek Wedding
... I weathered both the hype and the critical backlash before seeing this, and ended up liking it for what is it: a relatively good romantic comedy. I'm starting to think romantic comedy is the hardest genre to get right, so I have to applaud any movie that fares so well. Nia Vardalos plays one of the more realistic "frump transformations" in recent memory (of course, the role isn't exactly a stretch for her) and it was interesting to note that while she basically plays herself they got 6'5" long-haired Northern Exposure hero John Corbett to play her stocky bald husband. So it doesn't only happen to women (or is this the exception that proves the rule?). And there was none of the contrived "oh no a misunderstanding is going to put their happiness in jeopardy in the third act" nonsense. It's just a story about two nice people with crazy families finding each other and falling in love.One Hour Photo
... Robin Williams does a pretty good job in these "maniac next door" roles, and his is a nice coiled-spring performance here. He (and the script) also do a pretty good job of highlighting his character's loneliness and making him an object of pity as much as fear. I could have done without the cliched exposition of why he turned out the way he is, but I can forgive that here, as I was quite drawn in otherwise to the unravelling of this sad, strange little man (a phrase my mind insisted on saying with Tim Allen's voice, much to my distraction).Panic Room
... Tense, engaging, and well-acted by all. I'd be tempted to bump this one higher if not for a big ol' physics gaffe and Dwight Yokam's "why didn't we think of that" line. Why indeed? I also have to say that Fincher's camera tricks, used to such good effect in Fight Club, often felt like gratuitous slight-of-hand here. None of those stopped me from getting sucked in, but they did keep jerking me out of the moment.Punch-Drunk Love
... I knew Emily Watson had it in her, but I never would have guessed Adam Sandler or PT Anderson did. I never would have guessed Sandler would make a movie I could list anywhere but on a "Guilty Pleasures" list, or that Anderson would make a movie I didn't think was overrated. Take a romantic comedy, inject it with enough darkness and loneliness that you can't really call it a comedy anymore, bless it with an unexpected and remarkable Sandler performance, and you've got a winner. For all that though, I wasn't as emotionally engaged as I should have been, but perhaps this will move up on a rewatch (I highly doubt it will move down).Rabbit-Proof Fence
... Man, it sucks to be indigenous. This movie tells the true story of three Aborigine "half-caste" children that are taken from their families to be assimilated into white culture, and their escape and LONG walk home. The epilogue is particularly heart-breaking. I have to give the movie points for not demonizing the oppressors. Many people that do very bad things think they are acting for their victims' own good, and that's portrayed well here. We still despise what they are doing, but we recognize them as human rather than one-dimensional villains. The road to hell really is paved with good intentions.Red Dragon
... A good straight-forward thriller more in the tradition of Silence of the Lambs than Hannibal (thank goodness). Ralph Fiennes reminded me why he was so effective as Amon Goeth, as he again demonstrates his ability to show a little humanity in the worst of fiends. Hannibal is much better caged, but seeing him prior to his first arrest is a treat. Not a great thriller, but quite a bit of fun, and I preferred it to Manhunter.Road to Perdition
... This is the movie The Man Who Wasn't There wanted to be. Distant, beautiful to look at, but with real emotion under the surface. I think. Tom Hanks was largely inscrutable, but I think that was by design, and by the end he lets us in. It just takes an ungodly amount of patience to reach that point, and I can see where on another night I might have written him, and the movie, off by then. Jude Law was excellently creepy, and age is not throwing Paul Newman off his game at all. I preferred this to American Beauty.The Rookie
... I'm a sucker for baseball movies, feel-good movies, and remarkable true stories, so I was destined to like this. Hell, it's two feel-good movies for the price of one, which is a bargain at any price. I felt good during the movie, and it left me feeling that way for the rest of the evening. And if I aided Dennis Quaid's comeback in some small way by renting this that's good too; I've always liked him (I suppose his comeback has plenty of steam now without my help, but I like to think I matter :-).So Close
... Fans of Hong Kong actioners might want to check this one out (actually, Vicky, who is not a fan of the genre, kinda liked it). It's not representative of the best of the genre, the buildup is pretty damn slow, there's way too much wind-blown hair (indoors, no less!) the cheesy CGI slo-mo broken flying glass was plentiful, and it was hard to tell if the acting was any good through the Cantonese dub over Mandarin with English subtitles. Still, I suspect Vicki Zhao and Karen Mok were quite good, and by the end of the movie they've established an interesting dynamic despite all the language abstractions, suffusing the long and fairly impressive climactic sequence with a nice tension. The tension is aided and abetted by the knowledge that our heroes don't always live to see the end credits roll in Hong Kong flicks. It's simultaneously fair and misleading to characterize this as a Hong Kong Charlie's Angels.Solaris
... After this ended I turned to my wife and said, "I'm not sure what to think of that. Tell me what I think." She said, "I don't know what you think, but I liked it, and I'm not sure why." And there it was, like magic she told me what I thought. This might not be an apt comparison, but it felt like Soderbergh doing Kubrick. If nothing else, it was executed with a similar sort of emotional minimalism. The actors have nowhere to hide, and they face up to that courageously and mostly successfully. A very unusual role for Clooney, and I'm impressed he tried it. I imagine the story could go either way for many folks: you either find it thought-provoking and interesting, or you find its themes of love, forgiveness, God, and what it means to be human half-baked and frustratingly unanswered. Sign me up for the former camp.Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator
... Does a nice job of getting inside skateboarding in the 80s, and paints an interesting portrait of Mark 'Gator' Rogowski, who really doesn't come off well, even before his fall. The big surprise for me was just how far he fell, not knowing the story beforehand.Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
... Chan-wook Park has all David Fincher's gorgeous dark visual sensibilities, minus the CGI-enhanced tracking shot distractions. One of the amazing things about this film is that it's beautiful to look at, and yet at the same time makes you feel like you need to take a bath. And that's just from the aesthetics; it doesn't even take into account the emotional battering you'll take watching this, the bleakest of films. I'm struggling to write about this film because I'm still challenged by it. Our characters feel good by nature, yet they act in the most immoral way possible, but only because they are seemingly forced by absurdist circumstance and their own sense of helplessness, rage, or retribution. Much of the film feels real, and yet many moments of causality are hidden. It's as if Park doesn't care how we get to a particularly grim situation, but instead wants to explore how his characters will react. Furthermore, some of the scenes must be surreal, or metaphorically speak to a characters' emotional states (for example, I don't think we're supposed to believe family members attend autopsies). I've lost the bookmark, but I read a review that summed it up beautifully: "I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that it's like Shakespeare. The bad news is that it's like Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus." This movie would be unbearably disturbing if it didn't almost immediately force a "shields up" emotional reaction that thankfully prevents full involvement. I'd watch it again, but I think I'd have to kill myself.The Trials of Henry Kissinger
... I used to really like Christopher Hitchens' writing before 9/11 turned him into a raving wacko, so now I have to go back and consider, "gee, maybe he's been a highly articulate nutjob all along!" Nonetheless, I'm inclined to believe the devil is keeping a seat warm for Kissinger.Two Weeks Notice
... This is probably one of the weaker entries here, but what can I say, I can't make myself not love Hugh Grant's stuttering, nonplussed, lost puppy that highly suspects it can charm its way into finding a home schtick. Sandra Bullock ain't bad either, and while it's hard to forgive Bullock's character for her behavior as maid of honor, I eventunally got over it. Any romantic comedy that isn't stillborn is welcome these days.Guilty Pleasures
Big Fat Liar
... I should have outgrown this movie oh-so-long ago. Alas, apparently not. At least I can salvage some self-respect by pointing out that it features Paul Giamatti chewing it up as the villain, so if you want to see all of this great actor's work, you're going to have to catch this one eventually too.Blade II
... Go search for my review of the original. Not much else to say.XXX
... Utterly preposterous. But what the heck, I don't know if the good will I extend Vin Diesel for The Iron Giant will ever run out. So when it seems like the entire screen is engulfed in flame except for the little pocket he occupies, or when he stays 5 feet in front of an avalanche for minutes on end, or when he hits the water at 50 miles an hour and just gets wet but not dead, and so on and so on, sure I roll my eyes, but I smile at the same time. As an added bonus, Diesel seems equally at ease jumping out of an airplane or dining at a posh restaurant which lends a nice James-Bond's-disowned-American-convict-cousin-thrice-removed feel to the movie (which incidentally is much more fun than the Bond outing, The World Is Not Enough). Or perhaps I'm just happy because so many action movies these days arrive DOA, but this one has some life in it.
Author Comments:
This list overran Listology's length limit, so is now split. Here's part 2.
Cloned From:
Two quick notes about problems with the shift in format. (1) In your "Bourne Identity" review, there was no State & Main review to scroll down to. (2) I think you should change the first sentence of your "Hero" review; there's nowhere to move it up to.
Fixed, thanks for the catch!
I've spotted a subtle problem with movies lately. I have a tendency to be ambivilent to real-event-recreation movies. I realize that well made docu-dramas carry a certain sense of importance. But I would rather be watching a person telling about the event in real-time, hence my love for documentaries. I tend to enjoy movies that are mostly fictional recreations of real events (24 hour party people) because of the leeway left to the viewer. Docu-dramas seem to ardently step into the arena of "importance" but can't really deliver considering actual footage is always mordantly viceral. What's your opinion, or anyone elses for that matter?
T'ho
:?)
I'm not sure what movies to put in the docu-drama boat: Bloody Sunday (almost certainly)? The Insider (dunno)? The Hurricane (really dunno)? Can you give me some examples of docu-dramas that left you cold?
I'd put all three, which generally seem to be a good cross-section. One being close to the truth...one standing a block away...and one being almost a work of fiction. The movies I'm slighting/talking about are generally in the region of, Silkwood, Monster, Executioner's Song and the like. They're trying to be close to the truth.
I finally got high-speed internet...woohoo. :?)
T'ho
:?)
Hooray for high-speed internet! I finally got it at my computer at college, and it's like a whole new world!
What computer were you using before?
It loads so fast...all the better to sneak a peak at internet porn I guess. :?)
Which begs the question, what's the big deal about inter-porn? My sister held a dogs balls for about an hour today, now that's gotta be more exciting than InPo. She said "They smelled musty." Ah, the life of a potential dog-groomer.
T'ho
:?)
Hmm. I don't think I have a problem with such movies in general, as I liked all three I cited quite a bit. I did feel like The Hurricane played me a for a bit of a fool though, after I did some "based on a true story" research the next day. So there's backlash on the enjoyment if I feel like the producers have taken advantage of my trust.
Okay, it's just me then.
The Hurricane always reminds me of movies like Reefer Madness which bear little semblance of truth. But tear ahead with their earnest pointing fingers a-waving.
T'ho
:?)
I enjoyed the heck out of Bubba Ho-Tep.
Yeah, Equilibrium also sits on my list of "Tomatometers I most disagree with"
Don't you just hate that when a movie turns out to be the opposite of the trailers and media hype, those people are bad, bad munchkins. I always find it a good idea if in a state of anticipation-duldrums to go do something for about 10 minutes and start the movie again. It works for me anyway.
:?)
Yeah, if I had walked away from Dirty Pretty Thingshead in hands, chanting "not a thriller, not a thriller" over and over, I might have been able to come back to it reprogrammed. Good idea. Next time.
The worst offenders are what I like to call "Plight of the British Coalminer Dramas Masquerading as Comedies". Those movies should have their own shelf at the video store:
"Action"
"Comedy"
"Drama"
"New Releases"
"Plight of the British Coalminer Dramas Masquerading as Comedies"
I Agree completely with your comments on About A boy, what a great movie and i usually hate hugh grant.
The thing is...Charlize Theron is amazing in Monster, somehow managing to take your attention off her many layers of make-up and totally change her body language, facial gestures and voice, immersing herself in a really creepy, sad character.
The problem is that the girl in Whale Rider is better, carrying the picture with a likeable strength and naturalism. But with Academy Award members you have to remember, you've got to club them over the head like baby seals to get the vote.
Which Gives Me An Idea.
T'ho
:?)
I keep trying, trying, trying to add Monster to my queue, but I just can't seem to work up the requisite desire. I don't know why.
The part 2 link links to part 1. :)
Oops. Fixed, thanks!
Big Fat Liar...
Saw this one with the nieces.
Oddly enough, watching it, I felt the guilt without the pleasure.
That is all. :)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
:-) At least now you can roll your way through the rest of Giamatti's oeuvre unimpeded.
I've seen several preteen movies lately, and have found myself iexplicably enjoying them. Really inexplicably. They are muddying the waters of my already murky "Guilty Pleasures" sections.
Oh, except Holes. That one is explicably enjoyable. Have you seen it? I guess with our Series of Unfortunate Events divergence we could split over that one the other way, but I think that's unlikely.