8MM - Nicholas Cage - Intense, dark story of a private detective (Cage) trying to get the facts on a video tape left behind by a deceased "Leader of Industry". Not for the squeamish - lots of violence, some nudity. Could almost be rated "X". Cage puts in an excellent performance. (Rating=***)
American Pie - This one failed to get my attention after 15 minutes - I don't see why this was so popular. Seemed to be nothing but stupid, inane humor with little substance. Did not watch the remainder and have no desire to see whether it actually got good. (Rating = 0)
Analyze This - Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Lisa Kudrow - Not as funny as the hype made it out to be, but fairly amusing. I thought one of the best performances was by a character named, "Jelly", one of De Niro's henchmen. Would have been a good family film if not for all the foul language. (Rating=**1/2)
Battlefield Earth - John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Barry Pepper - Great book, not so great movie. This show actually hurt my eyes. Other than the basic premise and character names, I don't see any resemblence to the book. It may have been too much story for one movie. Besides the "too close" imagery, the special effects were pretty poor at times. A shot of a desolate Capitol is so fake looking I'm sure I could have done better on my own PC in about half an hour. Overall, for such an anticipated film, it was very disappointing. (Rating = **)
The Beach - Leonardo DiCaprio - This is "Lord of the Flies" meets "The Blue Lagoon" with some pretty strange turns. DiCaprio is an adventure seeking tourist who happens upon a map of a "secret" island and ventures forth with a couple of acquaintances to find a mini society there. I found it a little slow to start, but the action picks up about midway through. It is hard to make out a lot of the dialogue and there are a lot of strange twists. (Rating = **)
Bicentennial Man - Robin Williams - Robot wants to be human, spends two hundred years getting there. Not what you might expect, but has lots of fun moments, as well as a human interest angle. Williams turns in another performance that only he could possibly do. (Rating =***1/2)
The Blair Witch Project - This one is a completely different kind of flick, not really so much a movie, but a chronicle of events. Not for the squeamish or weak hearted. Very intense, especially near the end. (Rating = ***)
The Bone Collector - Denzel Washington - Pretty intense, although somewhat predictable, "who's doin' it". Washington puts in a very fine performance. You can guess a lot of the developments, but will likely miss on trying to figure out who the bad guy is - that turns out to be quite a twist. Reminded me in some ways of "Seven". (Rating = ***)
A Civil Action - John Travolta, Robert Duvall, John Lithgow - Travolta continues his amazing comeback on the screen with a fact-based story of a lawyer trying to right the wrongs of big industry against a small community. Duvall plays one of the opposing attorneys and Lithgow is the judge. Story does not follow the Hollywood "fairy-tale" course and the result may surprise you. (Rating=***1/2)
Dogma - Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Salma Hayek, Linda Fiorentino, and Alanis Morissette - I don't even recall this one being in the theaters, but it's a great little sleeper. Here's a movie you can laugh at, be appalled at, be disgusted with, and, in general, enjoy! Let's say it somewhat redefines the concept of God. And just wait until you see who plays God! I won't give it away unless you just have to know in advance - just click here. The voice of God is played by Rickman (he was the main bad guy in the first Die Hard and the sherriff in Costner's Robin Hood). Damon and Affleck play angels, Hayak plays a muse, and Fiorentino plays, er, uh, no - I can't divulge that either. Oh yeah, Chris Rock plays the thirteenth apostle. Carlin plays a Cardinal! (That was pretty funny all by itself!) Be warned it's full of foul language, blasphemy, and mayhem. (Rating = ***3/4)
Any Given Sunday - Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Jamie Foxx - Football, blood, guts, and a little insanity - that's what this one is all about. Excellent performances by all and intense direction by Oliver Stone. Not for the squeamish! (Rating = ***)
The Faculty - Elijah Woods, Salma Hayek - Campy sort of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" set in an Ohio high school. Has a couple of surprise twists and performances are pretty good. I don't usually like movies of this genre, but this one was quite entertaining. (Rating=**1/2)
The General's Daughter - John Travolta, Madeline Stowe, James Woods - A bit uneven, but still worth viewing, a murder mystery with some very strange twists. This one is definitely not for the kids, with profanity and nudity, not to mention a truly "adult" subject matter. (Rating = **1/2)
GI Jane - Demi Moore - Okay, so it took me a little while to see this one. Runs a little slow and is a bit tedious to start, but it finishes big. Moore is believable as the first woman to enter Navy SEAL training. Her class is pressed into real service for an emergency and the fireworks begin. Not for the faint of heart. (Rating = ***1/2)
Gladiator - Russell Crowe, Richard Harris - This is a contemporary Ben Hur! Classic "good vs. evil" story with some tragic moments and a bit of humor, much the same as life. Crowe firmly establishes himself as a star in this and I expect we will see a lot more of him in major films. Plenty of violence and gore, although there is more implied gore than is actually depicted. If you can handle the intensity, this is THE film to see this year. (Rating = ****)
Jack Frost - Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston - Serio-comic tale of a musician who is too busy trying to succeed in "the business" to pay enough attention to his son, then dies in a wreck. He comes back as a snowman and finally connects with his son. Has some great sight gags and one-liners as well as some pretty serious moments. Can be extremely sad at times, but overall is quite entertaining and funny. Has the potential to become another holiday classic. (Rating = ***1/2)
Lake Placid - Bill Pullman, Bridgette Fonda - A horror story with a comic twist. Creature inhabits lake in Maine and the law and scientists try to identify, catch/kill the beast. Betty White plays a crotchety old gal with a very foul (but funny) mouth. (Rating = ***)
Meet Joe Black - Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt - Very long, slow story (two cassettes). Watched about a half hour and lost interest. Have no desire to see the rest of it. (Rating=0)
Meet The Parents - Ben Stiller, Robert DeNiro - Don't understand why this one is so popular. I found it extraordinarily stupid. Left after an hour in order to stay awake. (Rating = 0)
Mission: Impossible 2 - Tom Cruise - Not too often are sequels better than the first film, but here is an exception. The story is easier to follow, although there are still some neat twists. Just have to keep track of who is wearing a mask! This one takes a while to get going while the story is set, then it takes off like a rocket. The chase sequence near the end is awsome! If you wait for this one on video, you better have a big screen TV and DVD. (Rating = ***1/2)
Mission to Mars - Gary Sinese,
Don Cheadle - Watch this one on DVD with a big screen TV and you'll get
to appreciate the special effects. Pretty interesting twist to the
"angry red planet" tales. Although I was entertained by this movie,
it left me wanting something more, but I'm not quite sure what that "more"
might be. Anyway, the effects are fantastic and the story moves along
with continuity. Sinese proves once again he can play just about
any kind of role, with this entry being his "good guy" turn.
(Rating = ***)
Patch Adams - Robin Williams in a fact based story about a medical student who uses non-traditional methods for healing. Williams is brilliant and the laughs are plentiful. One extremely sad moment in film - be prepaped! (Rating=****)
Payback - Mel Gibson, James Coburn, Maria Bello - Sort of a new twist on Charles Bronson's "The Mechanic", with all principals playing bad guys. Gibson just happens to be the "good" bad guy. If you can handle the violence, this is fairly entertaining. There is a very clever scene near the end that tricks the viewer into assuming the wrong thing, then you realize what happened, which is also the scene that reminded me of the Bronson film. (Rating=***)
Pleasantville - Reese Witherspoon and Don Knotts - What would happen if you ended up in a 50's sitcom, ala "Leave it to Beaver" or "Donna Reed"? Here's the answer, sort of. Done with mix of black and white with color gradually blending in until end of film. A little slow at times, but still worth a rental fee. (Rating=**1/2)
Practical Magic - Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman - Strange tale of witchcraft, love, lost love, and love found again. Lots of holes in story, but still enjoyable enough. Guys can appreciate Kidman's looks and vampy character. (Rating=**1/2)
Reindeer Games - Ben Affleck, Gary Sinese - I don't believe it is possible to anticipate the twists this film takes. A little slow at times, but it really gets going when it finally gets going. Totally unexpected ending will fit just right. (Rating = ***)
Romeo Must Die - Jet Li - Surprisingly good martial arts action flick with some clever special effects. Plenty of humor interlaced into the action as well. (Rating = ***)
Runaway Bride - Richard Gere, Julia Roberts - A horror story with a comic twist. Wait a minute - Seems to be a repeat of the review above. Lets see, a comedy about love and marriage, with the old scenario of girl hates guy, guy has nothing but contempt for girl, but they fall in love anyway. Yep, it's a horror story with a comic twist. Same production team and director as "Pretty Woman", with many of the same cast members. Besides Gere, Roberts, and Hector Elizondo, who are obvious players from Pretty Woman, I counted three more in lesser roles. Plenty of one-liners and laughs - a solid "date" movie. (Rating = ***1/2)
Saving Private Ryan - Tom Hanks and Matt Damon - Intense, often disturbing WWII war flick, takes you through complete range of emotions from funny to sad. Hanks is superb and rest of cast does an outstanding job. (Rating=****)
Shakespeare In Love - Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, and Ben Affleck - This is a modern film that should not be ignored! An Oscar-winning performance by Paltrow, a story that suggests "Romeo and Juliet" was Shakespeare's pseudo-autobiography, and an emotional roller coaster that soars to hilarity, then plunges to deep sadness, all contribute to make this one of the best movies to come around in a long time. Fiennes and Affleck are also superb. (Rating=****)
Shanghai Noon - Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu - Imperial guard (Chan) comes to America to rescue kidnapped princess (Liu) in late 1800s, forms alliance with inept outlaw (Wilson) and the fun begins. This is played strictly for laughs and there are some truly hilarious moments. As usual with Chan flicks, the outtakes at the end are worth the rental fee. (Rating = **1/2)
The Sixth Sense - Bruce Willis - Riveting story of a psychologist trying to help a young boy deal with the "visions" he experiences. Great twist at the end pulls it all together. (Rating = ****)
Space Cowboys - Clint Eastwood,
Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, Donald Sutherland - The cast alone is enough
to make this film worth seeing. With visual effects by ILM, the scenery
is fantastic. Eastwood also produced and directed, which is becoming
more and more common. The story is pretty simple: Eastwood is the
only one with the technical knowledge to put an ancient satellite back
in orbit, but won't go without his buddies from the pre-NASA days of the
space program. There are a few surprises waiting for them when they
get to the satellite, but I won't divulge those tidbits here. The
only thing I found truly lacking was the failure to sneak Steve Miller's
"Space Cowboy" into the soundtrack.
(Rating = ***1/2)
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - I don't care what the critics say, I liked this movie! Yes, the special effects were the real attraction, but there were some nifty turns along the way in the story as well. And I don't see why everybody hates Jar Jar Binks - I thought he was hilarious (he's supposed to be annoying!). Was it predictable? Of course it was! So were the first three Star Wars movies. (Or is this the first movie?) Anyway, I found it very entertaining and that's all I ask of a movie. (Rating=***1/2)
The Thirteenth Warrior - Antonio Banderas - Intense Michael Crighton tale of superstitions debunked. This story is full of blood and guts, but has plenty of wit and humor as well. There are even several doses of wisdom dispensed during the course of all the havoc. (Rating = ***1/2)
The Thomas Crown Affair - Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo - Remake of the Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway classic. As much as I like the principal stars, this didn't work for me. Story was mutilated almost beyond recognition and the pace was choppy. This is possibly another case of trying to copy too good an original and coming up a little bit short. (Rating = **)
Three Kings - George Clooney - A sort of "Kelly's Heroes" for Desert Storm, with a more serious angle. It won't, however, be a classic like "Kelly's". (Rating = **1/2)
True Crime - Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, and James Woods - A little slow at first, but it gets pretty intense before long. Eastwood plays a down-and-out reporter who thinks a man slated to be executed might be innocent. The catch - the execution is scheduled less than 18 hours away. Does he find the truth in time? I can't give away the ending - rent it and see. (Rating=***1/2)
Virus - Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Joanna Pacula - An electro-mechanical version of "Alien", played out on the ocean aboard a ship. Pretty predictable, lacks the suspense needed to really make it work. (Rating=**)
Wild Wild West - Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, and Salma Hayek - The gags, gadgetry, double entendres, sneaky references, and witty retorts abound, but, alas, this doesn't work. Maybe the original characters (Robert Conrad and Ross Martin) from the TV show were too good to be copied. Smith, as West, came closest to making his character work, but there was no chemistry between him and Kline, who played Artemus Gordon. Branagh wasn't believable at all as the villian and Hayek didn't even provide very good window dressing. When you get a cast this good and a movie this bad, you can usually blame the director, but I think there is a case for miscasting as well. If you end up seeing this movie anyway, pay close attention and you'll still get the gags, but it won't be nearly as fun as would be if the delivery were timed right. (Rating=*1/2)
Wing Commander - Freddie Prinze, Jr. - According to it's own liner notes, this is a "Top Gun" meets "Starship Troopers" story, which is pretty accurate. It's better than "Starship", but not nearly in a class with "Top Gun". Has some interesting turns and fairly good performances, especially from Prinze. (Rating=**1/2)
The World Is Not Enough - Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau - James Bond, high tech toys, beautiful women, and plenty of action - another fun entry in the 007 tradition. (Rating =***1/2)
You've Got Mail - Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan - Simple girl hates guy, but falls in love with him anyway story, played as only Hanks and Ryan can do. Same production team and director as "Sleepless in Seattle". Entertaining and fairly funny, ideal "date" movie. (Rating=***)