Movies

Movies
Living vicariously through the silver screen and the golden disc

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I've loved movies since I was a teenager. The first movie I ever saw at at a cinema was, predictably, Star Wars , which came out when I was 7. As I got older I got more and more interested in motion pictures and watched more and more. The rise of easy to rent VHS and now DVD movies has only served to further inflame this passion. I think what I find most compelling about movies and about live theatre is that, at their best, they can truly lift you out of youself and drop you into someone else's existence. This process of empathy can leave me deeply engrossed in a story.

These are ratings (and sometimes mini-reviews) of movies I've seen recently. I try to avoid spoilers, but I also think that it's much more fun to read reviews after you've seen it yourself. I've also got ratings of around 800 movies I've seen since 1998

Knockaround Guys (2001) [Woodinville with Jay, October 2002] Quite interesting gangster movie, in the current Sopranos line of gangsters who have a human heart. Had good structure and some good moments, but poor pacing. 6/10

Mr. Deeds [Flight from Mississippi, October 2002] Yet another weak Adam Sandler offering. Some good moments. 5/10

Men in Black II [Flight to Mississippi, October 2002] Should have left this unsequeled. Even the sight of Lara Flynn Boyle in black shiny dresses couldn't make up for the lack of good humour. Best jokes were in the trailer. 5/10

Collateral Damage [DVD, September 2002] Very weak Schwarzanegger action movie. Even more implausible than usual, and weak plotting.

Clockstoppers [DVD, September 2002] Very weak kid sci fi movie, with plot holes you could drive a truck thru and little else to recommend it except a few great special effects. 5/10.

City by the Sea [Pacific Place with Jay, September 2002] Good, low beat De Niro story about a father in a difficult tangle. Enjoyable and thought provoking, and symbolic, with some gritty realism. 7/10.

Clockstoppers [DVD, September 2002] Ack! Awful story, with dismal self consistency or continuity, made only barely tolerable by interesting special effects. 5/10

Lord of the Rings [DVD, September 2002] Enjoyed the book, but the movie was too faithful, and could have been cut by 1/2 hour. Surprised it was as successful as it was. Great special effects. 7/10

Shallow Hal [DVD, September 2002] Extremely weak premise, coupled with mediocre execution. Initial premise does not stretch to full movie. And instead of undermining stereotypes, this movie mostly reinforces them. 6/10

The Royal Tenenbaums [DVD with Meg Pageler, September 2002] Very funny offbeat comedy with atypical characters behaving in wacky ways. Very literate and self-referential. Enjoyable. 8/10

Summer Catch [Tivo, late August 2002] Lightweight class-spanning romantic comedy. Thankfully little baseball. Mediocre. 6/10

Full Frontal [Bella Botega, mid August 2002],

Jay and I saw this after having dinner with Mike. This was a fascinating movie. Steven Soderbergh really does produce diverse and interesting work. This movie was a cross between a many-level story-within-a-story plot (such as The Tempest) and a multi-thread interlocking story (Magnolia, Short Cuts, 2 days in the Valley). I have a pretty rocky history with this kind of movie. Hollywood's treatment of movie making is often self indulgent and replete with inside jokes. And Short Cuts is one of my least favourite movies of all time while Magnolia is one of my favourites. But this movie really delivered. It was a bold attempt to do something that's truly different, and truly steps outside the bounds of what Hollywood can normally deliver. While all of the cast deliver interesting multi-faceted performances, the true vision of this movie is in its direction and writing. 8/10.

XXX [Redmond Town Centre, mid August 2002] Alin, Flavia, Jay and I saw this together. It had some good fun moments but not as revolutionary as its publicity had implied. Really just a James Bond flick with a little attitude. Spent ages chatting to Jay afterwards. 7/10.

Mystic Pizza [TiVo, early August 2002] I am sure I saw this ages ago. Presumably this movie still gets played because it is one of Julia Roberts' early works. Not as good as it is cracked up to be 7/10.

The Jigsaw Man [TiVo, early August 2002] Tried to take this seriously, but it was way over-cliched. Ack. Caine really did do too many movies for the money. 5/10

A Knight's Tale [TiVo, late July 2002] Surprisingly acceptable knight flick. Didn't resort to cliched stereotypes, preferred comedy, but not overdone. 7/10.

The Whistle Blower [TiVo, late July 2002] Newer Caine spy flick, patchy, weak ending. 6/10.

The Ipcress File [TiVo, late July 2002] Love those old Michael Caine Spy flicks, and this is one of the best 8/10

Life 101 (1995) [TiVo, Mike & Anne's, mid July 2002] Wow this sucked. Characters and situations unbelievable. 4/10

Cats and Dogs (2001) [TiVo, mid July 2002] Had heard that this was good for adults, but really a very simple and not very funny kids movie. 5/10

40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) [Europe early July 2002] Surprisingly witty and warm romantic comedy. Highly enjoyable. 8/10

High Crimes (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Interesting but not compelling. 7/10

The Last Castle (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Tense thriller. Great performances by Redford, Gandolfini. 8/10

The Majestic (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Super-saccharine retread of Martin Guerre and Macarthyism. 6/10

Panic Room (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Super concept, well executed, great buildup; somewhat of a letdown. 7/10

Spider-Man (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Very good transfer. Good characterisation, effects. 8/10

The Time Machine (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Great effects, but incredibly unsatisfying plot. 6/10

Unfaithful (2002) [Europe, early July 2002] Great remake a of a French classic. Strong performances by the leads; good character interactions. 8/10

Zoolander (2001) [Europe, early July 2002] Way over-extended movie of a funny idea. Too little funny stuff. 5/10

Vanilla Sky (2002) [DVD Rental, late June 2002]

The very best thing about this film was that I had somehow managed to avoid seeing any trailers or pre-publicity. So I was expecting some kind of thriller/romance type movie. I was so delighted to be wrong. This was a truly compelling movie. Visually stunning, it still managed to grip both based on plot and character. Replete with plot turns and unexpected developments, there was no way to know what to expect. Cruise, Russell, Diaz and Cruz were all believable in tough situations, and compelling. Crowe combined the best that modern special effects have to offer with some great basic cinematography and direction, including an awe-inspiring beginning in Time Square.

Super, fascinating, devious, ingenious, innovative. Best thing I've seen in ages. 9/10.

Mists of Avalon (2001) [Mike & Anne's, DVD, 17th June 2002] Should have watched it in 3 parts. Very strange plot twists and family relationships. 5/10

K-PAX (2001) [My Housewarming Party, DVD Rental, 15th June 2002] Very good first half. 7/10

Gave up reviewing every movie after this one...

What Lies Beneath (2000) [TiVo, 10th June 2002]

M. Night Shyamalan's understated 1999 The Sixth Sense demonstrated clearly how blood, guts and gore are ephemeral to successfully scaring audiences and keeping them on the edge of their seats. Robert Zemeckis' movie takes a similar, understated approach, but sadly is not building on the foundation of a compelling plot or comprehensible characters. Ford and Pfeiffer turn in good performances in their lead roles, but tension fails to build as it should. The picture feels over-long, but this is as much about poor pacing as it is about length. The movie is definitely worth seeing, if only because the first hour is quite suspensful and enjoyable.

Worth a shot. 7/10

Highlander: Endgame (2000) [TiVo, 9th June 2002]

There is very little good to say about this movie. Each Highlander movie after the first has been a severe disappointment. The TV series has its adherents, but I've found it repetitive, if not awful. Fortunately, this movie has more in common with the TV series than with the dismal sequels. There is still way too much reliance on swordplay, on pseudo-meaningful flashbacks, and on very artificial excuses for critical plot points.

Avoid unless you love the TV show. 5/10.

One Last Kiss (2001) [Pacific Place, 8th June 2002]

We saw Gabriele Muccino's latest romantic comedy at the Seattle International Film Festival, and it certainly justified our wait in line. What stands out most about this movie is the pacing, the editing and the stylish intercutting of the various plots. What's most surprising about the film is how little the writer/director injects his own ethical judgments into the action. One might argue that the whole movie disapproves of the universal infidelity portrayed, but there are several sequences in the movie that call this into question. Muccino seems to enjoy most poking fun at everyone's hypocrisy, and this is always great to watch, especially with an expressive, passionate Italian cast. The movie has just enough of a traditional romantic centre to make it all hang together, and yet a great enough diversity of characters to make a wide range of witty points.

Well worth seeing. 8/10.