| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Attacks! - PG-13 | Lots of fun gags surround an unfocused plot. The all-star cast seems to be having tons of fun getting themselves killed off, but somehow that doesn't translate to the audience's enjoyment. | February 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Coraline - PG | February 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Young Einstein - PG | Asinine. | February 9, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Rain Man - R | Exponentially increased the awareness of autism almost single-handedly. Cruise plays his stock 80s character against Hoffman's brilliant Oscar-winning savant, and we're rewarded with an unlikely cross between the Odd Couple and On the Road. The tender brotherly moments serve as perfect grace notes to contrast Hoffman's outbursts and Cruise's conniption fits. | February 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville, Belleville Rendez-vous) - PG-13 | Bizarre, but stylistically gorgeous. It moves a little slowly, but the deliberate pace forces you to savor the pantomimed gags like a fine wine. The music is infectiously catchy and just as quirky as the visuals it accompanies. | January 31, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Wrestler - R | January 26, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Legends of the Fall - R | Unbearably long and painful melodrama. Brad Pitt cries a lot, fights a bear, scalps Germans, bootlegs booze, and stomps on Julia Ormond's heart after literally cutting out his brother's. Sure, it's well-shot (earning an Oscar for cinematography), but I was too distracted by the incredulity of the plot to care. | January 26, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Pleasantville - PG-13 | Starts by paying homage to 1950s classic television (Don Knotts!), but then evolves into sharp sociological satire. Visually stunning with a top-notch cast. | January 23, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Helvetica - Unrated |
Eighty glorious minutes of FONT PORN. It provides a balanced overview of not only the world's most ubiquitous typeface, but also the evolution of graphic design over the past 50 years. Might be too nerdy for non-graphic designers. But if you've ever sat in a movie theatre and named the typefaces as the credits roll, this film is for you. |
January 21, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Forbidden Kingdom - PG-13 |
The Wizard of Oz meets Chinese mythology. Kung-fu giants Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally(!) get to share the screen. Even though both are past their primes as athletes, they don't fail to disappoint; on several occasions, Li out-sillies the usually more comic Chan. The casting of Angarano is okay, but why does a Caucasian male have to be the protagonist? Critic Peter Martin suggests that casting a young Asian-American could've added more depth (young misfit disinterested in his cultural roots). Hollywood gets a big FAIL for its subtle racism. |
January 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars - PG |
Unspectacular theatrical launch for the TV series, but gets a lot more grief than it really deserves. It would've worked better as three or four separate episodes on the small screen; as a single film, it gets tedious very quickly, even with all the action. Your tolerance for annoying characters will be tested by Padawan Ahsoka and the battle droids, but they're still more bearable than Jar Jar. |
January 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Star Trek Generations - PG | Decent launch for the TNG films, but there are plot holes everywhere. Kirk's tokenistic inclusion and demise is disappointing. | January 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Star Trek: The Motion Picture - G | Boring. To its credit, it's the most cerebral of all the Trek films. But in trying to match 2001's thematic sophistication, it neglects what made Trek so fun in the first place. | January 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Twister - PG-13 | Utterly ridiculous, but at least it's fun. The science is awful. Helen Hunt is the unhinged, storm-chasing "scientist": "Tornado, you killed my father--prepare to die!" Bill Paxton is the ADHD savant who can read the MINDS of storms: "Sign these divorce papers. Ooh, shiny toy!" | January 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Pocahontas - G |
Visually, it evokes the gorgeous angular style of 1959's Sleeping Beauty. Musically, it's interesting, but there's nothing really memorable besides the signature "Colors of the Wind". The film fails by abandoning historical accuracy while bludgeoning with political correctness. Disney's Mulan handled the issue much more gracefully (and even so, her character might be more legend than history); only Bluth's Anastasia matches its clumsiness as an animated fictionalization of a historical person. |
January 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Doubt - PG-13 |
Superb cast, with Streep as the nun principal from your nightmares. Hoffman is as perfect a sparring partner for Streep as she's ever had. The film itself encapsulates the continuing struggle of Catholic identity between pre- and post-Vatican II, addressing rigidity and aggiornamento, patriarchy and hierarchy, and of course, the dark spectre of abuse and suspicion. It's very Catholic in spirit and content, but there are a few jarring anachronisms and inaccuracies for Catholics in the know. In Catholicism, it's a "homily", not a "sermon"; and no homily was ever followed by an organ hymn. And the Taize "Ubi Caritas" wouldn't be written for another 14 years. |
January 5, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Passed Away - PG-13 | Fun ensemble movie. It's "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" for Irish Americans. | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Chinatown - R | The neo-noir to end all film noir. | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| 1776 - PG |
Daniels is captivating as the fiery Adams. Of course, as a musical, it takes a few liberties (ha!) with some of the history; but more often than not, it vividly illustrates the tension and improbability of declaring independence from Britain. It might even be a little too ambitious in its attempt to balance its historical, satirical, and musical elements. It's still one of the best, most loyal adaptations of a stage musical, and certainly the only film in which you'll ever see Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin sing in three-part harmony. |
January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Night at the Museum - PG | Gimmicky but enjoyable family fare. (Ah, CGI, how did we ever survive without you?) Old schoolers will delight when Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney share the same screen. Stiller does his neurotic slacker schtick on top of a ho-hum estranged-dad-from-his-son plot. | January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| There's Something About Mary - R | The only Farrelly Brothers movie I can stomach. The silly, humiliating, embarrassing truths strike a chord with any guy who's ever had a crush. And it doesn't hurt that Cameron Diaz is smoking hot. | January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| 2001: A Space Odyssey - G | Kubrick's masterpiece on the evolution of humankind towards the transcendent. The movie epitomizes "show, don't tell," and demands a lot of work and patience from its audience. If you don't watch film for intellectual stimulation, then do yourself a favor and steer clear. | January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Surf's Up - PG |
Remember the outtakes from the credits of A Bug's Life (and then many other Pixar movies to follow)? Imagine a whole movie like that, and you've got Surf's Up. The "other" penguin movie takes a daring step with its mockumentary style, ala This Is Spinal Tap. The mostly improvised dialogue and faux-jerky camera bring a completely different (and welcome) dimension to CG animated film. It's as good as many of Pixar's offerings, superior to anything Dreamworks has released, and definitely worlds better than Happy Feet. And even though the plot is nearly identical to Pixar's Cars (young hotshot discovers old veteran in hiding and learns that winning isn't everything), it still wins points for style. |
January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Back to the Future Part III - PG | The DeLorean runs out of gas. It's less time travel and more western homage. Marty suddenly turns into a three-dimensional character by suppressing his knee-jerk reaction to the word "chicken"--because that's all this trilogy was about. Right. | January 2, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Good Girl - R | What a cast, and what a spot-on representation of mid-American ennui. Aniston really does have the chops; look at her walk, look at her face, and then lament how she might be typecast as Rachel Green for the rest of her career. | January 1, 2009 | N/A |
359 ratings
256 reviews
