| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singin' in the Rain - G | As classic as they come. Gene Kelly is more man than you and I combined will ever be. | November 22, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - PG-13 |
A disappointment cinematically, especially following Cuaron's achievement with Azkaban. Like the book (which I haven't yet read, but can surmise from its 734-page girth), it suffers from bad editing. Even though I got the feeling of being whisked past details and nuances, there were still a number of scenes that could've been trimmed or even cut entirely. Joan informs me that the McGonagall/Ron dancing lesson doesn't even exist in the book--so why insert that while cutting other details? The film does present a turning point in the series with the corporeal appearance of You-Know-Who. Radcliffe and company all turn in good performances here. |
November 17, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - PG | The most cinematically sophisticated of the Harry Potter series thus far--just goes to show what kind of difference putting a REAL director at the helm makes. Cuaron shows his camera mastery with small touches, from subtle tilts and pans to creative framing decisions. The three principals have matured as actors and bring some emotional heft lacking from the previous entries in the series. | November 17, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Blair Witch Project - R | No gore or special effects, and still one of the creepiest, most psychologically unsettling films of the 90s. Heather can be annoying, but her oft-parodied confession is a brilliant portrait of unbridled terror--one of the great acting moments from all of horror movie history. | November 17, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Hobbit - Unrated | Accessible interpretation of The Hobbit, but it rushes through the richness of Tolkien's world. The soundtrack and score are awful enough to be distracting. The distinctive character designs and animation are well executed, but lack the fluidity of larger animation houses like Disney or Warner Bros. | November 17, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - PG |
An improvement on the first in almost all areas, especially acting and action--the Quidditch match is a lot more potent with the seeker face-off between Draco and Harry. Jason Isaacs is a perfectly oily Lucius Malfoy. Branagh sends himself up as the biggest poseur to enter the halls of Hogwarts. But Gollum got it right in his 2003 MTV Movie Awards acceptance speech--Dobby is a @&#!. |
November 15, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) - PG |
Good first entry in the series, if unremarkable. Columbus stays close to the source, but doesn't do anything special. There are a few too many times when the CG looks obviously fake (check Harry on top of the troll, or numerous times during the Quidditch match). As in the rest of the films, it's well cast with some top-notch British names. Radcliffe does little more than smile pretty and stare in wonder, but he's got seven whole movies (and a Peter Shaffer play) to show off some real acting chops. He's got great chemistry with Watson and Gint, and it only gets better later in the series. |
November 15, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Dances With Wolves - PG-13 | Great movie, as long as Kevin Costner's not actually on the screen. | October 26, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - R | Just remember, this was the movie that put Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce on the map. And, uh, ping pong balls. | October 17, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Disney's Aladdin - G |
The funniest film of the Disney Renaissance, but also one of the weakest. Robin Williams is a mixed blessing. His hilarious stream-of-consciousness improvisation forces the story to move along at a faster clip, but it also loses depth. Also, it's the first and only Disney fairy tale to make itself feel dated with all its contemporary references; does anybody even remember The Arsenio Hall Show these days? The animation is, of course, excellent, and the character design breaks new ground by evoking Hirschfeld's caricatures while still remaining true to the Disney house style. Menken and Rice (with some of Howard Ashman's final lyrics) add essential classics to the Disney musical library. |
October 13, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Dreamgirls - PG-13 | Some of the best sets, costumes, lighting, and overall production values that you will ever find in a movie musical. The story is an essential "history" of R&B, but the muddled narrative suffers from too many gaps. The music perfectly emulates each of the different eras in the genre. Murphy and Hudson lead a top notch cast. | October 12, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Simpsons Movie - PG-13 | A laugh a minute, with inspired gags following each other at a rapid-fire pace. Still, at its heart, it's only a 90-minute Simpsons episode, and it even calls you out in its opening sequence for being enough of a sucker to pay for something you can usually get for free. | October 12, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Othello - R | Well acted but horribly directed. Parker never wants to move the camera outside of a medium shot, and all those close ups of Branagh's Iago make him cuddly instead of threatening. Fishburne is good as the titular Moor, but the epileptic seizures are a little weird. | October 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Jurassic Park III - PG-13 | More dinosaurs, less plot, no characterization. You could make an argument that the 2005 King Kong was Peter Jackson's indirect response to this movie: "Jurassic Park, eat your heart out." | October 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Lost World - Jurassic Park - PG-13 | As bald an exploitation of sequel-itis as there has ever been. Certainly not as fun as the first, though the homage to Godzilla fare towards the end has its moments. | October 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Jurassic Park - PG-13 | The movie that revolutionized digital special effects is also a great action-packed thrill ride in its own respect. It brings the phrase "loosely adapted from the original novel" to new heights. | October 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Metropolis - Unrated |
The first great science fiction film, portraying the classic struggle between labor and the elite. The design and effects are ahead of their time, and can be breathtaking even by today's standards. Blade Runner especially owes a huge debt to this movie. There are several different restorations out there (you can even find some in the public domain on the Internet legally). The Murnau Foundation's recent 2002 release is most complete; there are reports of an original full-length cut that could be released in 2009. |
October 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Traffic - R | Soderbergh's sharp adaptation of the British mini-series. The all-star cast is phenomenal, with Ferrer, Cheadle, and del Toro leading the pack. Zeta-Jones goes all Michael Corleone. The Michael Douglas drug-czar-and-junkie-daughter story thread drags the whole thing down, unfortunately. | October 6, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Bram Stoker's Dracula - R | The beautiful art direction is ruined by a sloppy screenplay and a shockingly disappointing A-list cast. Oldman and Hopkins are way too hammy. Ryder's and Reeves' British "accents" will make you break out in hives. | October 6, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Pianist - R | All holocaust movies are emotionally devastating, but none illustrates survival by random, dumb luck like this one. If you can believe it, it's actually Polanski's most optimistic film. Adrian Brody is amazing. | October 6, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi - PG |
The weakest installment of the original trilogy is still better than any of the prequels. Luke's and Anakin's character arcs resolve nicely, and mostly without that patented Skywalker whine. It's not easy to juggle the three interwoven story threads building toward the climax, and the sharp editing balances them all well. Luke and Leia as siblings might make sense to Joseph Campbell and Star Wars mythologists, but it's a cop out solution to the Luke/Leia/Han love triangle. And though some justifiably hate the teddy bear Ewoks, they bring some needed levity after the darkness of Empire. |
September 24, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope - PG |
Influential and groundbreaking, but still very flawed. After a rousing start with the space chase, the pacing comes to a screeching halt and doesn't pick back up until the cantina scene. Lucas's nails-on-chalkboard dialogue from the prequels has its unfortunate roots here. (Tosche Station. Power converters. 'Nuff said.) Even so, it reinvented cinematic language while paying homage to it. The fantastic chemistry among the three principals has rarely ever been matched in movie history--and certainly not in the prequels. |
September 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - PG |
Best writing, directing, and acting of all six. And by playing the dark card, it proves itself even more groundbreaking than its predecessor. Also, don't believe anyone who tells you to watch the movies in episodic chronological order--THIS is the way to introduce Yoda. |
September 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Back to the Future Part II - PG |
The time travel theory is clever, but it's riddled with plot holes and tries to do too much in the allotted running time. Crispin Glover's quirky presence is sorely missed here and in the final film. Also, we're only a few years away from 2015. Somebody better get crackin' on those hoverboards and flying cars. |
September 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Much Ado About Nothing - PG-13 | Mostly well-cast--with the glaring exception of Keanu Reeves, who should be banned from ever having to speak another line of Shakespeare. Otherwise, it's a spirited, vivacious production. | September 23, 2008 | N/A |
359 ratings
256 reviews
