My Favorite Movies

Having dazzled mainstream viewers with Blade 2 and Hellboy Mexican director Guillermo del Toro returns to his roots for this deeply impressive adult fairytale that rates as one of the best films of 2006.

Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Pan's Labyrinth follows the fortunes of young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), as she travels with her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil) to stay with her new stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi López) at a remote outpost.

But while Vidal spends his days ruthlessly pursuing anti-fascist rebels in the woods, Ofelia discovers the entrance to a strange labyrinth in the forest and befriends a mystical faun named Pan (Doug Jones), who informs her that she is the rightful heir to his kingdom.

In order to regain her place, however, the young girl must complete a number of dangerous tasks.

But as the line between the two worlds blurs, Ofelia finds herself torn between caring for her sick mother and unborn brother and fulfilling her unusual quest.

Pan's Labyrinth derives its inspiration from a number of sources, including - most obviously - the Grimms' fairytales, Alice In Wonderland and some of the imagination of Jim Henson. But it also owes much to the work of Spanish painter Goya (in particular, his gory creation Saturn Devours His Children), the illustrations of the director's favourite Victorian illustrator, Arthur Rackham, and del Toro's earlier work such as Cronos and The Devil's Backbone.

As such, it's a very adult tale that features some truly disturbing imagery, a consistently melancholy tone and some extreme moments of violence. But it's an emotionally enriching experience that has some very important things to say for anyone willing to listen.

The depiction of the hell of war is particularly memorable and occupies a large part of proceedings, serving as a timely comment on some of today's human rights abuses as well as a reminder that monsters aren't merely confined to fantasy. Yet the triumph of the human spirit and man's capacity for bravery and sacrifice is just as effectively relayed via some of the actions of Ofelia and the rebels hiding in the woods.

The director draws some exemplary performances from his Spanish cast, with young Ivana Baquero providing a fearless presence as the determined Ofelia and López revelling in his role of evil incarnate.

The most striking thing about Pan's Labyrinth, however, is its look, which succeeds in mining the depths of del Toro's wonderfully vivid imagination. The film juxtaposes the ugly with the beautiful in exemplary fashion, creating a world that's fun to explore and impossible to forget.

Some of his creations, too, are incredibly striking, such as Pan himself, a horrific Pale Man (both played by Doug Jones) and an over-sized toad that Ofelia must confront and defeat as part of her journey.

All combine to create an experience that is truly unforgettable, a film that confronts the horror of war and fascism within the cleverly constructed confines of a fantasy adventure. It's bold, inspired filmmaking that deserves the maximum praise.

"The Dark Knight" is pure adrenaline. Returning director Christopher Nolan, having dispensed with his introspective, moody origin story, now puts the Caped Crusader through a decathlon of explosions, vehicle flips, hand-to-hand combat, midair rescues and pulse-pounding suspense.

Nolan is one of our smarter directors. He builds movies around ideas and characters, and "Dark Knight" is no exception. The ideas here are not new to the movie world of cops and criminal, but in the context of a comic book movie, they ring out with startling clarity. In other words, you expect moralistic underpinnings in a Martin Scorsese movie; in a Batman movie, they hit home with renewed vigor.

None of this artistic achievement denies the re-energized Warner Bros./DC Comics franchise its commercial muscle. Those bags of money in the movie's opening bank heist are nothing compared with the worldwide boxoffice haul "Dark Knight" will take from theaters. Repeat viewings are a certainty.
Repeat viewings might also be a necessity. That adrenaline rush comes at a cost: With the film's race-car pace, noise levels, throbbing music and density of stratagems, no one will follow all the plot points at first glance. Not that the story with its double crosses and ingenious plans isn't clear, but to enjoy the full glory of these urban battlefield strategies, multiple viewings are required.

"Dark Knight" revolves around notions of the yin and yang between Hero and Villain and of those gray areas where social conscience and individuality collide. Thinking logically, Nolan and his co-writer/brother Jonathan, working from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, imagine that the heroism of Bruce Wayne's Batman (a returning Christian Bale) is a double-edged sword. Cleaning up the streets of Gotham City turns the crime cartels into an even more dangerous beast that, once cornered, resorts to its own doomsday machine: the maniacally clever and criminally amoral Joker (the late Heath Ledger). And vigilante justice is nonetheless "justice" from outside the law. So who or what polices him?

Running for cover, the mob head (Eric Roberts) first takes refuge with a Hong Kong crime mogul (Chin Han). Then when Batman takes him down, he and his fellow mobsters hold their noses and in desperation settle on a man who knows no rules and plays everyone against one another. The Joker relishes the assignment precisely because of his "admiration" for the Dark Knight. In one key confrontation, the Joker purrs to Batman, like a bride to a groom, "You complete me." The criminal clown, his makeup designed to emphasize his facial deformations, sees in a man dressed up in a bat suit "a freak like me."


Seemingly on the side of good are the city's White Knight, District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart); his girlfriend/Assistant DA Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- and, if you recall from "Batman Begins," Bruce Wayne's longtime love -- and police Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman). But loyalties are easily dislodged by threats or money. The Joker's true purpose, besides amusing himself trying to outwit Batman, is to see if he can "turn" the White Knight to his dark side.

One wishes Nolan had cast a different actor than Eckhart as this White Knight. Although very good at playing duplicitousness and irony -- witness "Thank You for Smoking" -- Eckhart never quite seems the crusader presumably intended.

The Joker, though, sees everyone as two-faced, even Batman, in his estimation. When confronted by pure evil -- and there is a kind of purity to the Joker's rule of no rules -- what can a vigilante do but violate his own moral code? The Joker means to push Batman beyond those limits.

With six major action sequences shot with Imax cameras, Nolan pushes his own cinematic envelope. If the action in "Batman Begins" received ho-hum reviews in some quarters, this won't happen with "Dark Knight." Batman flies around the skyscrapers of Gotham and Hong Kong, rips through any number of villains with his martial arts, tears through streets in his armor-clad, two-wheeled Bat-Pod and has more tech backup than James Bond. While all modern movie action is visual-effects driven, the stunt work in "Dark Knight" looks like it's happening on the streets and not in a computer.

Bale again brilliantly personifies all the deep traumas and misgivings of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne. A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman. Ledger's performance is a beauty. His Joker has a slow cadence of speech, as if weighing words for maximum mischief and contempt. He moves languidly as if to savor his dark deeds, his head and body jerking at times from an overload of brain impulses.

Michael Caine's butler extraordinaire, Alfred, and Morgan Freeman's scientific genius, Lucius, have settled into their dutiful roles as oases of the expected when all else is unexpected. Gyllenhaal is not exactly wasted, but she can't do much with a tissue-thin heroine. Oldman as the all-too-human cop is a quiet triumph in superb character acting.

The last place one would expect to find hope would be a prison. Likewise, the last movie in which one would expect to find hope is a prison movie. However, in The Shawshank Redemption, hope is exactly what we get.

The Shawshank Redemption is the story of Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins); a man accused of murdering his wife and her lover and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He is shipped to Shawshank Maximum Security Prison, in Shawshank, Maine, to spend the duration of his life. Over the next years (two hours, movie time), he finds his way to inner peace and holds onto great hope in the midst of the terror of the prison system.

The Shawshank Redemption is one of those films that is a true work of both art and magic. It is a work of art in the fact that it can so perfectly paint the picture of a man who will not relinquish the only thing someone cannot directly take away: hope. It is a work of magic in the fact that you are completely enveloped in Shawshank. From the first shot of Shawshank prison -- an utterly gothic structure that permeates you with a sense of just how frightening the prison will be -- you are enveloped inside of the world of Shawshank. You experience a prison life composed of routine after routine after routine.

The performances in Shawshank are top notch. The commentary upon the justice system is both thoughtful and thought provoking. Yet, despite all of its greatness, Shawshank's script leaves a little to be desired. I suppose such happens when one is using Stephen King as the source for a serious movie. Shawshank's characters are cliched. There is Red (Freeman), the convict who gets things, who says at one point "I suppose there's a convict like me in every prison." Also, Andy plays the stereotype of the innocent man, doing time for a crime he did not commit. The story is basically predictable. The dialogue has a propensity to get preachy.

Despite these flaws, The Shawshank Redemption is a film with remarkable staying power. It is able to sustain itself throughout its duration and to keep you enraptured with its remarkably hopeful story.

Basically, it's freakin' awesome!

The plot involves New York cop John McClane flying out to Los Angeles to attend the swanky party of his separated wife Holly's company on an upper floor of their high-rise corporate building. However, the company didn't intend to have party crashers, particularly gun-toting German terrorists who want to rob the big boss blind while holding the employees hostage. The terrorists are led by international mastermind Hans Gruber, who makes one major blunder in not taking into account that there would be one guest who manages to get away unseen, McClane, who does his duty as a good cop by doing everything possible to foil their plans. Using his street smarts and physical prowess, McClane throws a monkey wrench in Gruber's works, but these terrorists are ruthless, cunning, and deadly. Not to mention, they also have McClane's wife.

Die Hard isn't what one would call a thinking-man's thriller, but it is a case where the formula is done right for popcorn movie fare. With plenty of action, incredible stunts, pithy lines, and good performances to anchor it, John McTiernan sets the table for over two hours of action movie-lover's bliss, as things blow up, and we actually care about what happens in the end.

Many people questioned seeing Bruce Willis, formerly known as just a light comedic actor, as an action hero. Willis proves us wrong by first establishing that there is nothing remarkable about McClane at all -- he's just a normal New York City cop who is out of his element in a new environment and pretty much unsettled about everything in his life. He has normal problems, normal feelings. Bruce Willis isn't Rambo or John Wayne, and even rejects the notion when presented in q poignant question by Hans himself. Although Beverly Hills Cop would come before with a similar premise of a street-smart, blue collar cop transplanted to California who wisecracks, Die Hard proved that the sky was the limit as far as what normal guys can do, and it does it with style, verve and wit.

The action does falter a bit toward the end when McTiernan reveals he's making a popcorn movie after all, as he opts for a few clichés and moments of crowd-pleasing formula antics, letting the supporting characters have a role in clobbering a bad guy or two. By the time these moments occur, we're willing to overlook them after being sated by watching two hours of action well done. It's hard to gripe at a film that delivers everything you could want in an action picture, then gives you even more.

Synopsis: Tuscany, as the Allies pursue the Germans north at the end of WWII: traumatised by loss and carnage, Canadian nurse Hana (Binoche) decides to stay behind in an abandoned, bombed monastery and care for her dying patient (Fiennes). He seems to recall little of his life, but when Caravaggio (Dafoe), a vengeful, morphine-addicted thief, turns up and quizzes him over past dark secrets, and as Hana reads from his beloved Herodotos, memories return of the pre-war years when, as an archaeologist/cartographer in the Sahara, he had a passionate affair with Katharine (Scott Thomas), wife of a British colleague.


My verdict: Though Anthony Minghella's adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel simplifies, jettisons and changes certain elements of the original story, it remains a rich, complex, entrancing piece of work. Part poignant romance, part suspenseful adventure, part enigmatic mystery, it's essentially a study in different responses to love and war, honour and betrayal, nationality and identity, falsehood and forgiveness, which sounds subtle echoes as the narrative flashes to and fro between two main time frames. Needless to say, the performances are flawless; more surprising is the fluency, poetry and scale of Minghella's direction (John Seale's sensuous desert photography is superb), equally eloquent whether depicting boudoir intimacies, bomb-disposal skills, drunken dementia or a deadly sandstorm.

After Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, it was clear that George Lucas had something hot in his hands. At this point, Lucas was under some pressure, and it would've been easy to produce a followup that was a disaster and let everyone down. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi shows Lucas' ingenuity: he combines the best elements of the previous two episodes and produces a movie that is not only technologically advanced, in terms of special effects, but ties the loose ends together in a consistent whole.

The plot is similar to Star Wars: A New Hope. The Evil Empire has built a new killing machine, much more powerful than the Death Star (even though it has the same weak points as far as blowing it up is concerned). The Rebel Alliance must destroy it before it destroys them.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), along with Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), C3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2D2 (Kenny Baker) tie up the first loose thread by rescuing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the clutches of the evil Jabba the Hutt (Toby Philpott). Then Luke returns to the Dagobah system to finish his training (thread number two) with Yoda (Frank Oz) and makes it there just in time. The nine-hundred-year-old Jedi Master dies and joins Obi-Wan Kenobi in the great beyond. Luke learns from Yoda that he has a twin sister and must confront Darth Vader before he can become a proper Jedi Knight (and that's two more threads tied up for you).

Meanwhile, the Rebel Alliance begins planning their attack on the Empire's weapon. Luke and his friends are responsible for destroying the shield protecting the new weapon so Lando and the Alliance crew can destroy the revamped Death Star. As they approach Endor, the moon containing the shield controls, Darth Vader (David Proust, voice of James Earl Jones) and Luke sense each other's presence. Luke then confronts Darth Vader and tries to convert him to the good side.

Up till now, the most fearsome villain in the Star Wars movies was Darth Vader. But Lucas manages to create an even more impressive one, just as he begins to change Darth Vader into a good guy. The new villain is Darth Vader's master, the evil Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), who looks feeble and old but possess extraordinary Jedi powers (presumably from his alliance with the dark side). When the Emperor realises he cannot convert Luke to the dark side, he begins to slowly and painfully kill Luke. Darth Vader, seeing Luke lying helplessly on the floor while the Emperor exhibits pure evil, feels a spark of compassion and kills the Emperor (a little too easily, but it's better than having a sustained fight). In doing so, he finally redeems himself and joins Obi-Wan and Yoda.

A couple of robots shuttle to a desert planet after their rebel spaceship is taken over by an Imperial starcruiser, capturing everyone on board including the rebel princess, Leia (Fisher). Leia has sent the robots to convey a message to a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi (Guiness), who she claims is the only hope left for the rebels to beat the evil Empire.

A pair of farmers buy the droids after they are captured by some scavengers to use on their farm, and after the farmer boy, Luke (Hamill) discovers the princess' message, he heads to Obi-Wan to deliver it. While he is away, his family is killed by the Empire seeking the droids, as they make their escape from the planet with the aid of a space pirate named Han Solo (Ford), and make their way to help the princess, who is now aboard a space station powerful enough to destroy an entire planet in seconds, the Death Star.

Star Wars is truly one of the all-time greatest cinematic experiences ever created. A modern day equivalent of a fairy tale, masterfully and lovingly created by writer-director George Lucas. Combining elements of narratives of the past with modern-day westerns and Japanese cinema, it is a breathtaking endeavor, with an absorbing universe of richly-defined characters. It's bolstered by a memorable score by John Williams, beautifully created costumes and sets, and a tightly constructed plot that never strays off course, this is nothing short of a sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece.

The Empire Strikes Back continues the Star Wars saga in exciting fashion, with the Empire now having driven the Rebels from their secret base to another on an ice world called Hoth. The Empire eventually finds them on Hoth, forcing an evacuation, whereupon Luke is told by the "spirit" of Obi-Wan Kenobi to seek out a Jedi instructor named Yoda for training. Meanwhile, romance is brewing between Han Solo and Princess Leia, but Han has problems of his own as he is plagued by bounty hunters and the Empire out to nab him. Excitement erupts as Luke and Vader meet face to face, and some startling revelations occur.

The Empire Strikes Back is not only a terrific sequel to Star Wars, it's one of the best sequels of all time, and some people even think it's better than the first of the series. I don't totally agree with that assessment, but admittedly the special effects are better, the characters more three-dimensional, the artwork more beautiful, and the John Williams score still absolutely amazing. The film leaves more questions than answers, and sets itself up in the end for the eventual sequel to tie up all the loose ends.

Empire may ultimately be just a set-up film, but what a setup! It's grand scale and top-notch entertainment of the highest order, and a must-see for anyone who saw Star Wars. The pace and editing of this film is nothing short of perfection...this is how to keep action tight and suspenseful!

Clooney plays Danny Ocean, a recently released big-time thief, who has big aspirations of knocking over the owner of three big Las Vegas casinos, Terry Benedict. Terry is not only a major a-hole with plenty of enemies, but also happens to be sporting Ocean's former wife on his arm, which makes him an illustrious target in Danny's eyes. Danny pulls together a gang of ten other players, each with their own skills which are needed to bust in the high-security vault which hold the millions taken in by the casinos.

Soderbergh squeezes more juice than one could have thought could be had from the material, and the actors provide oodles of chemistry and amiable performances which make Ocean's Eleven one of the hippest and most fun films of 2001. With grainy film stock, a hip funk-jazz score, well-choreographed camera movements and segues, plus good use of Las Vegas scenic locales, it's a treat for the mind as well as the funny bone.

Amazing. A brilliant ending to an excellent trilogy.

Better than the first one. I'm beginning to feel more ashamed of myself for rating this "Not Interested".

I'm ashamed of myself.

I rated this "Not Interested", yet I watched it and enjoyed it.

Michael J. Fox plays 17-year-old Marty McFly, a spirited teenager who doesn't seem to quite fit in with his current family, so much so that he spends a great deal of his time helping out an eccentric local scientist, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), in his kooky experiments. One night, Doc calls Marty out to an empty mall parking lot to witness his latest triumph, a souped-up DeLorean that he has modified as a time machine. Upset that Doc has used the plutonium given to make a proposed nuclear bomb for his own machine, some angry terrorists gun him down in cold blood, leaving Marty with no other choice than to escape in the DeLorean, which sends him back in time to the date Doc first came up with the idea for time travel, November 5th, 1955, which also happens to be the date that Marty's parents met and fell for each other. Problems ensue when Marty's mother (Lea Thompson), begins to fall for him instead, which would completely negate the existence of Marty and his siblings. Marty must find a way for his parents to fall in love, and get back to the future without the nuclear component necessary, with only the younger Doc Brown to help him.

Back to the Future is, at the same time, an embracing of the cultures of the 1950s and the 1980s, while also a satire poking fun at all of the differences. Perhaps no other actor exudes that Reagan-era young preppy as Alex P. Keaton himself, Michael J. Fox. He embodies many things that the 1950s just aren't ready for, some of which he exploits for his own purposes (such as the rampant fear of alien invasions). While his parents like to look back on their childhoods as an idyllic time of innocence, as presented here, the 1950s seems like an even more bizarre world to live in, with its naïve points of view, repressive relationships, and denial about its own flaws. Back to the Future actually does manage to touch on key differences, such as racism and the imbalance of sex roles, but does so without ever losing the light-hearted energy that imbues the rest of the story.

Over the years, Back to the Future has become a family classic (although it has its share of adult language and themes), and a quintessential 80s film which exuded a wide-eyed charm and a celebration of the geek as part of popular culture. It's a fun and breezy viewing that offers some smart escapism for a while, provided you are willing to go with the flow of the illogical plot in exchange for some laughs and a good time. Like most things Spielberg at the time, it's a populist feel-good movie that should appeal to just about everyone.

Movies that deal with time travel are often a bit of a headache, as they frequently feature paradoxes that threaten to add more implausibility factor to the breaking point. However, sometimes films that feature such inconsistencies can still succeed as entertainment, despite making very little logical sense in terms of adhering to a set of tangible rules, whether real or concocted. Deja Vu is the latest film to employ tampering with the past in order to secure a different outcome in the present, but by the time you realize that it is highly illogical as a film, you've already gained enough enjoyment out of the film from a thriller standpoint to forgive the shaky foundations in science fiction.

Denzel Washington collaborates for the third time with Tony Scott, after Crimson Tide and Man on Fire, and with Deja Vu, their track record is now three for three. Washington stars as a New Orleans-born ATF agent named Doug Carlin, who has been commissioned to assist in an investigation regarding a terrorist bombing of a river ferry that kills hundreds of Naval officers and civilians. During the course of his duties, Carlin comes across the body of Claire Kuchever (Patton), who shows signs of having been killed two hours before the bombing occurred. With evidence nearly impossible to obtain from the charred remains of the ferry, Carlin knows that his best bet is to uncover the secret to the murder of Kuchever, which he believes will lead him to the culprit. This is when Carlin's investigative world gets rocked by a startling introduction to a device, dubbed "Snow White", that allows someone to see and hear the activities of any spot on Earth exactly four days and six hours in the past. He doesn't know how it works, but it doesn't matter, as he becomes obsessed with using the device to try to uncover evidence to make sure those responsible for the reprehensible acts are put away for good.

Deja Vu lives up to its name a bit by being somewhat derivative of other recent science fiction thrillers, but it never cribs from any of them enough to merit labeling it as an out-and-out rip-off of any of them (there is a subtle 12 Monkeys vibe to the plot, even if the events are vastly different). Although the time-shifting elements within the film would be a bit more plausible had the film been set in the future, if you accept the fact that such a contraption could theoretically exist (although incredibly unlikely to be utilized exclusively by law enforcement), you'll probably be able to suspend disbelief the rest of the way, regardless of how ridiculous it might seem in hindsight. It takes a great deal of trickery to make such a farfetched premise fly, so credit director Tony Scott for keeping the action and drama moving at a brisk enough pace to keep out minds engaged more in the events as they unfold on the screen, only realizing that, in the end, it doesn't quite hold up to close analysis. Given the level of intrigue, mystery, and excitement generated, it's all forgiven in the name of sheer entertainment.

Although clocking in at a sizable 128 minutes, it does go by fast, with enough twists, turns, action, romantic leanings, drama, and revelations to engage us from one scene to the next with a minimum of lag time. It also features another car chase sequence to go down among the most original ever conceived. Sure, there are plenty of loose ends and logic loopholes to have to contend with, but with fine performances, a nifty plot, and solid production values all around, Deja Vu overcomes familiar story elements to deliver a lively and interesting thriller for those who enjoy mysteries mixed with fantasy and science fiction elements.

"Dirty" Harry Callahan (Eastwood), is among the most disgruntled of San Francisco's police force. He doesn't like the fact that criminals seem to have more rights afforded to them than their victims. Now a ruthless sniper (Robinson), is on the loose and is making demands or else continued assassinations will take place. The tables get turned on Harry when the savvy sniper uses these rights to literally get away with murder and make the good guys seem bad.

It would become Eastwood's most famous of roles, and the one that cemented his place as the monosyllabic bad-ass that didn't take crap from anyone. Dirty Harry is more than just another cop movie. It is a film created to spark discussion, thematically grappling over the way justice may not actually be served by affording too many rights to the criminals, who are literally set free when cops overstep their bounds in order to make sure that these bad guys don't get away with more crimes.

Dirty Harry was branded as "fascist" by several prominent critics at the time of its release, but given its many imitators, its style has been completely enveloped as standard loose-cannon cop fare. However, even with the myriad of rip-offs, it is remarkably still a strong movie, with a keen sense of style, surprisingly pungent violence, and a truly heinous villain that might have some viewers wishing Harry would step completely over the line and just blow away without immediate cause.

Eastwood would become a superstar after this film, earning that sense of mystique and consummate strength that audiences admired and loved, intense but still able to maintain a healthy sense of humor despite his outrage. However, even with his landmark performance, the film equally succeeds due to the energetic and stylish direction by Don Siegel. Although decades old, the in-your-face style still feels remarkably fresh, with some moments of violence that are still quite strong. Complementing Siegel's style is a memorably funky, psychedelic score by Lalo Schifrin, and gritty, haunting cinematography from Bruce Surtees.

Among cop action films, Dirty Harry ranks up near the very top ever made, practically must-see for anyone that considers himself a fan of the genre, and of Clint Eastwood.

Although initially met with a few groans, particularly from the male component of the audience, Keanu Reeves actually contributes more than he detracts as the naive but gifted protagonist of the film, Thomas Anderson, aka Neo. Neo works for a large software company, but is a computer hacker on the side, and quite a good one at that, selling off information for a price to anyone who might want it. That is until one day his world is rocked when he is shown that the world of 1999 isn't reality, but actually a computer simulation designed to lull humans into a feeling of complacency while their actual bodies are being harvested and used as batteries for the artificial intelligence they helped create. A mysterious man named Morpheus believes Neo is "The One" who will save all humanity, as foretold to him by The Oracle, so he shows Neo the truth about his surroundings and trains him in the ways of The Matrix in the hope that humanity can prevail against the machines.

Undoubtedly, The Matrix is a brilliantly-conceived and extremely memorable sci-fi action powerhouse that delivers the goods and a whole lot more. After their smash debut in the altogether different but equally smart Bound, the Wachowskis have not slipped into the safe and secure with their second release, crafting what would become a national phenomenon once it was all through. Although there probably isn't a wholly original concept in the mix as a story, it's the unique way in which the Wachoskis have blended the multitudinous genres that is the testament to their prodigious creation. However, cinematically, the look and feel of the film is actually where the originality lies, with a style of gun play that is arresting to behold, and almost exhilarating to admire.

For most of the film, it's sheer perfection, with impeccable timing, terrific storytelling elements, and an endlessly fascinating concept that is richly fleshed out as the tale unfolds. Only the last twenty minutes of the film does the weight of the ambition begin to sag, as the action takes over, and the somewhat hokey nature of the characters and situations becomes a bit too over the top for its own good.

Still, why bother nitpicking one of the best films in the worlds of science fiction and action, a marvel of special effects and conceptual mastery that goes to show that if you put as much time into a screenplay as you do into special effects, great things can happen. The Matrix is about as ambitious a film as there's been in quite some time, and credit the Wachowskis for succeeding in almost every one of them.

Based on some of the same historical events as Chen Kaige's 2000 epic drama "The Emperor and the Assassin," the film stars Jet Li as a nameless assassin (referred to as "Nameless") whose goal is to kill a Napoleon-like warlord, the King of Qin (Chen Daoming), who has brutally conquered six other kingdoms to unite China for the first time. But to get close to the king, he must first defeat three dangerous killers, Long Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) -- the king's most dangerous enemies.

These scenes, however, take place in flashback. In the present, the king has granted an audience to this warrior who has done him such a great honor, and Nameless's heroism allows him to move closer than the security-regulated 100 yards from the throne.

But the king is no fool. He quickly deduces that Nameless's story is a fabrication and questions the assassin, trying to figure out what really happened. What follows is a "Rashomon"-like narrative, relying on the distorting nature of storytelling, in which the king and his would-be killer each spin their own version of the preceding battles, trying to throw each other further and further off-guard.

Director Zhang Yimou ("The Road Home," "Raise the Red Lantern") presents each of the various tales drenched in their own bold colors: red, blue, green and gold. But unlike "Rashomon," the true story does ultimately come out -- only to lead to a much tougher decision on which the very future of China hinges.

The film's real selling point is what happens within these extraordinary swatches of color. These breathtaking action scenes threaten to virtually rip the screen apart.

In one, Nameless and Flying Snow ward off a veritable hailstorm of arrows while balletic Broken Sword feverishly paints a calligraphy scroll. Other scenes feature Broken Sword's jealous apprentice (Zhang Ziyi) attacking Flying Snow in a forest full of swirling dead leaves, and a fight that takes place while the players sprint and dance across the surface of a serene lake.

Zhang Yimou is not a kung-fu director by nature, but he knows beauty and tragedy when he sees them. "Hero" eschews his recent, neo-realist work ("Happy Times") and harkens back to his earlier films like "Ju Dou," in which brightly colored cloth hanging in the breeze made for similiarly stunning visuals.

He was also smart enough to hire Christopher Doyle, the celebrated Australian-born cinematographer who has worked almost exclusively in Hong Kong, lensing such classics as Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time." Doyle understands not only the concept of making fight scenes clear, but also how to move his camera with the action, heightening it rather than obscuring it with cuts and shakes as most American filmmakers do.

The film's cast comes from the uppermost echelon of Hong Kong elite. But unlike "Crouching Tiger's" Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li is an accomplished martial artist who can actually perform the stunts required for this film. "Hero" fits him perfectly, calling upon his stock-in-trade steely-eyed stoicism. When the king hurls a sword directly at his face, the actor does not flinch a millimeter as the weapon sticks in the table directly in front of him.

Zhang takes his great cast and crew and celebrates with them. Rather than a pretentious attempt at turning kung-fu into high art, "Hero" is a film of movement and color and poetry, an all-time cinema classic that deserves our unrestrained applause, with or without Miramax's help.

Stu Shepard is a fast talking and wise cracking New York City publicist who gets out of trouble and lies with his clever charm, connections, and charisma. Stu's greatest lie is to his wife Kelly, who he is cheating on with his girlfriend, Pam. Upon answering a call in a phone booth in belief it is Pam, Stu is on the line with a dangerous yet intelligent psychopath with a sniper rifle. When realizing it is not a joke, Stu is placed in a powerful mind game of wits and corruption. The New York City Police eventually arrive thereafter and demand Stu comes out of the phone booth- but how can he when if he hangs up or leaves the booth he will die?

How Joel Schumacher could make a film over such a small plot, and make it so good is amazing.

A must see if you like thrillers.

Nicolas Cage stars in his fourth Jerry Bruckheimer production (after The Rock, Con Air, and Gone in 60 Seconds), and while this is far from his best work as an actor, his presence does offer some credibility to his otherwise wafer-thin character. Toss in Jon Voight as the stern, unappreciative father (albeit a rip-off of Sean Connery's portrayal of Henry Jones in The Last Crusade), some welcome eye-candy in Diane Kruger, and a thankfully subdued performance by Sean Bean and National Treasure gets a check in the plus column for a relatively likeable cast.

It's also a good looking film, with quality economical direction by Turteltaub and sumptuous cinematography from Caleb Deschanel. Nice locale work, top-notch special effects and sound effects, and good work on the sets and costumes, all make this an appealing film, if only on a visceral level.

Falling under the Disney moniker, it's a relatively decent family film, and even if not anything new, it is served well in the role of mindless popcorn movie.

Synopsis: It's 1938 and when Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is informed by a wealthy American businessman that his father, Henry Jones (Sean Connery), has gone missing while researching a clue to the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, Indy sets off in search of him. With his father's Grail diary as a guide, he enlists the support of Dr Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) and the enigmatic Austrian professor Dr Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) only to realise that the latter is not all she seems.

After finding his father, the Jones boys find themselves in a frantic race against time to beat the Nazis to the Holy Grail, the cup that holds the blood of Jesus and can grant men immortality.

My verdict: The third installment in the Indiana Jones saga bucked the trend of most sequels (ie, the law of diminishing returns) by actually bettering the sequel [Temple of Doom] and matching the feelgood element of the original Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Part of this lay with Steven Spielberg's welcome decision to lay off the nastier elements of the sequel (or prequel) in favour of the knockabout fun of Raiders.

But most of it lay with the decision to cast Sean Connery as Indy's father. It was a stroke of genius.

The banter and camaraderie between Ford and Connery added a new element to proceedings that made for an even more enjoyable adventure. It was both funny and touching and played to the strengths of both actors.

Key moments in their relationship included a terrific scene in which they were bound back-to-back to each other on two chairs and forced to unite to escape a burning room (caused by Connery's own incompetence with a lighter) and their reunion in Africa following the tank chase sequence, when Snr thought Jnr had perished.

Alison Doody also played her part in accentuating the rivalry that existed between father and son, having bedded both of them during various twists and turns in the story (though we're thankfully spared a sex scene involving Connery).

In fine Indiana Jones tradition, The Last Crusade also boasted a number of spectacular set pieces, including the aforementioned tank sequence, a cracking canal chase in Venice and a moment involving the Jones boys on a motorbike and sidecar not to mention an exploding Zeppelin and the opening flashback (that found River Phoenix playing the young Indiana Jones).

And let's not forget the audacious sequence in which Indy gets an autograph from none other than Adolf Hitler!

The Last Crusade also boasted memorable support from returning cast members Jonathan Rhys-Davies and the late Denholm Elliott, who was finally given more to do as Indy's bumbling college colleague and some typically formidable villains.

Indeed, such is the overall sense of enthusiasm surrounding this third film in the series, that it's little wonder to find that Steven Spielberg has since declared it to be his own personal favourite. It's a fun ride that actually plays to a wider audience because of its emphasis on family values over harder violence. I'll go with Spielberg and say it's the best one.

I love this film, but I don't know why.

Depp is definitely the highlight of the movie, which is good since he's the character the movie revolves around. He creates Rainey just as completely as he created Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. In interacting with his ex-wife (Maria Bello) we can see the pain and the love he still holds for her. Rainey's spats with her boyfriend Ted (Timothy Hutton) show his anger. Yet none of that holds a candle to his conversations with himself. Rainey spends at least a third of the film alone, but we never feel that he's isolated. Out-of-nowhere quips and commentary about the situations Rainey finds himself in provide real depth to Rainey as a struggling writer. That is where the real genius of Depp's work on this character comes from.

Playing the nemesis to Rainey is John Turturro, hidden in the character of John Shooter, a farmer from Mississippi who claims Rainey stole his story and released it as a short entitled "Secret Window". Shooter gives a deadline for Rainey to prove he wrote it first and warns him to keep the subject just between the two of them. When Rainey fails to do so, Shooter becomes calmly psychotic, taking action to keep Rainey where he wants him, but always with a self-justified demeanor when appearing on screen. He presents himself as a man who is confident that he is right and will go to any lengths to show that he has been wronged, including eliminating Rainey's entire world if that's what it takes. His dedication becomes more frightening as the movie evolves, especially as he warns Rainey to be careful in proving him wrong, because if he is wrong, then he must be crazy, and as a crazy man he might really be dangerous.

Writer/Director David Koepp (writer of Spider-Man and Jurassic Park and director of Stir of Echoes) does an excellent job of bringing Secret Window to the screen. On the writing side he has taken a short story by Stephen King and created a strong and suspenseful plot, highlighted by complete and memorable characters as a solid base for his actors to work with. On the directorial side, he understands how a psychological thriller should work and makes his movie follow those rules. The movie builds just as a story of this type should and the audience is never ahead of the movie. To ensure this, the movie holds a Shyamalan-size twist that I won't even hint at, but that makes perfect sense as it's revealed.

Secret Window is a fantastic foray into the front of psychological thrillers, a front that too many movies fail in attempting. With Koepp's storytelling and Depp's ingenious acting abilities, this is a film that will keep audiences interested and on the edge of their seats as the story unfolds.

Hot off the heels of the success of "The Poseidon Adventure," producer Irwin Allen chose to follow up that seaworthy disaster epic with yet another excursion in peril: "The Towering Inferno", which went on to become an even bigger box office success than its predecessor, and remains to this day one of the most suspenseful and potent thrillers ever to come from a Hollywood studio. Much like the circumstances surrounding the Titanic disaster, those which enshroud the sudden and deadly fire that engulfs the newly-built Glass Tower in San Francisco stem from one thing: human arrogance. The building's owner (William Holden) is convinced that nothing can bring his structure to its knees, despite the knowledge that his son-in-law (Richard Chamberlain) was behind the decision to use faulty electrical wiring. Even with the warnings of the tower's chief architect (Paul Newman), who takes every opportunity to advise against holding off the dedication ceremony until a later date, the gala still goes on as planned, resulting in the entrapment of hundreds of people 135 stories up, with the flames chewing up their precious little time for a rescue effort.

Running at a broad two-and-a-half hours, John Guillerman's technically brilliant ode to the hubris of mankind is a spectacle that, like smoke, literally takes one's breath away with a stunning array of tightly-knit action sequences marked by escalating tension and unbearable suspense. Even when compared to today's more modern methods of special effects wizardry, the visuals that unfold within "The Towering Inferno" still manage to strike a nerve with full vigor. A vast collection of characters played by an ensemble cast to die for leaves room for speculation about who will and won't make it through the night; some deaths will surprise you, as will some of the survivals. Although there are times when character development seems a bit scant, the sheer intensity of it all more than makes up for any lapses we may come across. And a line found at the end of the film still manages to retain resonance in this post-September 11th nation of ours: looking up at the smoldering ruins of the tower, Steve McQueen's fire chief remarks, "One of these days, they're going to kill 10,000 in one of these firetraps." If only we knew now what he knew then.