Search this site: 

 

Film: To Be Reviewed

  1. AMERICAN PIE 2
  2. DESOLATION ANGELS
  3. OWL'S CASTLE (1999, 138 min, 1.85:1, anamorphic, 5.1 DD-DTS, extras disc)

    Tsuzura Juzo of Iga (Nakai Kiichi) Kisaru (Hazuki Riona) Kohagi (Tsuruta Mayu) -- merchant Imai Sokyu of Sakai Kazama Gohei aka Gero Shobei (Kamikawa Takaya) Dogen of Koga (Nagasawa Toshiya) Hideyoshi (Mako Iwamatsu)

  4. OCEAN'S 11 (2001)

    Dir: Steven Soderbergh Cast: George Clooney (Daniel Ocean), Brad Pitt (Russ), Julia Roberts (Contessa 'Tess' Ocean), Matt Damon (Linus), Andy Garcia (Terence), Carl Reiner (Saul) Runtime: 116 min Country: USA Language: English

    Well, it may be true that the actors had fun making the movie, but they had more of that than I did watching it. Don't get me wrong, every single actor is a gem of a find (yes, I did say "actor" and yes, I did mean to exclude the Big Awful Mouth Roberts from the list). The movie is ok, nothing spectacular either plotwise or executionwise. Actually, the plot is rather thin and seems to be missing chunks of plausibility. In fact, now that I think about it, it's like swiss-cheese. Why did they have to place the explosives in the briefcase? Why couldn't the Chinese guy have them on him? And the sappy scene with the bad guy renouncing his "love" for Roberts (he's bad, remember?) on TV was just vomit-inducing. She DESERVES and ex-con for a husband! Only real plus: the poker scene!

  5. 13 GHOSTS (2001)

    Dir: Steve Beck Cast: Tony Shalhoub (Arthur Kriticos), Embeth Davidtz (Kalina), Matthew Lillard (Dennis Rafkin), Shannon Elizabeth (Katherine Kriticos), Alec Roberts (Robert Kriticos), F. Murray Abraham (Cyrus Kriticos), Runtime: 91 min Country: USA Language: English

    Oh, no! Not another remake! Oh yes, says the movie mogul, and churns out another apopleptic pice of cinematic trash. Here's where 2 hours of my life went that I will never get back (this inlcudes the 15 minutes spent writing this review).

  6. VANILLA SKY (2001)

    Dir: Cameron Crowe Cast: Tom Cruise (David Aames), Pen'elope Cruz (Sofia Serrano), Cameron Diaz (Julie), Kurt Russell (McCabe), Jason Lee (Brian Shelby) Runtime: 135 min Country: USA Language: English

    I don't buy the ending---why would anyone choose "real life" instead of a great fantasy?

  7. NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE (2001)

    Dir: Joel Gallen Cast: who cares Runtime: 89 min Country: USA Language: English

    Contrary to its title, it is yet another teen movie, and one of those destined to ever grace the bottom shelf of your discount video store. No one will ever buy it, no one will ever see it... or at least that would be my wish.

  8. BEHIND ENEMY LINES (2001)

    Dir: John Moore Cast: Owen Wilson (Chris Burnett), Gene Hackman (Admiral Reigart) Runtime: 105 min Country: USA Language: English

    Now that the Cold War is over, it's time to switch from evil Russians to evil Serbs, and this is exactly what this stupidity does. The only real success in the film was when the butter-fingered air jocks drop the football in the water and someone screams rather forelornly: "Wilson!" Great (for those not versed in recent Hollywood vernacular, this would be a reference to Cast Away).

  9. GHOSTS OF MARS (2001)

    Dir: John Carpenter Cast: Natasha Henstridge (Melanie Ballard), Ice Cube (Desolation Williams), Jason Statham (Jericho), Runtime: 98 min Country: USA Language: English

    Well, it was filmed on a sound-stage that resembled Mars... of the 1940s cheap SF magazines. It also did not have ghosts. But then it had Carpenter's music, which I guess is just as good.

  10. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)

    Dir: David Lynch Cast: Naomi Watts (Betty/Diane), Laura Harring (Rita/Camilla), Justin Theroux (Adam) Runtime: 145 min Country: France/USA Language: English

    Well, well, well... Tricked again! And again, by none other than my very own better half. I am not only NOT a Lynch fan, I most definitely AM a Lynch detractor. I never liked any of his films. They are too creepy in a disgusting sort of way, too stupid to be even remotely intriguing, and too boring to be watchable. I admit that my biggest disappointment was his butchery of Dune. But when I was promised a steamy lesbian story, all my supposedly high standards went down the drain, and into the gutter (hehehe... pun intended), and I ended up at Brewvies, for a snack and a flick with two chicks.

  11. THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

    Dir: George Lucas Cast: Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala), Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker) Runtime: 133 min Country: USA Language: English

    What a disappointment! Someone should tie George's hands behind his back, and get him as far away from the camera as possible. Then someone should delete that annoying Jar-Jar character and beat up George for coming up with this supposedly comic relief. After the incredible buildup, Episode I was a huge let-down. I am saying this after giving it two chances on the big screen, and then one more chance with the special edition DVD, which I got as a present. Yeah, it is true that the SFX are pretty good, although not as spectacular as one would have hoped in the post-The Matrix era. I understand that ILM was particularly proud of the fake characters and, what they called, their 'seamless interaction' with real actors. I disagree. The animation was fine, the interaction was so-so (note how often and obviously characters stare into empty space, on film occuppied by some CGI wizardry).

    The other humongous disappointment was the design of the space ships. I may be overly fond of the angular rebel X-Wings or the absolutely cool Tie fighters, but even that flying pizza slice, the Millenium Falcon, was far superior to the crude baby toys that they flew in Episode 1. Great 50s design?!!! Phlueeze! What design school drop out came out with that crap? They were only missing the revolting chrome finish and an Elivs impersonator. Aloha from bad taste! If that's the future (or the distant past), I'd rather live in a Mountain Dew commercial. Plot. What plot? They could not come up with anything more original but instead had the big fish rescue the sub from a smaller one... TWICE! IN A ROW! Talk about glaring quality control problems.

  12. GO! HEAT MAN! (2001)

    Dir: Nobusawa Yasue Cast: Miho Jun, Mukunoki Miwa, Takada Kotaro, Yamazaki Tsutomi Runtime: 108 min Country: Japan Language: Japanese (English subtitles)

  13. HUMAN NATURE (2001)

    Dir: Michel Gondry Cast: Tim Robbins (Nathan Bronfman), Patricia Arquette (Lila Jute), Rhys Ifans (Puff), Miranda Otto (Gabrielle) Runtime: 92 min Country: France/USA Language: English

  14. INTACTO (2001)

    Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Cast: Eusebio Poncela (Federico), Leonardo Sbaraglia (Tomas), Max von Sydow (Samuel), Paz G'omez (Ana), M'onica L'opez (police inspector) Runtime: 108 min Country: Spain Language: Spanish (English subtitles)

  15. LAN YU (2001)

    Dir: Stanley Kwan Cast: Liu Ye (Lan Yu), Hun Jun (Handong) Runtime: 86 min Country: China Language: Mandarin (English subtitles)

  16. THE MALLORY EFFECT (2001)

    Dir: Dustin Guy Cast: Steven Roy (Charlie), Josie Maran (Mallory), Scott Hanks (Curtis) Runtime: 88 min Country: Canada/USA Language: English

  17. BRANDED TO KILL (Koroshi no rakuin, 1967)

    Dir: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Jo Shishido (Hanada Goro), Ogawa Mariko (Mami Hanada), Annu Mari (Misako), Nambara Koji (No.1) Runtime: 98 min Country: Japan Language: Japanese (English subtitles) DVD: Criterion

  18. BLACK RAIN (Kuroi ame, 1989)

    Dir: Imamura Shohei Novel: Masuji Ibuse Cast: Tanaka Yoshiko (Yasuko), Ishida Keisuke (Yuichi), Shizuma Shigematsu (Kitamura Kazuo), Shizuma Shigeko (Itchihara Etsuko) Runtime: 123 min Country: Japan Language: Japanese (English subtitles)

    "An unjust peace is better than a just war." The closing is palpably painful: ??? watches the medical truck disappear obviously carrying Yosuke away forever and whispers, "", knowing full well that such thing will not happen, not in a black and white film.

  19. WILD STRAWBERRIES (Smultronstället, 1957)

    Dir: Ingmar Bergman Country: Sweden Runtime: Cast: Victor Sjöström (Professor Isak Borg), Bibi Andersson (Sara), Ingrid Thulin (Marianne Borg), Gunnar Björnstrand (Evald Borg)

    Women vs. men (esp. scene with infant in cradle)

    A 78-year old doctor of medicine travels from Stockholm to Lund to receive an honorary degree. During his day-long car trip he meets various people that help him confront (through a series of disturbingly vividly nightmares) the realities of aging and the realization, sharpened by the fear of impending death, that his adult life, spent in pursuit of professional excellence, has been one of cold detachment from others, and thus a personal failure.

    The Criterion DVD is loaded with extras: a full-length commentary by Peter Cowie, the renowned Bergman specialist and film critic; a unique interview with Bergman that was done for Swedish TV in 1998; and a gallery of production stills.

    The Peter Cowie's film-length commentary is quite interesting. In addition to commenting on more important scenes, Cowie also presents a wealth of information about Bergman, his career, approaches, philosophy, and style, all of which makes WS more enjoyable. Despite some doubtful assertions (e.g. his claim that the coffin sliding off the carriege was reminiscent of a child emerging from its mother's womb), most of what he has to say provides real insights into the film's subject matter. Still, as should be evident from my commentary, there were several places where I diverged from his opinion.

    The interview with Bergman is quite lengthy for its format and can be a bit tedious at times. The man has already said most of the things that come up for discussion---in films, theater, and, most informatively, books. Although it might be refreshing to hear some quite self-effacing comments from the Genghis Khan of stage, little new insight into his work will come from this.

  20. SUPER TROOPERS (2002)
  21. THE GRAPES OF DEATH
  22. TIME MACHINE (2002)
  23. ICE AGE (2002)
  24. BLADE II (2002)
  25. PI
  26. CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980, LUCIO FULCI)
  27. What Lies Beneath
  28. New Moon
  29. The Cabbie
  30. Charlotte Sometimes
  31. My Sassy Girl
  32. No Comment
  33. The Princess Blade
  34. Rule of the Game
  35. Waterboys
  36. The Way Home
  37. Bang the Machine
  38. Shadows & Whispers
  39. Read My Lips
  40. The Tuxedo
  41. The Fox with Nine Tails
  42. Undeclared War
  43. Gigolo and Whore 2
  44. Savior of the Soul 2
  45. Beauty of the Haunted House
  46. Killer's Romance
  47. Musa
  48. Impostor
  49. Run Lola Run
  50. Monster's Ball
  51. XXX
  52. Spy Kids 2
  53. K-19
  54. Fight Club
  55. The Mothman Prophecies
  56. Minority Report
  57. 12 Monkeys
  58. The Dark Crystal
  59. Andromeda Strain
  60. Men in Black II
  61. Austin Powers 3
  62. Miracles
  63. Armour of God
  64. The Tale of Zatoichi
  65. All Men Are Brothers
  66. Walking with Prehistoric Beasts
  67. Insomnia
  68. Unfaithful
  69. Breathless
  70. The Sum of All Fears
  71. Bad Company
  72. Bad Guy
  73. Midnight Fly
  74. Love Wind, Love Song
  75. Sleepless
  76. Handsome Siblings
  77. God of Gamblers
  78. Drunken Angel
  79. The Lower Depths
  80. The Peking Man
  81. The Horror Game Show
  82. Sorum
  83. The Atomic Bomb Movie
  84. 911 Nuclear Rescue
  85. Welcome to Ground Zero
  86. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  87. Dr. Strangelove
  88. Fail-Safe
  89. The Great Conqueror's Concubine
  90. Chungking Express
  91. Read My Lips
  92. Royal Tramp II
  93. Ghost Lantern
  94. Peking Opera Blues
  95. Fractured Follies
  96. Heaven
  97. Project A
  98. Project A II
  99. The Ring (2002)
  100. Wheels on Meals
  101. Where's Officer Tuba?
  102. Helwig and the Angry Inch
  103. Planet of the Apes (1960)
  104. The Wicker Man
  105. Watcher in the Woods
  106. Bulletproof Monk
  107. Audition
  108. Identity
  109. Phone Booth
  110. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
  111. Terminator 3
  112. Legally Blonde
  113. Legally Blonde 2
  114. The Italian Job
  115. Charlie's Angels 2
  116. Punch-Drunk Love