Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds

NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WINDS (1984) - March 30, 2004
An excellent Miyazaki movie (is there any other kind?). An interesting and unique film about Earth's distant future where a plague, spread by the environment itself, spreads throughout the world and where humans live in scattered tribes. There are also giant insects. Strange, but it works. Definitely has a strong message of environmentalism, but it never feels heavy-handed. ***

Gosford Park

GOSFORD PARK (2001) - March 30, 2004
A slow-moving and overrated drama with about a million characters (which is perhaps one the problems -- there are so many characters we never really get to know any of them). Robert Altman's much-touted "overlapping dialogue" either isn't present here at all, or just doesn't amount to much. There are scenes with a lot of characters at once but they generally all take their turn to talk. The audio was a bit muffled in the version I watched, so I missed a bit of dialogue, which probably didn't help. As well, it was projected letterboxed despite the fact that it was widescreen, so everything was a little squished. So not really the ideal viewing conditions. But even in perfect conditions I still wouldn't have enjoyed it. Clive Owen, Maggie Smith and Emily Watson stood out (Ryan Phillippe's character was reasonably interesting, but Phillippe just isn't that great of an actor); everyone else pretty much blended together. Even the usually excellent Derek Jacobi was wasted in an insignificant role. **

Grave of the Fireflies

GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988) - March 23, 2004
A moving and well-animated drama about a Japanese brother and sister who struggle to survive near the end of the second world war. Avoids the usual anime standbys (sci-fi, fantasy, action, etc.) and tells a simple story about two siblings. The film takes its time, which allows us to really come to care for the two main characters, making the tragic ending all the more heartbreaking. ***1/2

Naked

NAKED (1993) - March 23, 2004 (Second viewing)
Features an excellent performance by David Thewlis, and little else. Mike Leigh presents yet another slow-moving, plotless film filled with unlikable characters. The script is heavy on philosophy, but is so busy trying to be clever it never seems real for a moment. Slightly better than High Hopes, mostly because of Thewlis' performance. **

Grandma and her Ghosts

GRANDMA AND HER GHOSTS (1998) - March 16, 2004
An odd little Taiwanese cartoon about a young boy who is forced to visit his grandmother, who has the ability to speak to ghosts. The boy ultimately forges a friendship with a few of the ghosts himself, and has to fight an evil spirit he accidentally released. Miyazaki-esque. The animation is somewhat crude (television quality), but it grows on you. Enjoyable. ***

The Crying Game

THE CRYING GAME (1992) - March 16, 2004
The first forty minutes or so, with Forest Whitaker as a British soldier captured by the NRA, and Stephen Rea as one of his captors, was excellent. The dialogue was excellent, the performances were excellent, and the whole thing was pretty much riveting. Crackerjack. But then Forest Whitaker gets hit by a car, and there's the whole thing with the relationship between Stephen Rea and the "woman." Which was okay, I guess, but it couldn't really compare to the first part, which was pretty sweet. Oh well. Still a pretty good movie. ***

Big Fish

BIG FISH (2003) - MARCH 12, 2004
An engaging and visually inventive film about a man who spends his life telling tall tales. Tim Burton proves that he can still make a good movie after the mediocre Planet of the Apes remake (or reimagining, or whatever you're supposed to call it). Also features excellent performances by all the leads. The ending got me pretty choked up. ***1/2

High Hopes

HIGH HOPES (1988) - MARCH 9, 2004
A dreary, slow-moving movie by Mike Leigh. Filled with unpleasant characters, most of whom aren't worth caring about in the slightest (though that is the point, I suspect). Also features the most annoying character in the history of cinema. The film is totally plotless, and it works for a while, but then it starts to wear out its welcome in a big way. Having at least one likable character would have been nice. **

Hidalgo

HIDALGO (2004) - March 7, 2004
A rollicking adventure starring Viggo Mortensen, who is quite good as an easy-going cowboy whose closest companion is his horse, Hidalgo. Omar Shariff is also really good as a tribal leader who places a great deal of importance on honour. Often exciting, though somewhat overlong. The exotic locales make the movie interesting if only on a visual level (it clearly wasn't filmed on-the-cheap in Arizona or something). ***

The Long Good Friday

THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980) - March 6, 2004
Bob Hoskins stars as a mob boss who finds his organization the target of several brutal attacks, all within one day. Bob Hoskins' excellent and intense performance is probably the highlight. I particularly liked the scene where Hoskins, in a blind rage, accidentally kills one of his closest associates. The synthesizer score, though mostly effective, gives the movie a somewhat dated feel. As well, the British accents were ultra-heavy and there were no subtitles, so I missed a good chunk of the dialogue. So I found the movie a bit confusing at times. Otherwise quite good. ***

Starsky and Hutch

STARSKY AND HUTCH (2004) - March 5, 2004
A sometimes funny and always entertaining buddy cop movie. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are good as the mismatched cops, even if playing the same roles they usually play. Vince Vaughn is hilarious as a smarmy bad-guy with a foo-manchu moustache. "That's not a kid, that's a tiny little man! And he's got knives!" ***

Kirikou and the Sorceress

KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS (1998) - March 4, 2004
An engaging and nicely animated cartoon about a newborn baby who can walk and talk and who pledges to rid his village of an evil sorceress. The film remains entertaining throughout, and Kirikou becomes a very likeable character. He's sort of like a less evil version of Stewie, particularly with the sound of his footsteps when he runs. For what is essentially a kid's movie, this was really well done. ***

Peeping Tom

PEEPING TOM (1960) - March 3, 2004
An excellent thriller about a peeping tom who films his victims as he kills them, and the relationship he develops with a girl who lives in his building. Hitchcock-esque, though darker than most of Hitchcock's films (figuratively, not literally -- the film's use of bright, primary colours, particularly red, is interesting if somewhat dated). Quite similar to Pyscho (killer who likes to watch, with an almost child-like quality, etc.) but they came out the same year so I suppose it's coincidental. Psycho is the better film, and has aged better, but this was really good nonetheless. ***1/2

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) - March 2, 2004
Wow! I can't believe it, but I really liked this movie. It probably helps that I went in with low expectations. But then again, I went into the second one with low expectations and I still didn't much care for it. After around nine hours, I can finally say that I care about pretty much all of the characters. Sean Astin in particular was really good as a loyal companion to Frodo. The special effects were pretty amazing. The big battle with the elephants was probably one of the better movie battles ever. Very rarely did the special effects seem too computery. George Lucas could certainly learn a thing or two from Peter Jackson. I was certainly entertained all the way through, which is pretty good considering that the movie was over three hours. It almost makes me want to rewatch the other two. Almost... ***1/2
UPDATE - March 3, 2004 - I've been thinking about this movie a lot today. In fact this is probably the most a movie has occupied my thoughts since Kill Bill. Four stars? Perhaps. I'll have to watch it again, hopefully soon.

The King and the Mockingbird

THE KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD (1980) - March 2, 2004
A really well-animated French cartoon. The design of the film is really interesting to look at, and the animation is exceptionally fluid. About an egomaniacal king whose paintings come alive; a girl and a boy come out of two paintings, and he decides he wants to marry the girl. Despite being under ninety minutes it still feels overlong. The latter half really begins to wear out its welcome. It probably didn't help that the version I watched was french without any subtitles. Still, it always remains compelling, if only on a visual level. Plus, you can't go wrong with a movie that ends with a giant robot destroying a city. ***

The Ploughman's Lunch

THE PLOUGHMAN'S LUNCH (1983) - March 2, 2004
Jonathan Pryce is really good in this slow-moving, politically dominated story about Thatcher-era Britain. Tim Curry was also quite good Pryce's smarmy best friend. Unfortunately the movie is far too slow paced to ever really get into. A lot of long takes, which I liked. The movie was actually reasonably well directed, just... Too slow. I fell asleep for about ten minutes near the end, so I can't really judge it, but if I were to give it a rating I would give it a two. NO RATING