The Best and Worst movies of 2004 (so far...)

THE BEST:
1. The Incredibles
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Spider-Man 2
5. Hero
6. Tokyo Godfathers
7. Kill Bill: Volume II
8. I, Robot
9. Cellular
10.The Clearing

Runners up: I Heart Huckabees, Troy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hellboy, The Passion of the Christ, The Triplets of Belleville, The Butterfly Effect

THE WORST:
1. Resident Evil: Apocalypse
2. Catwoman
3. King Arthur
4. Van Helsing
5. The Punisher
6. Birth
7. The Chronicles of Riddick
8. Alien vs. Predator
9. Exorcist: the Beginning
10. Envy

Runners up: Blade: Trinity, Dawn of the Dead, Ladder 49, The Terminal, Miracle

Ocean's Twelve

OCEAN'S TWELVE (2004) - Dec. 30, 2004
A disappointing sequel. It certainly wasn't a bad movie -- it was almost always entertaining, it was really well directed, and it was well acted. But there was nothing here even remotely as interesting as the elaborate heist from the first film. This movie is all about heists but can barely even be classified as a heist movie. They spend a good amount of time near the beginning of the film planning out a particular heist, but then when they're about to do it, it cuts to a different scene. What the..? Later we get to see the heist in a disappointingly quick flashback, but what's the deal? Why cut away right at the most interesting part? That's just a slap in the face. There are also times where the movie seems a bit on the long side (particularly during a long, superfluous sequence involving Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis). Oh well. Despite being mostly disappointing, the movie was still pretty good, and funny at times (mostly because of Matt Damon, who is a definite stand-out). ***

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004) - Dec. 22, 2004
After House of Flying Daggers let me down so hard, I was starting to get worried: would two of my favourite directors let me down in the same day? Fortunately, Wes delivered the goods in a big way -- this is an instant classic and is definitely right up there with Wes' masterpiece, Rushmore. Wes continues to prove that he is one of the most visually inventive directors out there, and seems to have some kind of sixth sense that allows him to perfectly match music to his visuals. But of course, that would be meaningless if the characters and plot were no good. This is certainly not the case. Bill Murray gives what may be his best performance yet as an oceanographer who realizes that his best days are behind him. Owen Wilson sheds his usual wise-cracking persona and actually attempts to create a real character. And Willem Dafoe is hilarious as a German member of Steve Zissou's crew who sees Steve as a father. I'll have to watch it a few more times before I decide whether or not it's better than Rushmore. ****

House of Flying Daggers

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (2004) - Dec. 22, 2004
After the amazing Hero, Zhang Yimou missteps horribly with this disappointing kung-fu movie. Like Hero, it is in the same genre with the awful and overrated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. However, Hero managed to transcend the genre with its breathtaking visuals, exciting action, well-developed characters and Rashomon-esque storyline. House of Flying Daggers, on the other hand, wallows in the genre, recalling all the worst elements of Crouching Tiger: the stilted romance, the over-long running time, the protracted scenes, and the unexciting action sequences. That's not to say it was a bad movie, per se. It was well directed, obviously (I don't think Zhang Yimou is capable of making a movie that doesn't look good). And for the most part I wasn't bored (though almost every scene over-stayed its welcome by at least a few minutes). But I just expect so much more from Zhang Yimou, especially after how mind-blowingly good Hero was. **1/2

I, Robot

I, ROBOT (2004) - Dec. 15, 2004 (Second Viewing)
I really like this movie. Alex Proyas certainly knows what he's doing as this movie features the coolest looking future since Blade Runner. There's a good amount of action, but it never overwhelms the plot. Plus the action is actually coherent and not way over-edited like almost every action movie these days. Proof that an action scene doesn't need a billion cuts to be exciting (I'm looking at you, Paul Greengrass). The characters and performances were all really good -- Will Smith in particular is surprisingly good as a detective who doesn't trust robots. And the special effects were quite impressive and almost entirely seamless. Proof that CG doesn't necessarily have to look fake (now I'm looking at you, George Lucas). As far as the sci-fi/action genre goes this is right up there with Total Recall. ****

Blade: Trinity

BLADE: TRINITY (2004) - Dec. 8, 2004
Mediocre. That's all I can really say about this movie. The action scenes were passable, I suppose. And the performances were all fine (with the exception of Parker Posey, who was way over-the-top as an evil vampire). Ryan Reynolds was a stand-out as a wisecracking vampire hunter, and in fact was probably the best thing about the movie. But aside from Reynolds, there was nothing exciting or even interesting about this movie. It was just going through the motions, and I was bored. **

Hold that Ghost

HOLD THAT GHOST (1941) - Dec. 7, 2004
Abbott and Costello star as a couple of guys who manage to inherit an old hotel from a gangster. They stay the night there with a group of people and find that it may or may not be haunted. Wackiness, of course, ensues. I would have preferred more interaction between Abbott and Costello (most of the humour comes from Costello's wacky reactions to various things), but it was still pretty good. **1/2

Cries and Whispers

CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972) - Dec. 5, 2004 (Second Viewing)
Another unpleasant, ultra slow-paced Ingmar Bergman movie. About a woman who is dying, and the effect this has on her two sisters and her servant. Features a very heavy-handed use of colour ("Say, red's a powerful colour. Let's make everything red!"). Has Ingmar Bergman ever made a movie with characters who aren't miserable and suicidal? *1/2

The Incredibles

THE INCREDIBLES (2004) - Dec. 5, 2004
Well, I'm sorry, but I have to say it: that was incredible! Oh man, that ruled HARD. I haven't seen a movie that good in quite a while. About a couple of super-heroes who are forced into retirement, and subsequently settle down and have a family. I liked the Watchmen-esque idea that all super-heroes become outlawed; it seems like the most plausible outcome if super-heroes were a reality. I also really like the main character and his inability to adapt to civilian life -- after living the life of a super-hero, being a low-level drone in an insurance company just can't seem to cut it. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were both perfect as the two main characters, and Jason Lee was equally good as the villain (though I have to wonder if the role was originally meant for Jack Black...). I also really liked the whole Fantastic Four inspired family dynamic they had, and how they really clicked as a family while being super-heroes. Speaking of which, I hope the director of the Fantastic Four movie was watching, because I think they pretty much got the stretchy powers perfect in this movie. I always thought those powers would look kind of creepy in motion but Brad Bird certainly makes it work. The movie struck an absolutely perfect blend of action and character stuff, and a good amount of humour too. This was easily right up there with the Toy Story movies, and as far as super-hero movies go, I think it might even be better than Spider-Man 2. ****

Persona

PERSONA (1966) - Dec. 4, 2004
A bizarre film by Ingmar Bergman. While the plot - dealing with the relationship between two women - is pretty standard Bergman, the way it plays out is certainly different. Particularly odd is the beginning, which features a lot of strange images and sounds, and almost seems like a parody of an arty foreign movie. This weirdness reoccurs at around the mid-point of the movie, and I guess it's supposed to represent the breakdown of the relationship between the two women because it happens right as things go sour. I don't know. And then it happens again at the end and I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. This is certainly Bergman's most visually-driven movie, at least that I've seen. And while it was definitely well-made I couldn't really get into it. There was the typical Bergman slow pace, which didn't help, and then towards the end I was really starting to get confused. Where the two women actually supposed to be one woman? I don't know. **

Birth

BIRTH (2004) - Dec. 2, 2004 (S)
This was probably the most well-made bad movie I've ever seen. And oh boy, was it bad. The direction (by Jonathan Glazer, whose Sexy Beast was a million times better than this) was quite good, and the performances were also quite good. I liked the score, too. But the screenplay was absolutely, jaw-droppingly ludicrous. I mean, just... Jeez. About a woman who meets a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. She, of course, is skeptical at first, but quickly comes to believe him. Why? Because she is insane? Because the script requires her to? I don't know. He certainly doesn't make a convincing case. She tells a friend that he is falling in love with him. Why? What about this little boy is appealing? She can't be sexually attracted to him, unless she is a pedophile (which, as the movie progresses, seems more and more to be the case). She can't have any kind of emotional connection, as the kid does nothing but glower and act mysterious throughout the entire film. Unless her husband was the most dour man alive, I'm not buying it. And then towards the end it's revealed that nope, the kid just stole some old love letters, he was faking it. But why? As a wacky prank? What? Nicole Kidman then goes crawling back to her fiancee, who, stunningly, takes her back despite the fact that she is clearly a psychopath. Oh man. I cannot possibly fathom what Jonathan Glazer was thinking when he decided to make this movie. I can only assume that he was forced at gunpoint. And I have to say, I am offended by the comparisons to Kubrick. Sure, Glazer's style in this film does resemble Kubrick's (he even directly steals a shot or two for good measure) -- but on the same note a robot could watch all of Kubrick's films, and then make a movie that effectively emulates his style. But that doesn't mean it would be good. *1/2

It's a Wonderful Life

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) - Nov. 27, 2004 (Second Viewing)
A classic. Jimmy Stewart gives a brilliant performance and is perfect as George Bailey, a man who famously comes to find out what life would be like if he had never been born. Of course, the movie is about far more than just that; we see George Bailey go from an idealistic young man to a husband and father with the burden of responsibility heavy on his shoulders. And did I mention how good Jimmy Stewart was? He was absolutely perfect in what has to be one of the best performances of all time. Despite being over two hours the movie doesn't feel long for a second, and was excellently directed by Frank Capra. And then of course there is that ending -- I submit that anyone who doesn't get at least a little bit choked up must be some kind of robot. ****

Steamboat Bill, Jr.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928) - Nov. 25, 2004
An entertaining Buster Keaton film, featuring the famous shot where a house falls on him. Unlike certain silent comedians (Charlie Chaplin) Buster Keaton's films are almost always funny and entertaining, and this one is no exception. The music on the DVD I watched - by a band Ebert supposedly called "the best in the world at accompanying silent films" - was a bit obtrusive at times. Also, the use of weather forecasts between a couple of scenes reminded me of Magnolia, so it's possible there was a bit of an influence there. ***

Blazing Saddles

BLAZING SADDLES (1974) - Nov. 24, 2004
A funny parody of Westerns by Mel Brooks. While definitely not quite the classic that Young Frankenstein is (the movie itself is not as good and some of the jokes fall flat), it was still pretty good. Gene Wilder was really good (of course), as was Harvey Korman as an evil land developer. ***

Winter Light

WINTER LIGHT (1963) - Nov. 15, 2004
An extremely slow-paced film by Ingmar Bergman about a preacher who questions his faith. Though the performances were all quite good, the movie was just too slow to ever really get into. It was mercifully short at 81 minutes, but even then it still felt too long. I think half an hour probably would have been a better running-time; there were certainly good things about it, but the glacial pace just made it impossible to care. **

The Motorcycle Diaries

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004) - Nov. 13, 2004
The Motorcycle diaries starts off well enough. About a couple of friends who decide to go on a road trip on a dilapidated old motorcycle -- one of whom happens to be Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The two main performances are really good and we certainly come to like Che and his buddy. However, at around the one-hour mark the film becomes increasingly heavy-handed, intent on showing us how Che became Che. The two run into one downtrodden worker after another, and after a while it's like, enough already. Jeez, we get it. The film does everything short of showing us Che flipping through the Communist Manifesto and nodding approvingly. The film ran over two hours and by the end I was quite happy for it to be over. Which is too bad because the first half was really good. **1/2

The Birds

THE BIRDS (1963) - Nov. 12, 2004
A suspensful film about a small town that finds itself attacked by birds. The fact that it is excellently directed is certainly no surprise, and the scenes where the birds attack were especially well-done. I really liked the scene where Tippi Hedren enters the child's room and is attacked. I also liked the scene where the birds gather on the playground. Hitchcock's mastery of editing to create suspense is in full-force here; I think that the scenes where the birds attack are just as good as Psycho's shower scene. I also liked how the film took its time setting up the characters and building suspense. While this wasn't one of Hitchcock's best films, even his lesser films are better than ninety percent of the stuff out there. ***

Saw

SAW (2004) - Nov. 6, 2004
A sort of cross between Seven and Cube. Though not really as good as either of those films, it was still pretty good. Danny Glover was good as a grizzled cop obsessed with catching the killer, Jigsaw. Cary Elwes was a little over-the-top as one of Jigsaw's victims, and in fact the occasional hamminess of his performance illicited some inappropriate laughter from the audience I saw it with. Though the film was perhaps not quite as good as I thought it would be (I would have preferred more of the stuff with the two guys in the room and less flashbacks), it was certainly entertaining all the way through and pretty suspenseful at times. ***

In the Navy

IN THE NAVY (1941) - Nov. 4, 2004
Another Abbott and Costello movie bogged down by many, many songs and a useless subplot (involving a singer who shuns the spotlight by joining the navy, and a photographer anxious to get his picture). Why can't Abbott and Costello movies just be about Abbott and Costello? Oh well, it was pretty much entertaining the whole time, and the stuff with Abbott and Costello was really good (I particularly liked the scene where Costello struggles to get into a hammock). **1/2

Ray

RAY (2004) - Nov. 2, 2004
Jamie Foxx is electrifying in this overlong movie about Ray Charles' life. Foxx proves once and for all that he is indeed an excellent actor, but the movie occasionally feels like an endurance test. The film is at least an hour too long; it starts to feel really repetitive towards the end, like we're seeing the same scenes over and over again. There were a lot of songs, but they were all actually really good, and welcome relief from the movie itself which was really starting to wear on me towards the end. **1/2

The Silence

THE SILENCE (1963) - Nov. 1, 2004
The title of this film is certainly appropriate, as in the entire 96 minute run-time of the movie, I think there might be five minutes of dialogue. About a young boy, his mother and her sister, and a brief stop they make in a foreign country when one of the sisters falls ill. The movie essentially consists of long, wordless sequences in which the characters wander around. Finally towards the end of the movie the two sisters get into a fight (they apparently hate each other), but it is essentially meaningless since we don't really know either of them. Ingmar Bergman's direction is pretty much the sole highlight of the film -- at the very least it's usually interesting to look at. **

Dawn of the Dead

DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) - Oct. 30, 2004
A mediocre zombie film. Though it gets off to a pretty good start, as soon as they get to the mall it's pretty much all downhill from there. The main problem was that none of the characters were very well developed at all, which was somewhat perplexing considering the lengthy and pointless downtime between the zombie scenes. And the zombie scenes themselves weren't very good, despite being quite violent. They were just sort of bland, like the director spent such a long time making sure it was sufficiently gory, he forgot that gore is not necessarily exciting in and of itself. It probably didn't help that I just kept thinking to myself "man, Shaun of the Dead was SO much better than this." But it was, it really was. This movie just took itself too seriously, and seemed to be under the impression that these zombies were scary, which they were not. Which could have been forgiven had there been a single decent character. But there were none to be found here, unfortunately. **

Steamboy

STEAMBOY (2004) - Oct. 28, 2004
What a let-down! Not that this was a bad movie per se, but considering this is Katsuhiro Otomo's first film since his masterpiece, Akira, I was expecting so much better. The plot is too convoluted to sum up in one sentence, but it was something about a crazy alternate nineteenth century where steam technology is much, much more advanced. The main problem is that at just over two hours, it was way too long, and it certainly felt that way, especially towards the end. It was also quite heavy-handed in its message that technology should be used for good, not destruction (though I guess that's not too surprising considering the film came from Japan). That's not to say that there was nothing good about the movie. The whole look of the film was quite amazing, and the animation was really good (the blend of traditional animation and CGI was pretty seamless). It's just too bad that the movie itself was so mediocre. **1/2

Grand Canyon

GRAND CANYON (1991) - Oct. 27, 2004
A really good movie about a bunch of characters in LA. Obviously not as good as the ultimate "lots of characters" movie - Magnolia - but then not much is. All the performances were excellent, but Danny Glover was the real stand-out as a kind-hearted tow-truck driver. It's too bad he's essentially typecast as Roger Murtaugh because he's a really good actor. The movie was well over two hours but it didn't feel long at all, probably because there were so many characters and they were all really good. In fact if anything the movie could have been longer; I wanted to spend more time with these characters. ***1/2

Mean Creek

MEAN CREEK (2004) - Oct. 26, 2004 (S)
Good performances all around in this film about a group of kids who decide to play a prank on a bully, and how it goes horribly wrong. I particularly liked the scene right after the kids realize that the bully is dead. They all just sort of sit in silence for a while, which seems like the way people would react in that sort of situation, rather than the panicked chatter you'd usually find in a movie like this. Also, the guy from Eurotrip was surprisingly good in what was essentially the opposite of the role he played in that movie. ***

I ♥ Huckabees

I ♥ HUCKABEES (2004) - Oct. 24, 2004
David O. Russell's first film since Three Kings, and while it's certainly not as good as that film, it was still quite enjoyable. About a couple of existential detectives, and the impact they have on the lives of a few people. There is a lot of philosophy in the film, but unlike something like Waking Life it never feels forced or shoehorned into the movie. All of the performances were really good -- six years after Rushmore, Jason Schwartzman finally gives another really good performance. The movie was, of course, really well written and directed, and was very entertaining throughout. It was a unique film, and it worked, partially because all the characters were so good. ***1/2

The Grudge

THE GRUDGE (2004) - Oct. 22, 2004
A creepy film about a haunted house that curses anyone who goes inside it. While it doesn't really have much of a plot - it's more just one scary sequence after another - it works because the scary sequences are so effective. While not quite as horiffyingly creepy as the Ring, it was still quite scary and easily the scariest movie I've seen since that one. In fact, it was probably the second scariest movie I've ever seen (right behind the Ring), but then again I haven't seen all that many scary movies. ***

A Man Apart

A MAN APART (2003) - Oct. 19, 2004
A stupid but moderately entertaining movie. About a cop whose wife is killed, and his attempt to avenge her by infiltrating the local drug scene. Timothy Olyphant is probably the highlight as a sleazy drug dealer. The action scenes were decent, but the movie was just, I don't know... Routine (right down to the scene where Vin Diesel has to give up his gun and badge -- though I suppose the captain wasn't really angry, so that's good I guess). But it was never boring, and it was competently directed, so it certainly could have been worse. **1/2

It Came From Outer Space

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) - Oct. 19, 2004
A cheesy but entertaining science fiction film. It was originally shown in 3D, which is apparent from all the stuff flying towards the camera. About a man who investigates a local fallen meteor, only to find that it is not a meteor, but a spaceship. When he tries to warn the town about the ship and the aliens within, they simply shrug him off as the "crazy astronomer" (the ship was buried under rocks as soon as he saw it). Though the performances, special effects and design of the aliens are all quite hokey, the film is still not without its merits. ***

Through a Glass Darkly

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (1961) - Oct. 18, 2004
A well-made film by Ingmar Bergman about a father, his son, his daughter and her husband, and their interactions over the course of a couple of days. It was really well acted, directed and written, and it was never boring, but it just didn't make much of an impact for whatever reason. **1/2

Elephant

ELEPHANT (2003) - Oct. 15, 2004
A hauntingly brilliant film. It is after watching a movie like this that I feel stupid for giving a silly movie like Cellular, or even Shaun of the Dead, four stars. This is a four star movie. Brilliantly directed by Gus Van Sant, the movie is about a day in the life of a high school. It does not have much of a plot, nor does it need one. With his flowing camera, which is almost always in motion, Van Sant establishes an almost dream-like tone. The camera lingers on seemingly inconsequential moments: a boy taking pictures, a football game being played, a roll of film being developed. These moments are perfect in establishing a certain mood and tone. The film does not give us the sort of characters we would expect -- Van Sant's choice to use non-actors seems iffy at first, but as the movie progresses it becomes more and more clear how perfect these kids are in the roles. Sure, the performances are not without their flaws, but it almost doesn't matter; they all seem like real people, not characters in a movie. At the end, when the violence erupts, it is devastating. These last moments of the film are so powerful because of the mood so effectively established earlier on. The dream-like tone has been pierced by sudden, shocking violence. The film almost reminds me of 2001 in its pace and tone. This is the type of movie that stays with you long after it is done. A truly, truly excellent film, the type of which I so rarely see. ****

Citizen Ruth

CITIZEN RUTH (1996) - Oct. 13, 2004
Laura Dern is excellent in this dramedy by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. While probably not quite up there with Election and About Schmidt, it was still really good. The film is about abortion, which is a subject which could easily create a bad movie (ie. too preachy). Payne and Taylor wisely avoid this problem, and in fact you would be hard-pressed to figure out what they personally think of this issue, as they satirize both sides equally. The film is, unsurprisingly, really well written and directed, and in the centre of it all there's Laura Dern's excellent performance. I don't know why she doesn't act more. ***1/2

Buck Privates

BUCK PRIVATES (1941) - Oct. 12, 2004
Abbott and Costello star as a couple of guys who, while running from the police, accidentally join the army. All the stuff with Abbott and Costello was really good, but the movie was bogged down with useless subplots and many, many songs. All I really wanted to see was Abbott and Costello getting into wacky hijinks (which they did, and that's where the movie shines). **1/2

Forbidden Planet

FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) - Oct. 12, 2004
Though extremely dated (there's no mistaking it for anything but a movie from the '50s), this is still a really good science fiction movie. About a group of men (led by a very young Leslie Nielsen) who travel to a distant, Earth-like planet and find the sole survivor of a twenty year old expedition (along with his daughter and robot). Aside from being dated, the movie contains some interesting ideas, and some of the special effects hold up surprisingly well. ***

The Three Musketeers

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (2004) - Oct. 8, 2004
Mickey, Donald and Goofy star in this entertaining film which finds the three as aspiring Musketeers in France. Hijinks ensue as they set off on an adventure to save the princess. At just about one hour long the film breezes by, and it has the same timeless charm found in the best of the original Disney shorts. The animation, though not quite up to the level of the theatrical cartoons, is still quite good. And the characterization of Mickey, Donald and Goofy is spot-on. A fun movie. ***

Maria Full of Grace

MARIA FULL OF GRACE (2004) - Oct. 6, 2004
A gritty movie about a Columbian girl who becomes a drug mule. Remains entertaining throughout, thanks in part to a strong performance by Catalina Sandino Moreno, who plays the girl. Joshua Marston shoots the movie in a straightforward, documentary-like style, which suits the material. ***

Shaun of the Dead

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) - Oct. 3, 2004
Wow! This was a really good zombie movie and a really good comedy, and the dramatic moments were really good too. I haven't seen all that many zombie movies, but this was easily the best one I've ever seen. The characters were all surprisingly well-developed, and the film was actually really funny. What was nice was that all the laughs came from the characters; it never seemed like it was trying to poke fun at the genre (in a "oh how clever we are" sort of way, like Ginger Snaps). Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are clearly big fans of the zombie genre, which makes the film work equally well as a comedy and as a zombie movie (one never overwhelms the other). And the fact that the characters and the performances are so good means that you are rooting for these characters so much more than the typical zombie-fodder in this type of film. ****

Ladder 49

LADDER 49 (2004) - Oct. 1, 2004
A cheesy, stupid movie. About a group of firefighters and the many fires they fight. Joaquin Phoenix was excellent as the main firefighter, and in fact his performance was probably the sole highlight of the film. He convincingly portrayed the transition from wide-eyed rookie to grizzled veteran, and without his performance the movie probably would have been a total wash. The main problem is that there weren't any decent characters -- I never forgot that they were all just characters in a movie, not one seemed like a real person. And then there were the firefighting scenes, which, I don't know -- either firefighting just isn't exciting, or the director sucked. Towards the end I was starting to dread the next fire. And there were a lot of them. Basically, there weren't any good characters, and the firefighting scenes were dull, so... Aside from actual firefighters, I'm not really sure who this movie is supposed to appeal to. Plus, the ending seemed incredibly harsh, especially for a cheesy movie like this. **

It Happened One Night

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) - Sept. 29, 2004
Clark Gable is excellent in this romantic comedy, an early entry in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre. Claudette Colbert was also really good as the spoiled daughter of a millionaire who runs away from her father. Wackiness ensues as she and Clark Gable try to get to New York, and of course fall in love in the process (after much bickering). My biggest complaint would be that the part at the end where there's a misunderstanding and it seems like they might not get together was ridiculously long (around 25 minutes). The movie remained entertaining, but this section was definitely longer than it needed to be. The movie was also actually surprisingly funny -- I particularly liked the part where Clark Gable gave Colbert an extended lesson on hitchhiking. ***

Good Bye Lenin!

GOOD BYE LENIN! (2003) - Sept. 28, 2004 (S)
A really good dramedy about a son who goes to extreme lengths to prevent his mother from finding out that the Berlin wall has fallen (she was in a coma when it happened). Though it is essentially plotless, it's always entertaining because of how well-developed the characters are. Though the film certainly has funny moments, it is mostly a drama. I particularly liked the look on the father's face when he realized that he was looking at his son for the first time in years. The fact that the characters are so well-developed makes it seem believable even when the son goes to almost ludicrous lengths to keep up the charade. I also like how, at the end, the mother finds out the truth but never tells her son -- she's happy that he's gone through so much to protect her, and he's happy that he's managed to keep his mother sheltered. ***1/2

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004) - Sept. 23, 2004
While perhaps not quite the classic I had hoped it would be, this was still a really entertaining movie. It took me a while to get used to the murky look of the film (everything was in really soft focus, for whatever reason). Aside from that, the movie's visuals were really impressive, especially considering it was pretty much all made in a computer. They were definitely going for an Indiana Jones type of vibe with the character of the Sky Captain, but it didn't quite work. Not that he wasn't a good character -- Jude Law was really good, as usual -- but he was no Indiana Jones. So I was somewhat let down, but my expectations were probably a bit too high. ***

Eurotrip

EUROTRIP (2004) - Sept. 22, 2004
A surprisingly entertaining and funny teen comedy about a group of friends who head to Europe to find a girl. Wackiness ensues. Though it takes place over an undisclosed amount of time, it pretty much falls into the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre (and yet further proof that you can't go wrong with this genre, not that I needed it). ***

Metropolis

METROPOLIS (1927) - Sept. 21, 2004 (Second Viewing)
An excellent film about a future society in which the poor live underground, maintaining the machinery of the city, while the rich live in skyscrapers. The special effects are quite good, especially considering when it was made, and the film actually manages to portray a reasonably plausible vision of a future society (no cheesy silver jumpsuits or anything like that). Easily the best silent movie I've ever seen -- but aside from that, it is just a really good movie, not just good for a silent movie. ***1/2

Cellular

CELLULAR (2004) - Sept 14, 2004
A crackerjack thriller. About a woman who is kidnapped, but is able to use her mostly broken phone to connect to a guy on a cell phone. Kim Basinger and Chris Evans were both excellent in the main roles, and Jason Statham was appropriately sinister as the main bad guy. The movie didn't waste any time getting started, and pretty much had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. There was also a surprising amount of comedy in the film, which was nice. For sheer entertainment value, this was probably one of the best movies I've seen in a while, and was easily the best thriller I've seen since Panic Room. My only complaint is that the stupid trailer gave away way too much. Other than that, pure gold. ****

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (2004) - Sept. 10, 2004
An awful, awful movie. Where the original was surprisingly decent, and probably the best videogame movie so far (not that that takes much), this was just terrible. It fails on every conceivable level. The direction was horrible -- the movie was constantly unappealing to look at (nothing in this movie even came close to living up to the potential of that cool final shot of the first movie), and the action (of which there was plenty) was stupid and incoherent. Plus the action was way way too over-the-top. And Raccoon City looks suspiciously like Toronto -- the C.N. Tower even made an appearance. Plus there was the very prominent appearance of Toronto's City Hall. The quality of the acting ranged from terrible to barely adequate, with most performances falling into the former category. And the dialogue - what little there was - sucked (in fact, with the poor dialogue and acting, much of the movie actually reminded me of the cutscenes from the Resident Evil games, though I somehow doubt that was the intent). That's actually what this movie seemed like: it was like being forced to sit through a poorly-done one and a half hour cutscene for a Resident Evil game, and then not even being able to play the game. 1/2*

Shattered Glass

SHATTERED GLASS (2003) - Sept. 8, 2004
Hayden Christensen and Peter Sarsgaard are both excellent in this film about a journalist who fabricates his stories to make them more exciting. It was well-directed and really entertaining throughout (the 95 minute running-time probably helped). A brisk pace, good writing and direction, and strong performances all around... Not really much more you can ask for. ***1/2

Hero

HERO (2002) - Sept. 3, 2004
After a few good, but underwhelming movies, it seemed like Zhang Yimou's best days were behind him. Clearly, this is not the case. While Hero may not be quite as good as movies like Raise the Red Lantern and To Live (though certainly close -- I think repeat viewings are needed), it was still amazing and almost certainly the best movie I've seen so far this year. Visually -- with the dazzling use of colour and the intricately framed shots -- it was probably one of the best looking movies I've ever seen, and Zhang proves yet again that he's right up there with Kubrick in that arena. The fight sequences were all really well-done and really exciting, and the Rashomon-esque story was also quite excellent. Zhang, you've done it again! ****

Exorcist: The Beginning

EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING (2004) - August 24, 2004 (S)
I'd like to see the original version of this movie. Stellan Skarsgard was good, but the movie... I don't know. It started off well enough. In fact, for the first half-hour or so, I was thinking "hey, this isn't so bad!" But then it just seemed to run out of steam and it pretty much went nowhere. It probably didn't help that it wasn't scary, creepy, or even shocking (I don't think there was a single legitimate, non-"oh, it was just the radio!" shock in the whole movie). Plus the character of the main woman was pretty much useless, and only really existed to get possessed at the end. And Stellan regaining his faith seemed a little too easy. I mean, come on, he only decides to stop being grizzled and to become a priest again after he personally sees the devil posses someone? I think I would become a priest after that. **

Alien vs. Predator

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (2004) - August 18, 2004
A stupid movie. For a movie called "Alien vs. Predator" the aliens and the predators didn't fight nearly as much as you'd think they would (which is too bad, because the scenes where they do fight are probably the highlight of the movie). Plus the movie spends way too long setting everything up. Which wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that there wasn't a single decent character in the whole movie. I felt like Milhouse during that episode of Itchy and Scratchy with Poochie in it. "When are they going to get to the fireworks factory??" The action scenes were all incoherent and the violence was ultra toned down, which made all the stuff with the humans being hunted pretty pointless. Plus that crazy alliance between the predator and the human was just bizarre (there's just something wrong about a shot where a predator and a human run side by side away from an explosion). *1/2

Old Yeller

OLD YELLER (1957) - August 15, 2004
A sometimes hokey, but entertaining movie about a boy and his dog. There certainly wasn't anything subtle about it, from the performances to the dialogue to the super-over-the-top score, but it worked for the most part. And then of course there was the ending, which ranks right up there with the death of Hooch in terms of harsh dog deaths in movies. ***

The Bourne Supremacy

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) - August 6, 2004
An inferior sequel. It was essentially entertaining, though certainly overlong at around two hours. The main problem was Paul Greengrass' ultra-shaky direction. Almost the entire film was shot handheld, which got annoying after a while. And the action scenes were atrocious. They were like a parody of the standard quick-cut / shaky-cam action scene. It was almost impossible to tell what was going on, particularly during the last car chase, as there was seemingly a cut every millisecond. It was so bad I actually had to look away from the screen a couple of times because it was getting so unpleasant and disorienting to watch. Fortunately there wasn't that much action. **1/2

Garden State

GARDEN STATE (2004) - August 4, 2004
A well-made movie by Zach Braff. Excellent performances all around. The direction was good -- it started off a little bit too over-the-top, but after a while it settled down. It seems like Zach's real strength lies in his writing, as the movie was really well written. The characters were all really good, and there was actually a surprising amount of humour in the film. ***

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (2004) - August 3, 2004
An entertaining comedy about a couple of guys who, after getting stoned, decide to get some burgers from White Castle. Hijinks ensue. A few of the jokes fell flat, but for the most part it was reasonably funny, though not exactly laugh-out-loud hilarious (with the exception of one really funny part which was probably the hardest I've laughed in quite some time). The bizarre cameo by Neil Patrick Harris, playing himself, was also a highlight. Plus the movie was a prime example of the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre, and yet further proof that you can't go wrong with a movie like that. ***

The Village

THE VILLAGE (2004) - July 31, 2004
A well-directed, deliberately-paced movie by M. Night Shyamalan. Though not quite the thriller the trailer would lead you to believe, it was still quite good. I thought the super-crazy twist at the end was pretty cool, but I can see why people might not like it. Not exactly Shyamalan's best movie (that is and will probably always be Unbreakable), but still good. ***

Collateral

COLLATERAL (2004) - July 29, 2004
Tom Cruise stars as a hitman who forces a hapless cab driver to drive him around as he kills five people in one night. Well directed by Michael Mann (the choice to shoot it in digital was a bit iffy, but I got used to it pretty quickly). Though never boring, it dragged a bit towards the middle. It certainly picked up towards the end though, as the last twenty minutes or so were quite exciting (plus there was some obvious homage to Hitchcock, particularly Rear Window -- that's always a good thing). Tom Cruise was really good, of course (very intense), and surprisingly enough, Jamie Foxx was quite good as well. ***

The Clearing

THE CLEARING (2004) - July 26, 2004
An exceptionally well-acted drama/thriller about a businessman who is kidnapped and held for ransom, and the impact that has on his family. Robert Redford, Willem Dafoe and Helen Mirren were all really good. It was really well directed, written and acted, so I'm kind of puzzled as to why it received such a lukewarm reception from the critics. Willem Dafoe's motivation for doing what he did could have been a little clearer, but that's a minor complaint. Perhaps the critics were expecting some kind of electrifying thriller. The movie was really more of a character study, and a good one at that. ***1/2

Two Days

TWO DAYS (2003) - July 22, 2004
A well-acted movie about a struggling actor who decides to kill himself, and to make a documentary about the two days leading up to his suicide. Not quite as serious as the description would lead you to believe (it's sort of a comedy/drama). Paul Rudd is excellent as the aforementioned struggling actor. The movie is a sort of weird combination between a fake documentary and a straight-forward movie. But it works. ***

I, Robot

I, ROBOT (2004) - July 22, 2004
Now this was a good summer action movie. Will Smith (in a better than usual performance) stars as a detective in the year 2035 who tries to prove that all the new robots are up to no good. Perhaps not as heavy on the sci-fi as I would have liked, but still manages to strike a good blend of exciting action and interesting ideas. Kudos to Alex Proyas, as I thought the whole visual look of the movie was one of the things that kept it so interesting. The ending goes a little overboard with all the action (the whole sequence where Will Smith is attacked by two truckloads of robots seemed a little superfluous), but that's a relatively minor complaint. ***1/2

Catwoman

CATWOMAN (2004) - July 21, 2004
The anti-Spider-Man 2. Quite possibly the worst comic book movie ever. It's as if the guys at DC were like "hey, after stuff like Spider-Man, Hellboy and X-Men, comic book movies are getting too respectable. Let's Batman and Robin it up!" Everything about this movie was just awful; from the ridiculous S&M-inspired costume to Halle Barry's annoyingly over-the-top performance. The action was terribly directed, the characters were all cliches, and the plot was stupid. After McG, Tarsem and Kaos, Pitof continues the tradition of terrible one-name directors. And the worst thing is that most people are going to think that Catwoman - the comic book character - is this cheesy, when in reality they share a name and nothing else. I just don't get how a movie like this gets made. Didn't anyone involved read the script? Didn't they see the costume? I don't get it. And I was so sure that King Arthur was going to be the worst movie of the summer. 1/2*

Anchorman

ANCHORMAN (2004) - July 21, 2004
A funny (though not quite as laugh-out-loud hilarious as one would hope) movie starring Will Ferrell. Ferrell is funny, as usual, but the real highlight is Steve Carell as a dim-witted weatherman. The movie was entertaining throughout, and while it wasn't really as funny as I was hoping it would be, it was still one of the better comedies I've seen in a while. ***

Topkapi

TOPKAPI (1964) - July 20, 2004
A decent heist movie by Jules Dassin, director of Rififi (which is probably the best heist movie ever). It was pretty much entertaining, and the heist scene was excellent. However the first hour or so dragged a bit, focusing a bit too much on Peter Ustinov and his wacky exploits, and not enough on the set-up of the heist. Once the heist kicks in the movie picks up quite a bit -- the heist scene was really well done, but I guess that was to be expected. It was certainly no Rififi, but not much is. ***

The Enforcer

THE ENFORCER (1951) - July 17, 2004
A mediocre crime thriller. Humphrey Bogart plays a cop going after a gang of hitmen. Hurt by awkward structure (pretty much the whole thing was a flashback, with the occasional flashback within a flashback) and occasionally weak dialogue. Humphrey Bogart was good, of course, but he didn't have all that much to do as he wasn't even there in over half of the flashbacks. Plus the movie seems to be operating under the bizarre assumption that the whole idea of hitmen is something new and unheard of (Bogart and his partner even spend a chunk of the movie trying to figure out what the words "hit" and "contract" mean), which I don't think was the case even back in 1951. **1/2

Monster

MONSTER (2003) - July 17, 2004
Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci are excellent in this movie about a rare prostitute without a heart of gold. Charlize Theron in particular was really good and barely recognizable as the aforementioned prostitute. Aside from good acting the movie was well-directed and entertaining throughout. ***1/2

Old Boy

OLD BOY (2003) - July 16, 2004 (S)
A bizarre movie about a man who is kidnapped and held against his will for fifteen years. When released, he sets out to find out who kidnapped him and why, and to get his revenge. Slow in parts, and a little strange (but never in a full-out David Lynch sort of way -- it always makes sense). The twist at the end was probably one of the coolest twists I've seen in a while. I certainly didn't see it coming. In fact, even if the movie had sucked, I think that twist would have made it worthwhile. Fortunately it didn't suck. ***

King Arthur

KING ARTHUR (2004) - July 7, 2004
Oh man, I should have seen Spider-Man 2 again. Antoine Fuqua proves that he is a terrible director, and that Training Day was just a fluke. This was a bad, bad movie. It contained no characters worth caring about (with the exception of Ray Winstone, who was easily the best thing about the movie). Clive Owen was decent enough as Arthur, but his character was so bland it was impossible to care about him (his character never progessed beyond being anything but the "noble warrior"). Stellan Skarsgard and Til Schweiger, as the villains, were ultra-underdeveloped, and about as three-dimensional as Dastardly and Muttley. So without any characters worth caring about on either side, the movie became boring very quickly. Why should I care about the climactic final battle if I don't care about any of the characters? Or anything else, for that matter? It probably didn't help that the movie was very obviously cut from an R rating to a PG-13 (not that any amount of violence would have helped). Plus, the characters spend most of the movie on a pointless mission that has almost nothing to do with the final battle. So the movie was essentially like a hollow shell of a historical epic -- it went through all the motions, but without any decent characters... What's the point? That's all I can really say about this movie. What's the point? *1/2

Spider-Man 2

SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) - July 6, 2004
As far as sequels go, this was pretty much perfect. It improved on the original in pretty much every way. It had a perfect blend of action and drama, and was actually surprisingly funny. Alfred Molina was excellent as Doc Ock, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Actually, all the performances were excellent. And despite being over two hours, it was really entertaining all the way through. This is probably Sam Raimi's best movie (though I need to watch A Simple Plan again). All comic book movies should be this good. Heck, all movies should be this good. ****

Fahrenheit 9/11

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (2004) - July 5, 2004
A mostly entertaining but overlong documentary about Bush's incompetence and his unjust war in Iraq. It certainly paints an unflattering picture of Bush, but given the target I'm sure that wasn't very difficult. However, knowing how Michael Moore stretched the truth in Bowling For Columbine, it's hard to take it totally seriously. **1/2

Stand-in

STAND-IN (1937) - July 4, 2004
Humphrey Bogart is good in a small part in this entertaining comedy about an uptight accountant who attempts to run a movie studio like a math equation. He has a plucky secretary, and of course, they fall in love. The movie is predictable, but surprisingly entertaining -- it even has a few genuinely funny parts. ***

Spider-Man

SPIDER-MAN (2002) - June 28, 2004 (Second Viewing)
An excellent comic adaptation by Sam Raimi. It's well-directed, well-written, and well-acted; as far as comic book movies go, it's pretty much as good as it gets. The special effects are mostly good, though when Spider-Man swings around it's obvious he's CG. That's a minor complaint, though. Let's hope the sequel can measure up. ***

Johnny English

JOHNNY ENGLISH (2003) - June 27, 2004
Rowan Atkinson was good in this mediocre comedy about a bumbling secret agent. There were a few chuckle-worthy moments, though most of them were also featured in the trailer. Oh well, it was pretty much entertaining all the way through, so it certainly could have been worse. **1/2

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003) - June 24, 2004
Unpleasant. That's the best word I can use to describe this movie. I mean, it was reasonably entertaining (though it dragged a bit towards the end), but it was just... unpleasant. Where the original was scary, this was just disturbing. Devoid of any real suspense, with the only "shocking" moments coming from a person scurrying by the camera accompanied by a loud noise, or Leatherface busting through doors with his chainsaw, I have to wonder what the point of this movie was. Without anything much going for it other than being gross, this was essentially like porn for sadists (things I didn't need to see: a close-up of a guy's fingernails being ripped off, a close-up of a leg being chainsawed off, Leatherface's gross face, etc.). I know this is a cliche, but good scary movies are scary because of what we don't see and imagine, not because of endless superfluous gore paraded in front of us. *

Another Woman

ANOTHER WOMAN (1988) - June 21, 2004
A well-made but somewhat dull character study by Woody Allen. About a woman who begins to reevaluate her life after she overhears a distraught woman's therapy sessions. The performances were all really good and it was certainly well-made, it just wasn't always all that interesting. Definitely not one of the Woodster's finer efforts. **1/2

The Shape of Things

THE SHAPE OF THINGS (2003) - June 20, 2004 (S)
Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz are excellent in this film by Neil LaBute. Paul Rudd in particular was excellent as a character who undergoes numerous transformations throughout the film. The ending though, was kind of cheesy in that it basically revealed the movie to be In the Company of Men in reverse. Not that I didn't like it -- I certainly didn't see it coming, and I thought it was a pretty cool way to end the movie. But it does sort of put Neil LaBute's range into question. ***1/2

Dodgeball

DODGEBALL (2004) - June 19, 2004
An entertaining and surprisingly funny comedy about a group of misfits who enter a dodgeball tournament to save their gym. Ben Stiller was good as the requisite ultra-over-the-top villain, and so was Vince Vaughn as the easy-going owner of the aforementioned gym. It sort of reminded me of Happy Gilmore (in fact Ben Stiller seems to be playing a variation on his role in Happy Gilmore, complete with the foo-manchu mustache). But obviously, Happy Gilmore was the superior film. ***

The Lady Vanishes

THE LADY VANISHES (1938) - June 17, 2004
An excellent early film by Hitchcock. About an old lady who goes missing on a train. When the woman she was with tries to figure out what has happened to her, everyone denies that she was ever even there, Breakdown-style. Like Hitchcock's other British films, it contains many comedic elements. It was very entertaining throughout, and the mystery of the missing woman was quite compelling. Hitchcock is definitely one of my favourite directors. ***1/2

The Terminal

THE TERMINAL (2004) - June 14, 2004
Tom Hanks is pretty much the only reason to watch this movie. And even he can't save it. Stephen Spielberg makes yet ANOTHER movie that's overlong by at least half an hour. It starts off well enough, and for a while the movie is able to coast on Tom Hank's charm, but after a while it just stops being interesting. It probably didn't help that much of the screentime was devoted to Stanley Tucci in an entirely superfluous role that only served to pad out the already bloated run-time. The Catherine Zeta-Jones character was also pretty unnecessary. And I mean, come on, does a cheesy little movie like this really need to be over two hours? I'll answer that: no, no it certainly doesn't. Tom Hanks was really good, though. But Tom Hanks is always good. **

The Day After Tomorrow

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004) - June 14, 2004
A decent disaster movie. The movie features some excellent special effects, and good performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid, but is otherwise unmemorable. I guess one of the main problems was that there weren't enough characters, and the few characters that were there were bland and uninteresting, or simply played-out cliches (the scrappy hobo! the wacky best friend! the the aging mentor! the romantic interest whose sole reason to exist is to be the romantic interest). Quaid and Gyllenhaal were both really good, but there's only so much a good actor can do before the weaknesses of the script start to show. It also didn't help that the movie was too long, and dragged in parts -- though it was never boring. Unlike another too-long movie I just saw... **1/2

Le Amiche

LE AMICHE (1955) - June 12, 2004
An early film by Antonioni. Features none of the long silences characteristic of most of his later movies, and in fact is packed with dialogue. It wasn't quite as slow as some of his other movies, but it wasn't exactly fast-paced, either. One of my biggest problems with the film is that all of the characters looked pretty similar, and at times it was a little hard to tell them apart. Oh well. It was well directed, obviously, and it was never boring. **1/2

The Chronicles of Riddick

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004) - June 9, 2004
A dull and sometimes incoherent action / sci-fi movie. Vin Diesel is good as Riddick, but even he can't save this muddled mess of a movie. The story, involving a Borg-like race called the Necromongers, is far more confusing than it needs to be. There's also a lengthy diversion in a prison colony which does nothing to further the plot, and exists only to bring back a character from the first movie. And while there are some impressive visuals, the movie's lack of any real narrative momentum makes the whole thing somewhat of a bore. Plus that stupid retarded ending just raised more questions than it answered. **

Rope

ROPE (1948) - June 8, 2004
An excellent thriller, memorably directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Probably one of his better movies (though I have yet to see a bad Hitchcock movie). Takes place in real time, featuring a series of very long shots. About two young men who commit a murder, and then hold a party with the dead body inside a chest as the centrepiece. Jimmy Stewart, as the one guest who suspects something is wrong, gives yet another excellent performance. The dialogue, though somewhat stagey at times, was really good, and it was really interesting watching the two men unravel under the pressure. Sort of similar to Murder by Numbers, in that two men commit a murder just for the sake of it, but infinitely better. Infinitely better times ten. ***1/2

One Night in the Tropics

ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940) - June 2, 2004
Abbott and Costello are funny in small parts in this otherwise unmemorable romantic comedy (despite the fact that they were obviously shoe-horned in, as they are totally unnecessary to the plot). The rest of the movie is fairly standard, and features far more singing than I would have liked (which is, none). Not that I mind singing so much, but all the songs in this movie are slow and unmemorable. Oh well, at least it was short. **1/2

Small Change

SMALL CHANGE (1976) - June 1, 2004
An engaging later film by Truffaut. About a group of children and their various adventures in a small town. Somewhat similar to the 400 Blows in that it deals with children, but not quite as good. It is entirely plotless and a little slow in spots, but never boring -- it's basically a series of somewhat related vignettes, and some are better than others. ***

Raw Deal

RAW DEAL (1986) - May 27, 2004 (Second viewing)
One of Arnie's lesser known films. And in fact, it was probably one of his weaker movies, but still pretty good. It was really violent, which helped. Arnie plays a disgraced ex-FBI agent who infiltrates the mob to get his old job back. Arnie was good, of course, but the script doesn't really give him the opportunity to do anything really cool or deliver any good one-liners. Not to say that Arnie wasn't cool; he's always cool. The movie just doesn't use him to his fullest potential. Though the Commando-esque ending, in which he takes on at least thirty guys, was pretty sweet. ***

Shrek 2

SHREK 2 (2004) - May 23, 2004
A worthy follow-up. Features quite a few laughs, many coming from Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots, who steals every scene he's in. At times it goes overboard rehashing jokes and characters from the first one, which makes it feel more like a remake than a sequel, but that's a relatively minor complaint as it was still very enjoyable. As far as computer animated cartoons go it wasn't exactly on the same level as Pixar, but then again not much is. ***

Key Largo

KEY LARGO (1948) - May 21, 2004
Another really good movie directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, though not as good as the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. About a bunch of people who get stuck in a hotel during a hurricane, including a group of criminals led by Edward G. Robinson. Humphrey Bogart gives another excellent performance. In fact the performances were good all around. Lionel Barrymore was good in a non-evil role, which was a little jarring after having only seen him in It's a Wonderful Life. The movie was quite talky (it was based on a play), but the dialogue never seems overly theatrical, as is sometimes the case with older films. ***1/2

Evil Alien Conquerors

EVIL ALIEN CONQUERORS (2002) - May 19, 2004
A lame comedy. A few sporadic chuckles, but that's about it. Diedrich Bader and Chris Parnell are decent as a couple of incompetent aliens whose job is to kill everyone on Earth. But they hardly do anything, and hijinks level was disappointingly low (probably due to the obviously miniscule budget). This might have worked as a six minute sketch on SNL, but as a one and a half hour movie it fails miserably. Plus it features some of the most blatant product placement I've ever seen. But then I guess the money had to come from somewhere. **

World Traveler

WORLD TRAVELER (2001) - May 18, 2004
A well acted character study about a man who leaves his wife and child and hits the road in order to find himself. Mostly about his interactions with the various people he meets along the way. Billy Crudup is excellent in the main role, as are all the people he runs across, including Julianne Moore and the black guy from Sliders. Slow in parts, but never boring. ***

L.I.E.

L.I.E. (2001) - May 17, 2004
Brian Cox is excellent in this otherwise forgettable film. The first half, which focuses almost entirely on the disturbingly homoerotic relationship between the main character and his friend, is useless and goes nowhere. In fact the stuff with Brian Cox is probably just as useless, but remains entertaining just because of his performance. Brian Cox is still likeable even as a gross pedophile, which leads me to believe that he is incapable of giving an unlikable performance. This movie certainly solidifies his status as one of my favourite actors. Not much else to say, really. Brian Cox = thumbs up. Everything else in this movie = meh. **1/2

Eraser

ERASER (1996) - May 15, 2004 (Third viewing? Perhaps fourth)
Arnie's last really violent movie, and probably his last "classic" action movie. Features all the shooting and one-liners that most of his recent movies have been missing ("You're luggage!"). It's not as good as some of his classics, like Total Recall or Commando, but it's still pretty good. James Caan is excellent, as always, as the villain. But it just makes me wonder: why politics, Arnie? Why? ***

Napoleon Dynamite

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (2004) - May 15, 2004
A quirky film about a awkward teenager, Napoleon Dynamite, and his various misadventures in a quirky small town. Features some funny moments, and for the first forty minutes or so it's pretty entertaining. But after a while the quirkiness and the lack of plot just start to wear on you, and it was really starting to drag towards the end. The style of the film reminded me somewhat of Wes Anderson, particularly Rushmore (both feature a young social outcast in the main role). But Jared Hess is certainly no Wes Anderson, and Napoleon Dynamite (the character) is no Max Fischer (he was just too bizarre to ever become someone we really care about). **1/2

The Castle of Cagliostro

THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979) - May 14, 2004
An atypical early film by Miyazaki. It's atypical in that it doesn't contain any fantasy elements, and is set in the present day. About a charming thief, Lupin, who decides to save a young woman from the clutches of an evil count. Very entertaining throughout; it contains a lot of action but is never overwhelmed by it. A fun adventure. It leaves itself wide open for a sequel, and I certainly wouldn't mind watching the continued adventures of Lupin. I should look into that. ***

Troy

TROY (2004) - May 12, 2004
A well-made historical epic about the end of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Featured some good fight scenes and some excellent performances. The fight between Brad Pitt and Eric Bana was one of the better fight scenes I've seen in a while. I especially liked that, since the movie spends an equal amount of time with both sides, the outcome of that fight isn't predictable (unless of course you know your history, which I sort of did, but I forgot it all -- in fact I had forgotten it to the point where I didn't even know which side was going to win until the Trojan Horse popped up). Eric Bana was really good as the Trojans' strongest warrior, and Peter O'Toole was excellent as his father, the king. And Brian Cox was excellent as usual as the leader of the Greeks. The battle scenes could have been better, as they were a bit incoherent (the old quick-cut/shakey-cam battle-scene standby. Why?). As far as historical epics go it wasn't nearly as good as Gladiator, but then again not much is. Wolfgang Peterson is certainly no Ridley Scott. Oh well, the whole movie was worth it if only for the scene where Brendan Gleeson waves his sword menacingly at Orlando Bloom. ***1/2

Harvey

HARVEY (1950) - May 11, 2004
Jimmy Stewart is good (as usual) in this cute little movie about a man whose best friend is a six foot tall white rabbit who may or may not be real. Entertaining throughout, if a little on the long side. It probably didn't help that I kept thinking about the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, especially towards the beginning of the movie. Man, that was a good movie. Anyway, Harvey was good, if only for Jimmy Stewart. ***

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) - May 10, 2004
Humphrey Bogart is excellent as a penniless drifter with questionable morals (when we first see him he's begging for money and throwing a glass of water into a child's face) in this excellent film by John Huston. When watching a movie that's supposedly a classic, it's usually hard to walk away without at least a little disappointment (ie. Casablanca -- a good movie, but not the best of all time). Not the case here. Tim Holt and Walter Huston were equally good as the two men Bogart goes prospecting with. Everything seems to start well for the three men, who enter into their enterprise with the best intentions. The aging prospector (Huston) warns them how gold can corrupt a man, but they aren't concerned. However, over the course of the film, Bogart slowly goes insane with paranoia, sure that the two men are trying to steal his share of the gold. The movie is over two hours but remains extremely entertaining throughout. Also features excellent direction by John Huston, whose framing and use of deep-focus photography is somewhat reminiscent of Orson Welles. ****

Millennium Actress

MILLENNIUM ACTRESS (2001) - May 9, 2004
An interesting movie by Satoshi Kon, who also directed Tokyo Godfathers. About a young actress who has a brief encounter with a revolutionary painter, and spends the rest of her life trying to find him. Told in an interesting style, with bits of her life being told in flashback, using parts from her movies. Definitely original (at least it was unlike anything I've seen before). While not as good as Tokyo Godfathers, this was definitely a good movie. I'd definitely like to watch it again, as this seems like the type of movie which would benefit from repeat viewings. ***

Envy

ENVY (2004) - May 7, 2004 (S)
A mediocre movie from Barry Levinson (what a surprise). Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Christopher Walken are all wasted in this stupid movie which just doesn't work (with a few exceptions). One of the main problems is that none of the characters act like actual people. This unrealistic tone is heightened by Levinson's bad direction, which makes the whole thing look as wonky as the people act. It could almost be called a dark comedy, but it doesn't really have the guts to do anything dark (the ending is ultra-happy). Jack Black, while not really Jack Blacky enough, manages to create the only character worth caring about in this stupid movie. There are a few good moments here and there, but they are certainly outweighed by the bad. **

Van Helsing

VAN HELSING (2004) - May 5, 2004
An overlong, over-the-top bore. The first ten minutes or so, a black and white homage to Universal's classic monster movies, was the sole highlight of this crap-fest. Even the usually excellent Hugh Jackman isn't that great in this crappy crap-pile. The movie consists of one over-the-top, unexciting action sequence after another. In fact, the action scenes are so close together, I doubt that there's much more than three or four minutes of downtime between them. I would say that 90 percent of this movie's bloated run-time is dedicated to action. Towards the end it becomes tedious to sit through. It doesn't help that the people playing Dracula and his three flying girlfriends are ludicrously over-the-top to the point of annoyance. This is the first big action movie of the summer, and I'm sure it will also be the worst (one can only hope, at least). *

Le Mans

LE MANS (1971) - May 3, 2004
A bad movie. An ordeal. Why Steve McQueen would be in this, I have no idea. I guess it was an easy paycheck. I doubt that he had more than ten minutes of screentime, and no more than a dozen lines of dialogue. The one good part - and there was only one - was a brief scene in which Steve McQueen explains to his ex-girlfriend (or ex-wife) why racing is worth the risk. But that scene was no longer than a couple of minutes and the movie was almost two hours. I'm really not sure who this movie is supposed to appeal to. Fans of the actual race? But it doesn't really show any behind-the-scenes action someone like that might find interesting. The majority of the movie is simply the race itself, presented in a dull TV-style and without an announcer, making the whole thing pointless and confusing. The first fourty minutes of the movie are dialogue-free, filled with random shots of nameless people setting up the race. The race starts, but since there are no real characters, even if I could tell what was going on I wouldn't have cared. There's probably a total of five minutes of dialogue in the whole movie. If that. Here's what I don't get: a movie like this is allowed to be made, and probably had a reasonably big budget, and yet Orson Welles was forced to toil in obscurity for most of his career, scraping money together by appearing in commercials for frozen peas. What's up with that? 1/2*

Tokyo Godfathers

TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003) - May 1, 2004
An excellent Japanese animated film about a group of three homeless people - a broken family man, an aging cross-dresser, and a teenage runaway - who find a baby abandoned in the trash and decide to find its mother. Touching at times, and also surprisingly funny. Though it's essentially plotless (it almost falls into the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" category), it is really entertaining throughout and the three main characters become people we really care about. They continue to make progress in their adventure by a series of increasingly unbelievable, almost magical coincidences and turns of fate. The whole movie is realistic but has an unreal vibe to it. But definitely in a good way. It's lighthearted and fun, and is able to seamlessly move from comedy to drama. All the while a higher power almost seems at work in the background (one of the characters frequently notes that God is helping the baby), helping the characters get where they need to go. ****

Sisters

SISTERS (1973) - April 30, 2004 (S)
An early thriller from Brian De Palma. Very Hitchcock-inspired (Psycho in particular; the twist towards the end comes straight out of that movie, as well as the killing off of a main character early on in the film). Features what is probably De Palma's most effective use of split-screen. None of the performances were all that great (Margot Kidder's French accent is one of the worst fake accents I've ever heard). But it still works, mostly because it does such a good job of being a Hitchcock clone (I guess being such an early film of De Palma's, he hadn't yet really developed his own distinct style. But even here it's clear he was already on his way to becoming more than just a Hitchcock rip-off). ***

Laws of Attraction

LAWS OF ATTRACTION (2004) - April 30, 2004
A somewhat mediocre romantic comedy. Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore play two opposing divorce lawyers who, after a lot of bickering, wind up falling in love. Brosnan and Moore are both really good, and have good chemistry, and yet something just doesn't work in this movie. I can't really put my finger on it. It was too long, despite being under 90 minutes, which doesn't help. Most of the time the dialogue was fine, but sometimes it felt like the writers were trying a little too hard to be clever. The movie have been worse, but considering how good the two leads were, it certainly could have been better. **1/2

Man on Fire

MAN ON FIRE (2004) - April 27, 2004
Oh man, I am torn. This was a good movie. There's no doubt about that. But the thing is, it could have been an EXCELLENT movie. Four stars, even. But Tony Scott, with his super-duper-overblown sense of "style" (style, in this case, meaning a LOT of fast cuts and grainy film stock) tries his hardest to ruin Brian Helgeland's excellent script. He doesn't, and that's a testament to how good the script was and how good Denzel Washington was. Because Sweet Jesus, this movie was so stylistically over-the-top, even Oliver Stone would be like "whoa buddy, you've got to calm down." The movie got of to a shakey (literally and figuratively) start, what with the super-crazy direction. And then for the first half hour or so, it seems like the Denzel Washington character is simply the cliched "grizzled alcoholic with a checkered past" (which he was, to a certain extent). But then he starts to become more of a character, and less of a cliche, and of course all the revenge stuff starts kicking in. And that stuff was pretty awesome. THAT'S what I wanted the Punisher to be. Gritty and unforgiving -- simply going to the bad guys' homes one by one and taking them down. But of course, Tony Scott never lets you forget that you are watching a movie; he is always there in the background, tugging at your shirt and shouting in your ear. "Wasn't that great!? 27 cuts in two seconds! Bet you thought it couldn't be done! What a great director I am!" Note to Tony: you could learn a thing or two (or three or four) from your brother. I only wish he had directed this movie. ***

Lilo & Stitch

LILO & STITCH (2002) - April 26, 2004
Another somewhat underwhelming animated feature from Disney. It was mostly entertaining, though it lagged a bit in the middle. The main characters were all endearing (though I wonder how an alien who was biologically engineered to destroy and only destroy could learn to love and to be a part of a family). **1/2

Home on the Range

HOME ON THE RANGE (2004) - April 26, 2004
A kiddie but mostly entertaining cartoon. Not exactly a fitting end to Disney's 60+ year legacy of making traditionally animated films, but I'm not convinced that this is really the end. I'm sure in a couple of years when a couple of CG cartoons flop, they'll announce the triumphant return of Disney to traditional animation and make a lot of money cashing in. Anyway, this was essentially a cute movie, with good performances all around and good animation. Even at under 90 minutes it still felt a bit long, but it was never boring or anything. About a group of three plucky cows who go on an adventure to save their farm. Because of the movie's flat look, the instances of 3D animation seemed more out of place than usual. Oh well. Brother Bear would have been a better swan song, but this will have to do. **1/2

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004) - April 22, 2004 (S)
The latest weird Charlie Kaufman movie, and certainly the best of the bunch (that I've seen, at least). Jim Carrey (in what is easily his best performance, and most understated) plays a guy whose ex-girlfriend has him erased from her mind, so he decides to do the same. Jim Carrey's character (who is somewhat Barry Egan-esque) became someone I really cared about. A lot of weird stuff happens in the movie, but it never seemed like weirdness for weirdnesses sake (like most other Charlie Kaufman movies). I liked how the beginning was actually the end. I didn't figure that out until towards the end, so that was pretty good. Anyway, I think this was essentially a character study dressed up in a really fancy wrapper. And it was a good character study. ***1/2

Tube

TUBE (2003) - April 20, 2004 (S)
Oh man. A stupid, convoluted Korean action movie. For the first half hour or so the movie doesn't even bother to explain what's going on. It's totally nonsensical. The bad guy is introduced but is given no motive until at least an hour into the movie. Then finally we find out that he is some kind of government-trained super assassin whose girlfriend (or wife?) may or may not have been killed by the main character (it isn't clear at all -- like almost everything else in this stupid, stupid movie). The main character is ultra-underdeveloped. Also two of the main female characters look quite similar, causing a bit of confusion. The movie finally picks up some steam with some good action and some decent character stuff towards the end, but it's too late by then. Plus then the movie does the unthinkable, killing off the main character. That's certainly not allowed in a cheesy action movie like this. Plus the bad guy doesn't die! That's just not right at all. The stuff in the subway control center kind of reminded me of the Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, but of course that movie was about a trillion times better than this crap-pile. *

Buffalo Soldiers

BUFFALO SOLDIERS (2001) - April 19, 2004 (S)
This is Gregor Jordan's first film after Two Hands. While it definitely isn't as good as that movie, it's still pretty good. Joaquin Phoenix is good (as usual) as a soldier who uses the army's resources to make money. Ed Harris is also good as a clueless but well-meaning colonel. I liked the ending, in which Joaquin is lauded as a hero and reassigned to Hawaii, where he gleefully resumes his illegal dealings. At times it sort of reminded me of Three Kings, and that's certainly a good thing. ***

Kill Bill: Volume II

KILL BILL: VOLUME II (2004) - April 16, 2004
Now this was a good movie. It was surprising in that it was not at all like Volume I. It could hardly even be called an action movie. However it was still excellent, and it definitely fleshed out the characters a lot more. The final confrontation between Bill and The Bride was really really good. The dialogue was really good and David Carradine was excellent. And so was Uma, of course. QT does it again! ****

The Punisher

THE PUNISHER (2004) - April 16, 2004
A cheesy, stupid but marginally entertaining movie. Despite the fact that he is the Punisher, Frank Castle doesn't seem to do much punishing. Thomas Jane is really good, as usual, but the movie is not. The beginning goes on a bit too long (we know his family is going to die, so just get to it). The whole midsection of the film is pretty much devoid of action. There is one big fight where the Punisher takes on the Russian, a huge wrestler, but it is less a fight, and more just watching Thomas Jane take a beating until he finally pushes the Russian down the stairs. And it seems to be played more for laughs than anything else, as Thomas Jane keeps reacting wackily to the Russian's great strengh. Plus it keeps cutting to the "wacky" neighbours, which doesn't help (and in fact all of the Punisher's neighbours are pretty much superfluous). Plus the Punisher spends most of the movie trying to trick the villain into thinking his wife is cheating on him. I want the Punisher to be breaking into bad guys' homes and shooting them in the back of the head while they're shaving, not skulking around like that guy from Othello. The big action sequence at the end was pretty good (if a little short) but at that point I was so not into the movie I didn't even care. *1/2

Kill Bill: Volume I

KILL BILL: VOLUME I (2003) - April 15, 2004 (Third viewing)
Man. What a sweet movie. Despite having problems with a bum DVD and a lousy player, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Sweet action, and excellent direction by QT. Everything about it is super-sweet, from the music to the visual look to the over-the-top violence. Tomorrow can't come soon enough! ****

The Ladykillers

THE LADYKILLERS (2004) - April 10, 2004 (S)
While not one of the Coen brothers' best movies, even their worst movie is better than most regular movies. Tom Hanks is a highlight in this movie about a heist gone bad. I liked how, by the end, everyone was dead. Dark comedy. And being a Coen brothers movie, it certainly looked good. I also liked the cat, Pickles. The funniest part probably being when Garth Pancake (GK Simmons, who was almost as over-the-top as Tom Hanks) was trying to demonstrate that the plastic explosive was harmless without the detonator, hitting it with a hammer and blowing it up in the process. "Frankly ma'am, I'm not sure I heard anything at all." Also, that garbage-barge seemed to make awfully frequent trips to that island... ***

The Entertainer

THE ENTERTAINER (1960) - April 5, 2004
A mostly entertaining movie about a washed out entertainer and his relationship with his family. Laurence Olivier was really good in the title role. Altogether well-made, but yet again, muffled classroom speakers + heavy British accents = trouble. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't missed so much dialogue. Oh well. Some of the scenes on the stage reminded me of Children of Paradise, though the movies weren't similar at all. Plus Children of Paradise was a million times better. **1/2

Hellboy

HELLBOY (2004) - April 3, 2004
Perhaps it's because it's been such a long time since I've seen a movie in the theatres, but I enjoyed this quite a lot. Right from the beginning, with all the stuff with the Nazis, I was into it. The movie was action-packed, but the action never felt overwhelming. I really liked the character of Hellboy, and all his wisecracks (shouting "it's for you!" as he slams a ringing phone into a bad guy's head -- gold). I also liked the character of Abe Sapien. Plus that Nazi assassin who kept winding himself up was really cool. Guillermo Del Toro's super-rapid editing during action scenes didn't bother me nearly as much as it did during Blade 2. In fact, I only really noticed it a little bit in the first action sequence (with the Nazis). Just a really fun movie. Definitely makes me want to read the comics. Hopefully it'll do well so they'll make some sequels. ***1/2

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

The Passion of the Christ

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (2004) - Feb. 28, 2004
A powerful film about the last few hours of Jesus' life. Jim Caveziel is excellent as the son of God. The movie is exceptionally violent but it never feels gratuitous. Genuinely touching at times, it manages to make Jesus a compelling figure even to the non-religious. ***1/2

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid

SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID (1987) - Feb. 26, 2004
An odd character study about how the lives of a promiscuous couple are affected when the husband's father comes to visit -- who just happens to have committed unspeakable human rights violations as a politician in India. It lags a bit at times, especially towards the end, but it was mostly entertaining. I liked the character of the father. He brings to mind Terry Gilliam's idea of evil: an otherwise normal person who doesn't question torturing or killing in the service of his job (ie. Michael Palin in Brazil). The movie probably would have been better if more time had been spent with him and less with the sexual exploits of Sammy and Rosie. **1/2

Conspirators of Pleasure

CONSPIRATORS OF PLEASURE (1996) - Feb. 24, 2004
A live-action feature from stop-motion animator Jan Svankmajer. I didn't notice any animation at all, but then again I fell asleep and missed most of the second half. The parts of the movie I did see seemed pretty good, so I should probably try to watch it again at some point. NO RATING

Sunday Bloody Sunday

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY (1971) - Feb. 24, 2004
Another dud from John Schlesinger (he also directed Darling). About the romance between a woman and a gay man, and the affair he has on the side with an older doctor (which she knows about, resents, but does nothing to stop). Much like Darling, it starts off well enough. In fact, the first hour or so is pretty much decent, if a little slow. However, after the parents come back for the kids that the aforementioned couple had been babysitting, the whole thing goes downhill pretty quickly. It loses any momentum it once had, and becomes boring for all the same reasons as Darling (under-developed characters, no plot, and absolutely no momentum). Good performances all around, but wasted in this sub-par movie. *1/2

Miracle

MIRACLE (2004)- Feb. 17, 2004
A sub-par hockey movie. Presents no characters worth caring about. The players are all interchangeable and personality-free except for the guy with the moustache and Tag from Friends. It probably doesn't help that they all pretty much look the same. The Kurt Russell character was pretty good, but that's more because of Kurt Russell than anything else. The movie was mildly entertaining at best, and at times got pretty boring. The lack of any real characters was probably its biggest downfall (it's hard to care about people you don't know anything about). **

The Triplets of Belleville

THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (2003) - Feb. 11, 2004
A really well-animated, visually-amazing cartoon. There was virtually no dialogue, yet it remained compelling the whole time; much of this can be attributed to the original visual style of the film. The characters were well-developed despite the fact that they never spoke. The dog was great. I can't wait for Sylvain Chomet's next movie! ***1/2

Fantastic Planet

FANTASTIC PLANET (1973) - Feb. 10, 2004
An interesting bit of animated sci-fi. About a bunch of tiny humans who are subjugated by a society of large, blue fish-like humanoids, who treat them terribly without realizing that they are equally intelligent. The animation is almost Gilliam-esque, but not quite. Some of the creature designs reminded me a lot of those from "Mars and Beyond", but with less fluid animation (Mars and Beyond was cooler, though). Another 70 minute animated film, but unlike the Three Caballeros I was entertained the whole time. ***

The Three Caballeros

THE THREE CABALLEROS (1944) - Feb. 8, 2004
A connected series of animated shorts, revolving around Mexico and Latin America. Most feature Donald Duck. It starts out normally enough, but towards the end becomes increasingly surreal. Also features some live-action incorporated into the cartoon. There was a bit more singing than I would have liked. The first story, about the penguin who longs for the warmer weather of Latin America, is probably the highlight. **1/2

The Butterfly Effect

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (2004) - Feb. 5, 2004
A really cool, really interesting movie about time travel. Further proof that it's not possible to make a bad time travel movie (with the sole exception of the Time Machine). Ashton Kutcher was surprisingly decent in a dramatic role. My only real complaint would be the obviously tacked-on happy ending, which just felt totally out of place. A more grim/twist ending would have been icing on the cake. Oh well, still a very cool movie. ***1/2

Animal Farm

ANIMAL FARM (1954) - Feb. 3, 2004
A somewhat mediocre cartoonization of George Orwell's classic "Animal Farm." The animation, which is very well done, is probably the highlight (though the tape I saw wasn't the best quality). The story remains reasonably faithful to Orwell's original book, however, the choice to make the movie essentially sans-dialogue (aside from the narrator) sort of takes away a lot of what made the book so good. As well, the tacked-on happy ending defeats the purpose of the whole thing. **1/2

Darling

DARLING (1965) - Feb. 3, 2004
A boring, boring character study about a free-wheeling young woman in London. It starts off inoffensively enough, but then just goes on and on and on and on and on and on. Because there is absolutely no plot, there is no indication of when or how it will end. It simply lurches from one boring scene to another, with no momentum, purpose or point. Towards the end it becomes torturously agonizing to sit through -- just waiting for it to end but having no idea when that moment could possibly come. *

The Animation Show

THE ANIMATION SHOW (2003) - Jan. 31, 2004
An entertaining collection of short animated films. Some were better than others, but none were bad. The hilarious films by Don Hertzfeldt were definitely the highlight. "Mt. Head," by Koji Yamamura was also really good. And "Mars and Beyond," (1958) by Ward Kimball, featured some really interesting and original visions of what life on Mars could be like. ***

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (1960) - Jan. 29, 2004
An interminably slow character-study about a lower-class lout. There isn't a trace of a plot, and the main character (played by a young Albert Finney) isn't anywhere nearly interesting enough to sustain a whole movie. The film mostly deals with Finney's attempts to juggle two girlfriends, one of whom is married. Three's Company-esque hijinks do not ensue. *1/2

Dirty Deeds

DIRTY DEEDS (2002) - Jan. 28, 2004
This was an alright, Guy Richie-esque gangster movie. Mostly entertaining, though a little bit too stylistically over-the-top. Sam Neill was good, as always, in a too-small part. Bryan Brown was also good, though not as good as he was in Two Hands (which was a far superior movie). As far as the recent wave of gangster movies are concerned, this certainly isn't up there, but my high expectations (I've been wanting to see it for a couple of years) may have been working against it. **1/2

Spring Forward

SPRING FORWARD (1999) - Jan. 27, 2004
An engaging drama about the friendship between two men who work for the parks service. Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber are both excellent as the two men. The film, which almost entirely consists of conversations between Beatty and Schreiber, remains extremely entertaining throughout thanks to the excellent performances and a great screenplay by Tom Gilroy (who is also the director). ***1/2

Teacher's Pet

TEACHER'S PET (2004) - Jan. 24, 2004
A good cartoon, if a little on the kiddie side. Nathan Lane is good as the main character, and so is Kelsey Grammer as an over-the-top mad scientist. Visually the movie was unique, and at 70 minutes it's hard to get bored, but at the same time it didn't make much of an impact (I'm already starting to forget it). **1/2

Along Came Polly

ALONG CAME POLLY (2004)- Jan. 22, 2004
A routine, marginally entertaining romantic/gross-out comedy. Unfunny for the most part; partially redeemed by a hilarious supporting performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria and Bryan Brown were also really good in supporting roles. However, Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston can't really say the same. Mediocre. **

The 39 Steps

THE 39 STEPS (1935) - Jan. 22, 2004 (S)
Another winner from Hitchcock! This was really good despite being so early in Hitchcock's career (1935). Another variation on his classic "wrong man" theme, with a normal man thrust into the world of espionage after a woman he has just met (a spy) confides in him and then is murdered. The whole sequence on the train (starting with a woman's scream turning into a train whistle) was really well done. In fact the movie is very fast-paced, particularly considering how old it is. It only slows down a little bit when the two main characters stop and spend the night in the hotel. The climax was good, and in fact a bit touching, when Mr. Memory is able to perform one last time, validating the main character's story by reciting the top secret plans for the airplane. I also like the final shot, with the two main characters holding hands. ***1/2