Two Weeks Notice. (12/28/02). Better than Maid in Manhattan, below, b/c Hugh Grant carries half the comedic weight.
Catch Me If You Can. (12/27/02). Perhaps a victim of excess hype, but seemed slow. Did not pull me in. Not recommended.
Gangs of New York. (12/22/02). Too long, too melodramatic. Tolerable, no more. Not recommended.
Maid in Manhattan. (12/17/02). Another borderline movie. Must be time to go to Hawaii. Lopez is charismatic; Fiennes is not. She carries the movie to recommended territory, barely.
Drumline. (12/16/02). Light, short movie about college band competitions in Atlanta. Best seen on DVD or at bargain night. Not recommended.
Spirited Away. (12/12/02). Very pleasant animated film from Japan. The technical animation was not overwhelming; the story and the details were better than expected. Recommended.
The Emporer's Club. (12/9/02). Goal was to avoid being a cheesy schoolmaster movie. Fails despite interesting plot twists. Not recommended.
Die Another Day. (12/7/02). One of the better recent Bond films. One or two vulgar lines not up to snuff, car chases too long (again). Why has our favorite spy hero been playing 40 years now? Have we no adequate replacement? Recommended.
Solaris. (12/6/02). Not a bad film but it did not work for me. Poorly lit, moved slow, neglible special effects. Perhaps I was too tired when I saw it. Not recommended.
8 Mile. (12/1/02). Hmmm. This movie was much better than I expected it to be. Not for a mainstream audience but if you are open minded, it is a good movie. Recommended.
The Ring. (11/30/02). If you like horror movies, this is a very good one. I don't. Not recommended.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (11/19/02). Fine. Long. Better be well rested.
The Transporter. (11/11/02). Over the top. Not recommended.
The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat). (11/01/02). I walked out after an hour and later learned it is a 3 hour film. How can that be? Boring, unrealistic, simplistic, whatever, it did not connect with me. Not recommended.
The Bourne Identity. (10/25/02). Viewed in newly opened megaplex in suburban mall in Lubljana, Slovenia. Finest movie theatre to date. Stadium seating, huge screen, two aisles, assigned seats (followed by crowd), large flat area between closest seat and screen. Audience enters from back/top and goes down to seat, then exits at bottom into lower floor of mall. Previews and commercials, no nudity. $4. Second viewing of film. See below.
About a Boy. (10/18/02). Megaplex theatre in top two floors of West End Plaza in Budapest, Hungary. Nicest/fanciest shopping mall I have ever been in. Stadium seating, one aisle up middle, large screen, excellent sound. Assigned seats faithfully obeyed by large crowd. Commercials and previews began running before start time, no nudity. Under $5. Enjoyed film thanks to Hugh Grant and script. Recommended.
Triple X (XXX). (10/16/02). Viewed in theatre off town square in old part of Krakow, Poland. Seating only slightly elevated, large but older screen, new and excellent sound system. $3 for first run film. Assigned seating ignored by all. No previews or advertisements. Overall very good theatre. Film itself aims to be a B movie James Bond film and does not quite succeed. Good that it was filmed in Prague, where I had just been. Recommended for young only.
Minority Report. (10/8/02). Viewed in megaplex theatre at Potsdammer Platz in Berlin, Germany. Stadium seating, single aisle up middle, assigned seats. State of the art movie theatre. Before movie, numerous advertisements (including frontal nudity for household product) and previews. Movie itself was disappointing, too controverted, shameless product placements. A flashy downer of a movie. Not recommended.
Sunshine State. (10/4/02). Typical John Sayles movie, good cast, 30 minutes too long. Recommended if nothing better is playing.
Sweet Home Alabama. (10/3/02). Light, escapist fluff which worked for me. Recommended.
Signs. (10/2/02). Genuinely suspenseful albeit long. Recommended.
The Road to Perdition. (9/8/02). I spent much of the movie wondering if Tom Hanks was miscast. He was not. Interesting, contains a classic showdown scene. Recommended but dark.
Spider-man. (7/9/02). This movie has already grossed over $400 million so my opinion is more superfluous than usual. It owes its success to the comic book franchise and to Tobey Maguire. Enjoyed it.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (7/8/02). Funniest movie of the year so far. Not serious like "Monsoon Wedding" below. Highly recommended.
The Bourne Identity. (6/19/02). Stylish entertaining movie. I liked the book decades ago; I like the movie, too. It drew me in, kept me there, and showed me a lot of Europe. Recommended.
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. (6/13/02). It was odd to be the only male in an audience of over 100 on a weekday night. More odd to see a movie about a family more dysfunctional than my own (extended). My youngest daughter called this "the ultimate chick flick." I agree.
Monsoon Wedding. (4/29/02). Serious look at some important questions with cultural spices added to the mix. Highly recommended.
Changing Lanes. (4/12/02). Close but recommended if your expectations are not too high.
High Crimes. (4/11/02). Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman are good; the movie is not.
Kissing Jessica Stein. (4/9/02). Despite a sound track so bad I almost walked out early, I liked this movie a lot. Very New York with Woody Allen touches. Essentially a good romantic comedy. Recommended.
Safar e Ghandehar (Kandahar). (4/4/02). For as famous as this film about women in Afghanistan is, it is surprisingly flawed. Stretched in length past the breaking point, it is educational and visually memorable. Optional.
Showtime. (4/01/02). True, it does not live up to the potential of its cast. But it is good bargain night fare. No more.
The Time Machine. (4/01/02). Good premise realized in mediocre fashion. See it later on DVD.
The Rookie. (3/31/02). Very good baseball movie. Nice and simple. Does not require a big screen.
E.T. 20th. (3/27/02). Apparently if one knows the plot, this film loses its appeal. The new effects add nothing. Dated. Not recommended if you have seen it before.
Iris. (3/26/02). Who in their right mind would make a movie about a person descending into Alzheimer's? This movie is well acted but almost unendurable. It teaches little about the main character. Avoid.
Lantana. (3/21/02). Very good film. Perhaps most appealing if you are middle aged. Recommended.
We Were Soldiers. (3/17/02). Of all the recent war movies, only Blackhawk Down (below) rivals this. Very well done but will ruin your day. Your choice whether to see it.
Hart's War. (3/6/02). Well acted but overly contrived and melodramatic. Miss it.
Count of Monte Cristo. (2/19/02). Old-fashioned earnest effort marred by excess length. Recommended.
Monster's Ball. (2/12/02). If you can get by the wildly grim plot, this dark film is strangely uplifting. Very well acted by both leads. Recommended.
In the Bedroom. (2/11/02). Somewhat slow, grim, acceptable. More impressed with Tom Wilkinson than Spacek. Recommended.
Blackhawk Down. (2/5/02). Absorbing. Recommended.
The Man Who Wasn't There. (1/31/02). Black and white change of pace, if you are in the mood. 10 minutes too long.
The Royal Tenenbaums. (1/16/02). God awful. Flat as a pancake.
The Majestic. (1/14/02). If this movie was half as long, I could recommend it. Barely.
Gosford Park. (1/11/02). Very pleasant. Poor sound.
Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring. (1/8/02). Very well made and very, very long chase movie. Good sound.
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