Bruce Willis does more than doff his I am a real actor hat in this chilling tale of suspense and mystery involving the dead who don't know that they are dead. Haley Joel Osment (Young Forrest Gump) stars as an 8 year old boy is Willis's patient with the terrifying secret. This movie can only be experienced as it has on of those truly unique endings that can't be talked about without ruining the film. But I will say this, it is a different kind of scary, but runs on a par with The Blair Wit roject. A little bit slow in parts, accounting for the non full 5 star rating. Don't miss out.
To even try to summarize this brilliant film would do it injustice on many levels. In today's world too many directors try to establish box office over substance by using a big name actor and a cast of leftovers e.g. Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Instead of taking that route, first time film director casts the ever impressive Kevin Spacey with perennial good girl Annette Bening, both in Oscar worthy roles along side up and comers Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and character actors Chris Cooper, Scott Bakula, and Peter Gallagher. Basically, Kevin Spacey's character decides he wants his daughters best friend as a mistress and goes through smoe life changing experiences in the process, including working out and quitting his job. Oh and there are gay neighbors, a military family with a psycho father, a pot selling son and distant mother. All the worlds kind of collide into one breathtaking look at life in any given American suburb, where, given the world we live in today, all of the events that take place could certainly easily be happening. Look for this movie to pick up at least 5 Oscar nominations including Best Actor and Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. Forget Star Wars, this is the must see movie of the year.
Yes that's right folks, Oliver Stone fails to tell the story of football on the silver screen and wastes brilliant performances from a ruthless Cameron Diaz and a washed up (or is he?) Al Pacino. Case in point, the players are being referred to as warriors and gladiators as the movie Ben Hur plays in the background. Later, Charlton Heston of Ben Hur appears as commissioner of the football league. We don't need to be beaten upside the head to get the point Mr. Stone. Oh and we get the idea that they have locker rooms in football. We don't need to see a man's penis on screen for a full 3 seconds gratuitously to get the idea.
A twisted and incredibly delicious take on Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame idea. This is everything Quentin Tarantino wishes he had been. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and of course, John Malkovich star in Spike Jonze's directorial debut. The concept is that you can slip inside the head of John Malkovich's head, quite literally, through a secret tunnel on the 7 1/2 story of a building in which Cusack works. The visuals are very interesting, expecially when Malkovich discovers whats happening and goes into his own self. Not a priority film but defintely recommended.
Robin Williams returns as the sentimal funnyman in a sappy, occasionally whimsical film about a Robot who yearns to be more normal and eventually turns human with the help of scientist Oliver Platt. Sam Neill is the original owner of One the robot, later named Andrew. The film spans 200 years and feels about 3 hours even though it barely runs 2 hours in length. Die hard Williams fans should see it as it will be his last foray into film for sometime as he is currently trying to rediscover himself onstage.
From the producers of Big Daddy. Need I say more. Rob Schneider is making copies, imitating a male gigolo to raise money for a dead fish that he killed while house sitting it. While he Man whores, comedy ensues (barely) with women of odd shapes and sizes. Oh yeah and he gots some hot girl to like him. The End. Can u say USA up all night?
From the opening jokes about the platypus, to the running jokes about John Hughes movies, Kevin Smith has created another inventively funny movie with a great cast. Two outcast angels, (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) use a loophole in the bible try to get back into Heaven, which will consequently wipe out existence since God cannot be wrong. Alan Rickman is the voice of God, Chris Rock is the 13th disciple (left out of the bible cuz he was black), Salma Hayek is the muse, Linda Fiorentino the chosen one, oh and Jay and Silent Bob are her guides. really good writing with some sloppy directin but its forgiveable, this is a comedy afterall. Oh yeah its a biblical satire, it's supposed to be funny, don't get offended.
Arnold Scwarzenneger returns to the big screen with a very good ensemble cast to see who will win in a battle between good and evil. Only in this movie the good isnt all that good, and the evil is truly evil. Gabriel Byrne makes for an excellent Satan, casually offing people, Kevin Pollak is Arnie's sidekick, and Rod Steiger the priest who protects the girl who is supposed to be Satan's bride to let loose the coven of hell and end life as we know it. If only it had ended so much better than it did cuz it had such a great buildup, only to fall flat at the end.
The ultimate film for fans of Star Trek featuring Tim Allen in a faux Shatner role, and Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Tony Shalhoub round out the cast as has been actors recruited to battle a real live alien force in outer space. Think Three Amigos in Space, only funnier. If you have even a passing interest in Star Trek or Star Wars, or if you know somone who is really into the genre this is a great film to see. No Oscar's to be given out here, just laugh out loud funny.
Tom Hanks is at it again, going for an Oscar nomination he won't get, but Michael Clarke Duncan as the prisoner with the gift to perform miracles will. Basically, the Green Mile is death row, so known for the green tiled floors. An inmate (Duncan) is brought in on heinous charges, tormented by a guard, cared for by another, oh and he brings back mice from the dead. It's from Frank Darabonte who brought us the Shawshank Redemption, also from a Stephen King story. It most certainly is a movie worth seeing, but is NOT the best picture of the year, and a grisly electrocution scene might be unwatchable for some.
Barry Levinson is a master film maker. He truly knows what he is doing. This doesnt necessarily mean that what he does will turn into a gem onscreen, but give him a story to tell and he will do it eloquently, gracefully, and add all the right bits of "stuff" needed to make the experience enjoyable. Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth star as Jewish parents living in Liberty Heights area of Baltimore, Maryland in the 1950's where words like coloreds, Jews, and Negroes were spoken freely with ignorance, not necessarily contempt. The film, told with a series of narrations, mostly from the youngest son Ben (Ben Foster) about growing up jewish there during the time that segregation was ending, and people were starting to come together. Or so it was theoried when the laws were put into place. The very concept of Liberty never existed, racism reigned high everywhere, blacks hating whites, whites hating blacks, jews hating gentiles and vice versa. Ben epitomed what desegregation was supposed to represent, as he dated a black girl, rocked with James Brown, and refused to slight her, even at gunpoint. And of course as a result, everytime he tried something new he was ridiculed, punished, or beaten back. I once heard an African American kid in a class say that being African American and being gay were completely different and no comparison between the two could possibly be drawn. The funny thing is that the gay rights movement is fighting for the same things African Americans fought for in their Civil Right's movement, just as Women fought for equal rights before them. The movie is a pleasant reminder of how unpleasant we were, but also allows us to reflect on how we developed as a society and that we can look forward to al being more humane to everyman regardless of every minor detail we might not like about each other. Liberty Heights? the Heights of Liberty? Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but I'd like to think I'm not. A little slow at times, but I still recommend it.
Love him or hate him Andy Kaufman is a sparkle in the eye of the nation, even now 20 years after his death as Milos Forman recreates Andy with the help of Jim Carrey, oddly born the same day as Kaufman. But as this is more of a chronolgical telling of his high points, its more an impression than an acting job for Carrey. Someone let me know when he steps over into Robin Williams territory and I might care. If you like Kaufman, see the movie, if you didn't don't, It's that simple.
Luc Besson returns to direct anohter sweeping epic that was about 30 minutes too long with a not so greatly cast Milla Jovovich in the title role. Ok, so she gets blessed by God, has visions and hears voices, then rides around on a white horse and screams alot. This film really needed to be edited better, and is saved by a strong supporting cast featring John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, and Dustin Hoffman. However with all of the movies set to be released, look for this one to fall to the bottom quickly.
Lola runs throught the city three times in 20 minutes to attempt to bail out her bf who inadvertently lost a whole lotta drug money. In the spirit of Sliding Doors, this foreign flick allows Lola three chances to go through the motions, with minor things changing what happens each time through the story. There really isnt much to it other than that, but it is a very interesting look at how teh inor things in life could change who we are and how are days will evolve. Look for this to show up in the Best Foreign Film category come Oscar time.
Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp to Danny Elfman's haunting score to an effort less than Edward Scissorhands, but still a good movie all the same, although it is exceedingly bloody, severed heads and all. Depp is Constable Ichabod Crane sent to sleepy hollow to find and stop the headless horseman (Christopher Walken) from killing again. Christina Ricci is the love interest and the rest of the ensemble cast falls into place quite nicely. The effects look good, the sets are spooky and Casper Van Dien dies the best death in the movie.
Borrowing entirely from the Annie story, Geena Davis and Michael J. Fox headline a cast of character actors in an overly cute family movie that atempts to break into Toy Story territory by entertaining kids with images and adults with jokes. Use of the words Hell and Damn colored this otherwsie wholesome story, although for being a story about a mouse, there was too much of Nathan Lane as Snowbell the cat.
Matt Damon returns to the screen as a murdering necrophilia having homosexual pursuing Jude Law to get him to come home to his daddy. unil he realizes that being a fake somebody is better than being a real nobody. I don't want to say much because I don't want to give anything away. Just be prepared to be taken on a rather gut wrenching trip of twists turns and seemingly unescapable situations. A gutsy chiller form the director of the English Patient. Co-Stars, Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The rest of the world may think the sequel to be better than the first, but lets face it, this movie is almost identical to the first in form. This time it's Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) who rescues Woody (Tom Hanks) form the clutches of Al of Al's Toy Barn, after Al stole Woody. In keeping with the sequel tradition, more characters are added with celebrity voices including Kelsey Grammer and Joan Cusack. TS2 is a fun ride, but don't expect it to be better than the first.