My recent mini reviews, here just for you. Some good rental ideas...maybe!
Updated February 3, 2005
This animated film is a great one, hopefully destined to become a Christmas classic. A boy reaches the difficult age where he stops believing in Santa Claus. That night, before Christmas he is taken on a magical train ride and meets a host of amazing people.
The animation is very interesting. It's very lifelike, and yet it isn't. I enjoyed watching the humans in this movie, but more than that, I enjoyed the adventure along the way.
There are thrills and chills along the way, including a rollercoaster like ride and a friendly ghost.
A great movie for the young at heart.
Denzel Washington plays John Creasy, a man on his way down, who is hired to be a bodyguard for a young girl in Mexico. Although he doesn't want to, he starts to like the child, Peta, and when she is kidnapped it causes him to start a war against crooked cops and the kidnappers.
I enjoyed this film, however, viewers in Japan should note that the Spanish lines in this movie are subtitled only in Japanese. It's not a problem if you understand Spanish, but for those of us who don't...oh dear. It is very violent, but most of the violence is understandable but still quite gruesome.
Worth a look if you like Denzel. His portrayal of a man with little to live for is as always, spot on.
Okay, this is a silly movie. But, it's quite entertaining too, if you check your brain at the door. Meek and mild Patience (Berry) is killed and then brought back to life as Catwoman. She avenges herself and has fun with her new superpowers along the way.
If there had been a better story there could have been a new superhero/villain in town, but this one will probably be a one-off. It's too bad, as Halle Berry is great as the feline who's as bad as she wants to be.
And, a big "Welcome Back" to Sharon Stone too. She's fabulous and sexy in this movie. It's too bad that she doesn't have a lot to do. Movie Producers take note....we want more Sharon Stone!
Tom Cruise plays the bad guy!
This is an exciting film. A nice guy taxi driver picks up a fare who offers to give him double his usual fee if he'll stay with him all night. The fare, Vincent (Cruise) is a contract killer and has to kill five people in the course of the evening. Jamie Foxx plays Max, the driver who tries to stop the killer.
Vincent and Max play a cat and mouse game during the evening and the choices that Max makes are interesting and realistic, and intelligent.
This is a great action movie with a quiet intelligence that sets it apart from usual films. Jaime Foxx is wonderful as Max. Definitely worth a trip to the video store!
A murder mystery set in Montreal, but using Quebec city as Montreal. Angelina Jolie stars as an FBI agent who helps the Canadian police deal with a serial killer.
It's a bit silly, but there are some genuine chills in the film and it was quite entertaining. See it if you like Angelina or Quebec City! (But not if you are pregnant!)
M. Night Shymalian's latest movie seems to divide audiences. You either love it or you hate it. I rather liked it for the truthfulness of the romance between the two main characters.
Yes, there is a twist, and yes I did guess what it was, but I still enjoyed the process of getting there. See it if you like the actors or the director/writer.
Part of the joy of Shrek was the originality of the story and the surprise factor of the jokes. This sequel suffers a bit from sequelitis...it's just not as good. Oh, the jokes are funny, the movie spoofs are fast and furious, the story is fun, but there is a definite comedown from the original. Even the new character of Puss in Boots just wasn't as great as he could be.
I recommend this movie if you enjoyed the first one, but don't expect it to be better than Shrek. It isn't. Still, fun for everyone if it interests you.
Finally, the real Spiderman movie appears! Sam Raimi's second attempt at Spidey pays off big time. This is a perfect summer movie, and it delivers thrills, laughs and a few tears along the way. Tobey Maguire manages to fill out the costume well on this outing, and the villain, Doc Ock, is much better than the Green Goblin. There's a great story here too, as Peter Parker retires his Spiderman half due to too much pressure in his life, but of course must come back to save the day, and the girl. If you are a Spiderman fan, you have to see this film!
Harry is back with his third adventure and it's a humdinger. The film is much shorter than the other two films, but it's still over 2 hours long. If you've read the book, you know the story....a dangerous criminal has escaped from Azkaban and is probably trying to kill Harry. Harry is having a difficult year at school though. He can't leave the school grounds because he didn't get permission from his Muggle uncle before coming to school. And, the school is being guarded by the Dementors, joy sucking black robed beings that seem to have a special attraction to Harry. The story moves very quickly, maybe too quickly as many of the wonderful scenes or characters from the book are eliminated or given short shrift. However, it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the film very much and I'm already looking forward to number 4.
Saw this when I was back in Canada in early May.
I've been waiting for a long time to see Van Helsing and I was expecting good things. Oh dear. It's fun, the David Wenham character especially, but supremely silly. Van Helsing plays a man under papal orders to kill or redeem various monsters that plague the world. That may be a worthy cause, but in this movie Van Helsing has to deal with Mr Hyde (who may be the Hunchback of Notre Dame), the Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster, and Dracula. Dracula is an especially nasty character. He's trying to figure out how to bring his offspring to life. Hint....storms, lightning and a secret ingredient.
There are some amazing set pieces in this movie, but it somehow never convinced me that Van Helsing was in a lot of danger. I enjoyed it, and Hugh Jackman did a good job of looking heroic, but it's just not as good as I was expecting. Worth a shot if you like movie monsters though!
Although I don't recommend this film, I don't hate it as much as the usual critics do. It's not great and if you want to see it, I'd wait until it's on video. Basically the story revolves around some fictional superheroes of yore trying to save the world with their unique abilities....Nemo with his submarine, Dorian Grey with his invincibility, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-brains and brawn, Mina Harker-vampirism, etc. It's a bit silly, but all in all not so terrible. This one should be seen at home on video if there's nothing better at the theatre!
A film about a conman with a guilt complex. This is a very interesting and funny story. It's well worth seeing in a theatre. It's not quite in the league of The Grifters, but it is an enjoyable movie. Cage's quirkiness works well here.
A little gem of a film. This movie from New Zealand is quite probably the best film that I have seen this year(2003). And I'm not saying that lightly.
A baby girl is born into a Maori community, but there is no rejoicing. Her mother and twin brother died. He was destined to be the chief of the tribe. The girl, Pai, grows up, raised by her grandparents, a loving grandmother and a gruff grandfather. The grandfather is the chief of the community and he sets about trying to find the new leader of the tribe. The training sessions are fun to watch, but serious too. Pai is excluded from training because she is a girl. However, she trains on her own, with some help from her family and friends.
This story is not in anyway a "Hollywood" movie, which is it's strength. It's utterly believeable and truly engaging. Don't miss this film, take your daughters to see it!
A good little action movie about a team of S.W.A.T. officers in LA. The film follows "a typical day in the life of" the officers. They risk their lives every day, for low pay and the chance to get shot. The action was mostly believable, which lately is different from the majority of movies around. By chance, an international criminal is arrested in LA and offers $100 million dollars to anyone that will break him out of police custody. Some people are foolish enough to try and S.W.A.T. must stop them.
The only quibble that I have with this film is that it showed, or appeared to show a police officer getting into her vehicle after drinking. Does this mean that she drove herself home, or that she slept in her car? That was one feature of the film that I was uncomfortable with.
It was an enjoyable movie and I finally got to see why Colin Farrell is touted as "the next big thing". He's got an interesting screen presence. The other actors are equally good. I liked LL Cool J as the married policeman, and Michelle Rodriguez as the female SWAT officer.
If you want to see a cop movie that treats police as good guys, with believable action, then this is the film for you. See it!
An enjoyable movie that is actually a lot of hokum, if you think about it. Lara Croft finds a submerged temple and is in the process of "rescuing" a glowing orb, when she is attacked by bad guys. They take the orb, and Lara is in hot pursuit. It turns out that the globe is a map to the Cradle of Life, where all life began. Huh? She chases the globe through China and Hong Kong before she finds it and figures out what to do with it. For some reason, giving the globe to the proper authorities never seems to cross her mind.
Lara ends up in Africa with the bad guys in hot pursuit. She survives "Shadow People" and finds the Cradle of Life. Wa hoo. Was there any doubt? Well, no.
However, the film was fast paced...thanks no doubt to Jan de Bont (Speed)... and enjoyable on a "how did they do that?" level. The stunts were exciting and the story, as it was, passes the watch test. If you are interested in the stars, director or story, go ahead. If not, wait for something else!
Ang Lee's take on the comic book character Hulk is great. It's very different from the other comic book characters that have come out recently. For one small thing, the soundtrack doesn't feature heavy metal music. It's a quiet, measured movie about a man with a curse. For a large part of the film, he doesn't know what is happening to him and how it came to be. This is a film about nice people who are put in strange situations. As an aside, it is also interesting to have two very gravelly voiced men playing the fathers. If you are a fan of the comic, or the genre, give it a try. Much more interesting than Daredevil.
A dumb and dumber movie about the fast and dirty worlds of street racing and drug smuggling. It's a teenage boy's wet dream, but not mine. Almost a complete waste of time. One line was memorable..."Are you going to do some of that Dukes of Hazzard sh**?" If you like cars or racing or half naked men or women it might be okay...otherwise, avoid.
A pirate movie based on a Disneyland ride...Errol Flynn would be turning over in his grave! Still, this is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and as such, is a lot of fun. The heroes of this movie, Captain Jack Sparrow, played with extreme goofiness by Johnny Depp, and Will Turner (Bloom) engage in sword fights, derring do and exciting rescues. It's an interesting time at the movies. The special effects are rather good too. The best thing about this film, excluding the sword fights, has to be Johnny Depp's performance as a pirate.
Sparrow, the former captain of the Black Pearl, was marrooned by his crew. They went on to find some cursed treasure and were doomed to sail the seas until they returned it. Sparrow just wants his ship back and revenge on Barbarosa (Rush). There is a love story along the way too, between the Governor's daughter and Will Turner, a blacksmith and son of a pirate.
If the story or cast piques your interest, see it. Enjoyable!
Quentin Tarantino is back after a long delay and he's badder than ever! This is a violent film, but the majority of the violence is done with a comic effect, so it never seems quite as bad as it is. Tarantino ventures into anime and proves that he can use many genres to tell his stories. Sadly for this reviewer half of this film was in Japanese. Since the version in Japan is different from the one in North America, there aren't any subtitles. However, it still makes sense in an odd sort of way! It's big, it's brash and it's very over the top, but it's pure Quentin...and thank heaven for that! If you're a fan, see it!
Another film starring Colin Farrell! Just what the world needs, right? Yes! This is a humdinger of a suspense film. Colin Farrell plays a publicist who steps into a phone booth to make a call. The problem happens when he tries to step out of the phone booth. He receives a call from a sniper who tells him that if he hangs up the telephone, he'll be killed. The rest of the story involves many twists and turns, but it's all very exciting. Not for those with claustrophobia! Smart and well worth an afternoon at the movies.
The finale to the Matrix films is a disappointment. It's exciting to watch, but while it ties up the loose ends, seems too mechanical to really engage the audience. The visuals are wonderful, but there are no new surprises like "bullet time" (The Matrix) or the amazing car chase in Reloaded. It's worth seeing because well, it's the Matrix and you have to see the end, but by far, the weakest of the three films.
A sweet movie about love. A group of friends go through various falling in love routines, and a few falling out of love routines! This is very much an ensemble movie, and a sweet natured one. There were times when I was laughing hysterically and other times when tears were welling up. Good acting, a lot of fun. Worth taking a date to!
This is an interesting time waster, but that's all it is. There's some nonsense about a time machine and people being sent back in time to rescue an archeologist. I especially liked all the anti-English jokes. It's quite exciting, if you don't think about it much. I've heard the book is better, but I haven't read it personally.
Clint Eastwood's latest film is a do-not-miss treat. This story of the intertwining lives of 3 men, childhood friends is believable, real and fascinating. One of the boys is victimized by pedophiles, and the other boys feel guilty in their inability to help him.
Flash forward 30 years. The men are still nodding acquaintances, one's a policeman, one's a store owner with "connections" and the other is still haunted by his past. The daughter of one of the men is murdered an event which brings all three together again. Everything follows logically and there is only one conclusion that can be reached. The ending is sad and troublesome, but real.
This is a great film. The ensemble cast is great, and each performance is worth at least an Academy Award nomination. The music, which Eastwood wrote, fits this film perfectly. See this film!
This puzzling little tale blends a ghost story with a not-crazy-person-trapped-in-an-insane-asylum and almost manages to get away with it. Halle Berry plays a very talented psychiatrist who wakes up one day in her own asylum, accused of killing her husband. Is she really crazy, or is there something else going on? She sees and feels a presence at times, but is it her conscience or is it a ghost? It's very well done, and seems quite believable. Enjoyable if you like this sort of film.
I've never spent a lot of time around boats, being that I'm from landlocked Alberta. Maybe it's a good thing, because I felt a bit seasick watching this movie. This is a wonderful, historical action film. Russell Crowe is wonderful as "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, Captain of the Suprise. He must lead his men against a French ship that threatens to steal treasure from the English ships. The Acheron is a much faster, harder to damage ship, and the Surprise was badly damaged in their first skirmish.
Russell Crowe once again proves his mettle here. He is at once the strict commander and a father figure to the young officers. He's a friend to the ship's doctor too. The fighting scenes are chaotic and realistic. People take bullets, get cut with swords, and die. It's difficult to distinguish friend from foe.
This film is definitely worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of the leading actors or the director, Peter Weir. It's exciting and very interesting. See it...and take your sea sickness tablets with you!
This third entry in the Mariachi/Desperado trilogy is fun, violent and weird. It's not as good as the second movie, since Salma Hayek only has a small part in this film. When she's on-screen she seems to light up the whole film. Johnny Depp very nearly steals the movie from Antonio in this film, he's very over the top as an FBI agent. However, Antonio is the brooding, smoldering hero that we have come to expect from him. A lot of fun, see it if you want to see the end of the Desperado saga.
Well, the event of the year finally made it to Japan. Was it worth it? Yes! The Return of the King is a doozy of a movie. It has stirring battle scenes, heart-touching moments and comic moments. Sean Astin is especially good as Samwise in this film. Although I'm still not sure just what Liv Tyler is doing in this film I do think that this is a great time at the movies. However, it is long! It's over 3 and a half hours, so maybe don't have the large coke before the movie! Lots of fun.
Before the turn of the century, when Japan was attempting to open itself up and learn about the outside world, the Samurais tried to remind the Emperor of true honor, or so this movie claims. An American, Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), is hired to train the Japanese troops to fight against the Samurais, led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Nathan is captured by the Samurais during the first battle and is brought back to a tiny mountain community. He is held prisoner, not just by the Samurai, but by the memories he had of dishonorable battles that he took part in. He learns to admire and then take on some of the more admirable traits of the Samurai.
This is a very interesting film. It's well acted, particularly by Ken Watanabe and, it must be said, by Tom Cruise. The ending is a little too "Hollywood" however, which made me feel a little like there could be a sequel one day....The Second Last Samurai? No, not really! In all seriousness, I liked the movie, but should have left the theatre during the last big battle. Then, the film would have been more believable.
This delightful animated movie from Pixar is a winner. It tells the story of Nemo, a young fish who is "kidnapped" by a tropical fish lover, and the trials and tribulations that his father goes through to rescue him. His father, is aided and confused at times by Dory, well voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. It's an interesting story that adults can enjoy too. The animation is incredibly amazing! Great fun for all!
This is a long movie. It clocks in at just under 3 hours. Luckily, it is also quite a good movie, but not perfect.
Brad Pitt stars as Achilles, a lean mean fighting machine. He looks beautiful in this film, and is quite believable as the man who can't be beaten in a sword fight. He fights for King Agamemnon, but isn't really happy to fight for him. There's something missing in his life.
Paris of Troy falls in love with Helen, and invites her back to Troy. She goes and of course a big ol' war starts. You probably know the tale of old.
There are many battle scenes and they are all well shot and interesting to look at, but there is something missing in this film. Heart? Eric Bana plays Hector, the one "good" person in the film. When he is killed something happens to the film. It becomes less interesting.
Troy is enjoyable, the actors all do a good job and most of them look like they'd be able to fight with swords, but in a year which brought us Return of the King, this epic pales by comparison. If you are a fan of any of the major actors it might be worth a look, but it's just not in the same class as a film like Gladiator.
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