MOVIES!

ALEX'S CURRENT TOP 20:

1.

Cast: Bruce Wills, Toni Collette, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams. Director: M. Night Shyamalan/ Dr. Malcolm Crowe ( Bruce Willis ) is a successful child therapist. One night he meets a former patient of his again. Crowe couldn´t help Vincent ( Donnie Wahlberg ) when he was a child and destroyed his life. A few months later Crowe gets a new patient, his name is Cole Sear ( Haley Joel Osment ) who has a similiar problem. The therapist sees in him his second chance and tries to find out the boy´s secret. All his attention is for this boy, which is not good for the relationship between him and his wife Anna ( Olivia Williams ) who get more and more separated. Crowe finds out what Cole´s problem is: He sees dead people and is afraid because of that. It´s hard to believe for Malcolm and he hopes that he can help Cole, leaves... -Extraordinary masterpiece of modern cinema ! Exciting, perfect acting and a great direction. DONT MISS IT!

2.

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr Director: Mimi Leder/ Trevor McKinney ( amazing: Haley Joel Osment ) is a normal boy, he likes rock music, sports and is good in school. Trevor lives with his mother Arlene ( Helen Hunt ) in a little house, his father ( Jon Bon Jovi ) left the family when he was younger. Arlene has two jobs to give her son a good life. But the relationship between both is not the best, Arlene has an alcohol problem, and Trevor is strongly against his mother because of that. On his first day in the junior High School, Trevor gets homework from his social teacher Eugene Simonet ( Kevin Spacey ): "Try to change the world" Mr. Simonet just wanted to make his students thinking about that but Trevor takes it serious and tries to bring that theoretical homework in life action. He tries to help three people with something difficult and those three people have to help another three, and those have to help the next three people etc... But Trevor has to recognize that this easy plan is harder then he expected, first he wants to help a homeless man ( James Caviezel ), but this guy has a drug problem from which he cannot get away. Then Trevor tries to help Arlene to get a better life and go away from her alcoholism, he wants to couple her with his teacher Eugene, but this is impossible, because Eugene cannot come close to a woman, he has a very dark past and his body is halfburned... though Arlene falls in love with him he let no woman in his life... - Amazing movie, the story is not the best, but if you concentrate on the characters and acting of the three amazing leading actors you will love this movie, and prepare for a very sad ending...

3.

Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantaliano Director: Christopher Nolan All what you say about this movie is too much, because then it loses on geniality. That´s why I wont write much about it, just see it and live for two hours the life of Lenny ( Guy Pearce ) who has a very big problem: He forgets everything after 15 minutes because of an accident he had. The movie starts with the end of the story and is told backwards, it shows how Lenny searches the murderer of his wife and the only help he has are tatoos of his body where he has written some information he already got... - Because of the strange storytelling of the movie you totally go into the leading character. Interesting journey into the soul of a man with just one more lifeaim: to find and kill the murderer of his wife... inspired movie with a surprising ending, don´t miss 2 minutes of it, because then you missed the whole thing!

4.

Cast: John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, William H. Macy Director: Paul Thomas Anderson The movie tells the story of eight people with soulish problem who have all something to do with each other. There is Linda Partridge ( Julianne Moore ) who married her husband for money, and just finds the love for her much older husband Earl ( Jason Robards ) when he is dying. She doesn´t want to accept that he gives her all his money because she cheated him and made his name bad behind his back. Then we meet Frank T.J. MacKay ( amazing: Tom Cruise) he host a macho show for TV where he talks very rude about women and relationships between men and women, but also he has something on his soul from what he has to lose. We meet Jim ( truly amazing: John C. Reilly ), a single cop who wants to have a wife and family but no luck with women. Then he meets Claudia, a drug using woman ( Melora Walters ) with whom he falls in love from the very first moment he sees her. Claudia hates her father Jimmy Gator ( Phillip Baker Hall) a quizshow host, for some reason which we find out later, Jimmy has cancer and wont live long anymore, so he wants to come together with his daughter again. One of the participants of that quizshow is Stanley ( Jeremy Blackman ) a twelve year old boy who is pushed by his father (Michael Bolton ) to learn and win that show, which means fast honor for Stanley and a lot of money for his father. We meet Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), a former quizkid winner who is now a loser and works as an assistant in an electronic store. He is fired but needs money for braces with which he want to impress a male barkeeper with whom he is in love with. - Amazing character movie, it´s great how the director put the stories together and the way he tells them. Great music, great actors who give all their bests! Dramatic yes, sometimes, but you watch it always with a little smile.

5.

Cast: Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, Director: Barry Levinson/ Joe Blake ( Bruce Willis ) and Terry Collins ( Billy Bob Thornton ) are two intelligent bank robbers who break out of jail. They are the perfect couple, Joe is the strong macho type of guy who does everything without big planings but always succeeds, Terry is the brain of the couple, he has a lot of phobias and paranoias but he thinks about every step of their plans. After the break through Joe and Terry become famous as the "sleepover" bandits because they kidnap the bankrobber the night before the robbery, sleep in his house, eat from his table and go then the next morning very relaxed with him to the bank and let him open the safe for them. Everything is perfect until Terry "accidentally" kidnaps the very perky housewife Kate Wheeler ( Cate Blanchett ) ( or she kidnaps him... well watch and judge yourself :P ) Kate is unhappy with her life and wants to join the couple and... Joe and Terry both fall in love with her and Kate starts a relationship with both... - One of the funniest movies I´ve ever seen Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton were never better, the music is great, the atmosphere is great and the ending simply brilliant, loved every second of it!!! Take some attention at the kitchen scene with Cate Blanchett, this is a classic ;-)

6.

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper- Director Sam Mendes/ Lester Burnham ( Kevin Spacey ) hates his life, his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) doesn´t take notice of him, his daughter (Thora Birch) hates him and he loses his job. But everything changes when he meets the best friend of his daughter, Angela (Mena Suvari) who tries to act like a Lolita. He falls in love with her and is totally obsessed with her, until now he thinks everything is better, he starts to build a new life where everybody can kiss his ass, and he really enjoys it.... But will it really be better? - Director Sam Mendes shows us the background of the perfect American family, very funny, cynical, ironic and dramatic. Great actors starting with Kevin Spacey who has given one of the best performances ever, Annette Bening as the frustrated wife is awesome, and also the young actors, especially Thora Birch, and Wes Bently shine... A classic which won 5 well deserved Oscars.

7.

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough - Director: Steven Spielberg/ A milestone in film history and special effects: The rich John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) invites two paleontologists, Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), a mathematician, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and a lawyer (Martin Ferrero) to an island on which he has created a dinosaur park with cloned REAL dinosaurs. Grant and Sattler should make a tour through the park and give the ok to open it if everything is okay, but it won't be okay, after a big thunderstorm and a sabotage of one of the Park wardens (Wayne Knight), Hammond loses the control over the park, the fences loses energy and the dinosaurs break out... and they are hungry and in the mood of hunting, now everything what counts is to leave the island.. alive....The movie is based on a novel by Michael Chricton, Spielberg created a milestone of the horror movie genre and had done with this movie one of the most succsesful movies ever ( when it came out it actually WAS the most successful movie ), most of the dinosaurs were created by CGI and it came to a revolution of all special effects. Great images, good story, great actors, awesome music and great action makes this movie a masterpiece!

8.

Cast: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Cherry Jones / Director: M.Night Shyamalan/ Graham Hess is an ex priest who lives with his two children ( Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin ) on a farm. When his wife ( Patricia Kalembar ) died in a car accident he qited his job as priest and became a farmer. His brother Merril ( Joaquin Phoenix ) moved to the farm to help his brother. One day Hess finds some corn circles in his fields, first he thinks that this is the work of some farmer "enemies" but his son and also his brother is very sure that this is from outa space. Graham doesn´t believe that, until he meets one of the invators... Very realisitc movie how it really would be if we are visited by bad aliens one day, without any explotions and cheap effects. You mean you are in the middle of everything and leave the cinema totally scared. Thumbs up! 9.

Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine - Director Jonathan Demme/ With this movie we are introduced to the probably most meanest and crulest killer in movie history: Hannibal, The Cannibal, Lecter (Anthony Hopkins ), Cannibal because he eats the dead bodies of the people he kills. Lecter is arrested in a very very safe prison for years already. But now the FBI needs his help, another cruel murderer (Ted Levine) kills women and cuts the skin from their bodies. The FBI wants Lecter to analyze him and with his analysis they hope to find him. FBI operator Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) sends green horn Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to interview Lecter. It is her first big job at this business and she has no abilities. Lecter is amazed by her and starts to play a little game with her, he wants to enter her psyche, he wants to know her fears and her sadness. If she tells him something of her life and childhood, he will tell her about the murderer and his next steps, Clarice joins the game and has to live through her terrible childhood again, what she doesn't know is, that Lecter already knows who the killer is and just wants to play a game with Clarice...Amazing and dark direction, the movie is based on Thomas Harris novel, one of the most successful bestsellers ever, the movie got five Oscars, including Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins for their great acting and the little psycho-duel they do. A milestone in the thriller genre which everybody should have seen, at least once.

10.

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd - Director Stanley Kubrick/ I shouldn´t say too much about the movie because a bit is already too much, just maybe the ground story: Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) starts a job as the housekeeper of a hotel during a cold winter in Colorado. Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd) move into the very big and empty hotel for over the winter, but already after one month they realize that the hotel isn´t empty at all, mysterious things are going on there, and Jack becomes moodier and moodier.... Amazing atmosphere, it´s THE horror movie in film history, Jack Nicholson lives in his part and he was the best choice Kubrick could have made, the audience loved it (mostly) but many critics did not, for reasons I don´t know. Another guy who didn´t like it at all was Stephen King who wrote the novel which is based on that movie, well it´s a typical Kubrick and we all know he always went his very own way.

11.