MOVIES

When Ed loses a fixed card game to Harry "Hatchet" Lonsdale, he and his friends need to come up with half a million pounds to stay alive. L0CK, ST0CK, AND TW0 SM0KING BARRELS is an exciting ride through the rough streets of London. Ed, Soap, Bacon, and Tom have only a week to come up with the money so they devise a plan to rob the thieves next-door that are going to steal money from some drug dealers. This plan seems brilliant and nearly foolproof, but, of course, something will go wrong. Another twist is thrown in when Tom obtains two rare shotguns that are stolen for Harry. Things seem disastrous for the four boys when the week is up and their neighbors, Harry, as well as the drug dealers are after them. This movie is a funny and clever thrill ride that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat until the very end. The storyline, at first, seems to be four or five separate stories, but they tie-in nicely as the film progresses. The cinematography is unique; it gives the viewer a better feeling of the life in London and makes the viewer feel as if they are a part of the action. With great action and comedic dialogue this movie is definitely worth seeing.

As the triumphant start of a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings, but this robust adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)--who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing special effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure. Ending on a perfect note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation, this wondrous fantasy continues in The Two Towers (2002).

The film is about a 200-year-old vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), who tells his story to a reporter (Christian Slater) in contemporary San Francisco. After his human existence as a widowed Louisiana plantation owner is ended in 1791 by the vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise), Louis has a hard time adjusting to life as a neck-biter. He's a vampire with a soul, and he doesn't like taking human lives. Still, a vampire can exist only so long on the blood of rats and poodles, and Louis eventually follows Lestat's example. Things become somewhat more pleasant when Lestat presents Louis with a(companion, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a 6-year-old Louis grows to love as a daughter. Questions and bitterness lead to tragedy and a search that leads to Europe and back to the New World. Anyone who gets hung up on the gore in this film isn't getting the point. So let's spell it out - e-r-o-t-i-c-i-s-m. This is the definitive example of why vampirism is a metaphor for sex, and, frankly, it couldn't have come in a better-looking package.