Critical MeMe

Time spent watching films, even crappy ones, is time well-spent.

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Location: Oklahoma City, OK, United States
    Post dates are when I watched, parenthetical dates are the year of US release (aka Oscar eligibility).

3/31/2003

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002)

Three half-hour snapshots of women in transition -- all of them mesmerizing. Only complaint is the occasional motion-sickness caused by the camera work. This, though, should be taken as a very minor complaint about an amazing film.

B+

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3/28/2003

The Man From Elysian Fields (2002)

It works. Romance, tearjerker, black comedy, drama…it's all here. One of the beautiful things about the script is that it contains no cinematic foil – no caricature that exists just to move the plot along. Each of these people is possible in life – their problems feel real and nearly inevitable.

A

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The Landlord (1970)

Thinks it's important, but it's actually just a boring, frustrating mess.

F

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3/26/2003

Femme Fatale (2002)

The camera work often got in the way of the storytelling. Romijn-Stamos is amateurish. Gratuitous nudity and sexual content abound. Just a messy, dirty muddle without a decent payoff. Oh -- it was all a dream...but a REAL dream. Yeah.

C-

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3/22/2003

Birthday Girl (2002)

Fast-moving little movie about lonely guy sending away for Russian bride who has an agenda of her own. Somewhat predictable, but that's not too much of a drawback as it doesn't dawdle and the leads are adorable.

B-

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3/20/2003

Kissing Jessica Stein (2002)

Very good story about a frustrated single girl answering a “woman seeking woman” personal ad and finding herself genuinely attracted. Often quite touching. The only false notes come courtesy of the lead actress, who giggles a lot and too often seems like a character doing her part rather than someone experiencing emotions.

B-

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3/19/2003

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)

The "comedy" is forced at best (especially between Burt & Dolly). The movie is really nothing special. All the songs fall flat (with the exception of "Hard Candy Christmas," which comes close to being stirring).

Not worth the time.

D

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3/13/2003

Women in Love (1970)

The title should be changed to "Men in Love with Men and Women" and then they should slap a warning label on it: "Beware of pretentiousness and loads of unnecessary nudity." The only character with any palpable passion was Rupert; and I'm sure he would've creeped me out in real life.

D-

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3/11/2003

Gangs of New York (2002)

Scorcese threw everything into the mix and came up with 30 or so half-told tales. Character development was not an option, apparently. If it's gonna be over 2 hours, it better be interesting. This isn't.

D

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3/08/2003

Equus (1977)

Boy crafts a religion around horses, then turns against his "god" with a scythe and lands in a mental hospital. Now…let's get to the root cause of his actions. Diagnosis? He's nuts! Case closed.

D+

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3/06/2003

Brown Sugar (2002)

Predictable best-friends-in-love-but-pretending-not-to-be story line. Still, these friends are charming and they've got a new hook to hang the story on: the world of hip hop. The likability of the stars is the whole show here - Mos Def as a rising star is also extremely winning.

B

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3/04/2003

Notting Hill (1999)

First of all - just the fact that this was my fourth viewing should tip you off as to my feelings about it. This is a simply wonderful film - in every single way. It's surprising and hilarious and touching and makes Julia seem like a decent actress. Even the hokey race against time at the end really works. Hugh Grant, you are a god and I love you.

A

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Go Tigers! (2001)

Amazing look at a real-life town obsessed with high school football. I went back and forth mentally on whether or not this was good or horrific… It seems extremely good in that it fosters a sense of community (everyone in town is crazy 'bout them Tigers) -- but terribly unbalanced, especially for those teens uninterested in sports. Regardless of your judgment, it's a compelling film.

B+

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3/02/2003

The Music Man (2003)

Way too long. Charming in a very muted way – completely outdated (and not just because of the setting). I like Matthew Broderick as a rule -- this could be the proving exception. He's too low-key for me to buy that he's a dynamo salesman.

D+

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Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

Gorgeous looking film that was truly moving - and didn't go stale (probably due to its ultra-short length). Only problems, for me, were the intrusive modern ballads by Bryan Adams throughout the film and Matt Damon's voice-over work, which sounded disconnected and bored.

B

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