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+

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

The Landlord (1970)

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

F

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-

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-

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-

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

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-

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

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+

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

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

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+

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+

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