Fat City (1972)

Ends with an effective scene that blends pity, despair, and kindness seamlessly -- a truly stunning 5 minutes or so. It’s a shame that the film leading up to this effective finale is amateurish at best. The acting is clumsy and the dialogue repetitive...Bridges and Keach do what they can, but it’s just no use.

D+

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Just one of the funniest animated films there is - brisk and hilarious. One of the few cartoons that I'm sure will never get old.

A

Stand by Me (1986)

Just as good this time (my fourth viewing) as it was the first time I saw it. All four boys are terrific in their roles -- I was reminded anew what a treasure we lost when River Phoenix died.

A-

La Femme Nikita (1991)

You have to read it, but it’s well worth the effort – as a matter of fact, this may be the perfect introduction to foreign films for those who have shunned them in the past. It is also one of the few movies that will cause neither you nor your date dissatisfaction. No kidding – it is tender, harsh, sad, violent, and sweet. Sounds like a mish-mash, but it all works and every viewer is fulfilled.

The first half -- training -- is great, but it's the second half that makes the film outstanding. It's in the second portion that we are allowed to see what could have been for this woman...if she had just caught a break earlier. The juxtaposition between domesticity and her agent duties -- at one point with just a thin hotel door between her two worlds -- is jarring. Parillaud wears her heart on her face and is believable in all the attitudes she has to affect: drugged-out, insane, thrashingly violent, sullen, carefree, in-love, adorable, hurt, terrified, and more. Fantastic performance.

A

Ghost Ship (2002)

Fairly standard "This place is scary so we should split up and explore it" affair. There is one genuinely innovative mass death scene and the acting seems far better than necessary for a movie of this type. I guess it fits the bill when you wanna go "ewww..." but the reason behind all the killings was pretty lame and the very last scene was an absolute groaner.

C

The Gift (2000)

Cate Blanchett is truly wonderful in this film. I remember the first time I saw it I was just sucked in and fell for every jump scene and every tantalizing stretch of drawn-out dread. This time around, the mystery seemed a little too simple -- a little too obvious -- but that comes, of course, from knowing who done what. The pervasive creepiness still worked, though. Greg Kinnear also does a nice quiet job -- everyone should be commended for their restrained, believable work here (well - Ribisi might have been able to knock it down a couple notches, but I quibble).

B+

Little Women (1933)

Starts out a little too precious, but quickly warms up and I found myself grinning and tearing up right along with the March family. Katharine Hepburn sometimes goes a little overboard with her "surprised hands" gesture -- it caught my eye as she does it several times and it is an affected, silly movement, not at all befitting a tomboy.

B

Me Without You (2002)

It’s a chick-flick…but it’s an outstanding one. I could almost believe that the pitch meeting went something like "Beaches -- but in London -- and without the over-the-top characterizations or schmaltz." These people felt real and they took hold of me. And Nat...oh, baby...I gotta look that actor up on the IMDb.

A

The Bourne Identity (2002)

Fast-paced "girl & boy on the run" story. Acting is uniformly good and the action sequences are exciting. Just what I want in a popcorn movie!

B+

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Clooney & Pitt pull a huge heist -- and that's enough. Complaint: Julia either needs to learn to walk gracefully in heels or go barefoot -- she always looks as though she's tottering slightly forward.

B

Shanghai Knights (2003)

Compared to this, Shanghai Noon was a masterpiece worthy of acclaim. Even the soundtrack stank.

D+

Jane Eyre (1996)

This could have been very good. It's terrific looking, they hit all of the highlights of the novel, and William Hurt is a surprisingly effective Rochester -- I would've never thought he could have pulled off a gruff barrel of a man, but somehow I bought him in the role. The problem is the casting of Jane. The actress is obviously French as her English is sometimes mushy and often bears a slight accent -- and she's not just plain, she's ugly, ugly, ugly. I've seen photos of this chick and I have no idea how they made her so hideous in this film, 'cause she's kinda cute in her other roles.

C+

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Covers the planning, execution, and aftermath of a heist gone wrong. Crime doesn't pay and all that, I guess. Jean Hagen is marvelous as a down on her luck gal who has a thing for Hayden. The major injustice is that all the advertising (posters, lobby cards, etc.) I've seen for this film ignore Jean Hagen and instead feature Marilyn Monroe, who had a glorified bit part.

B-

Alice Adams (1935)

Poor Alice. She's in a middle class family with a middle class house and middle class clothes. She might even *gasp* have to get a job. It's just not fair! None of the other girls have to get jobs...and sometimes they even make fun of her slightly out-of-date evening wear. Why - the Adams clan can't even afford to have permanent "darkies" serving them! These are the injustices that our heroine is forced to bravely bear. How does she bear it? By pretending she’s rich and getting a milksop society boy to fall for her. He even sticks around when he finds out she’s not what she appeared to be.

After I was finished watching it, my husband flippantly asked me, "So, was she right all along or did she have to learn her lesson?" The honest answer is "Neither." She was wrong all along and learned nothing. Well, at least that part was original.

D+

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

For such a frustrating film, I was impossibly riveted to the screen. I hate these no-way-to-figure-it-out stories; there's something just incredibly unfair about jerking around an audience like that, in my opinion. Lynch has a habit of doing this, of course, but I got curious and had to give him another try. For the first hour and a half or so, the film seems almost sensible...a little weird, but not too crazy. But then we enter the blue box and things go nuts. I guess it's my fault for thinking I might be on firm ground in a David Lynch movie! Naomi Watts handles a very difficult role extremely well.

D-

The Outsiders (1983)

Can't live up to the book on which it's based. Works better as a "look how young they were" exercise for the young actors who populate the cast in early roles than as an effective film. It's a shame that the proceedings feel so flat; the story truly is a moving one.

C

Drumline (2002)

Suffers somewhat because of the obvious "everyone's got something to learn" agenda -- but not too much. Part of its charm is that you know exactly where it's headed and are comfortable with the lack of surprises. The cast is winning and the content clean enough for me to hold onto the rental so that my kids could see it (they weren't home the first time around). Who knew playing in the band could be so cool?

B

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Reminded me a lot of Stagecoach, which I guess shouldn't surprise me as they were made the same year with the same director. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination; stereotypes abound -- the "good" Indian being an especially cringe-worthy example thereof. Fonda's good and Edna May Oliver, nominated for her work, is terrific.

B-

George Washington (2000)

This movie cast a spell that really worked for me. The child actors weren't polished - sometimes this showed a bit too much, but mostly it came off just fine. There were a couple of scenes that could have been excised to make the film better, but I don't want to complain too much. It’s flawed but powerful work.

B

Phone Booth (2003)

Everyone has raging cases of Stupiditis in this film, from the prostitutes to the cops to the innocent bystanders. Kiefer Sutherland pulls out all the stops in the first few minutes of his voice-on-the-other-end part and has gives himself nowhere to go…he’s stuck with doing more of the same 'til the end. Colin Farrell's increasingly sweaty desperation is believable -- but who cares? It's like finding a passage of beautiful longing and poetry in the middle of a Harlequin romance novel: it's just wasted effort that should have been employed elsewhere.

D-

The Razor's Edge (1946)

After the war, Larry just doesn't care about society life any more. After the movie, I just don't care about Larry any more. Oh, Larry's an admirably hopeful character who refuses to fall back into the patterns that the rest of the world has set forth, but it's just not all that interesting.

Gene Tierney (as his ex-fiancé) is an embarrassment -- it's as though an acting coach is just off-camera shouting "More imperious, Gene!" "You're not screeching enough, Gene!" "You call THAT distressed, Gene?" She's just way too everything.

C-

The Spitfire Grill (1996)

Stranger comes to town and shakes things up. That's really all there is too it. The mood is admirably low-key, but they went a little overboard with the caricatures sprinkled throughout this small-town-USA (nosy postmistress, shy wife who blossoms, suspicious control-freak, crotchety no-nonsense boss). It would be ideal for family viewing if it weren't for the horrific history of the main character – revealed in the last 15 minutes or so.

B

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)

The Irwins are natural charmers who light up the screen. Whenever the story is following them, this movie is delightful. Fortunately, the moviemakers realized this and allow us to spend four-fifths of the film with Steve & Terry instead of the bland bumblers who flesh out the "plot," what little of it there is.

B-

Das Experiment (2002)

Twenty men sign up to be human guinea pigs in a two-week prison experiment -- some are assigned as guards, some as prisoners. Amazing how quickly the subjects fell into their roles of aggressors and victims. It was tense and seemed possible while I was watching, but once I switched it off I found myself mentally explaining why it could never happen, because people are decent, everyone knew it was "fake," etc.

I was shocked to find that it actually DID happen in a 1971 Stanford experiment -- just as quickly and nearly as violently as portrayed in the film. Fascinating.

A-

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Why does Sandler wear the same ugly suit in every scene? Why does he stay in contact with his horrible sisters? Why does Emily Watson want him? Why does he want her? Why is the soundtrack so loud and carnivalesque? Why did most critics say that Sandler was brilliant? Why was this story praised? Why is this nightmare categorized as a comedy? What's the significance of the little piano? Why am I seeking clarification about a film I'd like to forget?

D