xXx (2002)

Xander Cage is a bad-boy star due to his involvement in all the extreme sports and for dunking on THE MAN, so he gets recruited by a spy organization to be extreme for America. Lots of stuff explodes.

The story's ridiculous and Asia Argento (as the villain's girl) looks so young that I was halfway thinking that the foreign baddie was also a pedophile for a while, but the stunts are fun even when (or maybe because??) they defy physics. 

I wouldn't watch it again, but I won't lie and say it wasn't entertaining.

C-

The Bourne Identity (2002)

I saw this more than 20 years ago and had a great time -- even citing the acting as "uniformly good." But this time I was constantly taken out of things by Potente's underwritten character and less-than-convincing line readings. The action holds up pretty well, though!

B-

Who is Cletis Tout? (2002)

Movie-buff hitman tracks down his mark, Cletis Tout, only to have the guy insist that he is not actually Tout. The hitman is intrigued by this and offers the guy a chance to tell his story (as in a movie pitch) to save his life. The story involves a diamond heist, a prison escape, a dramatic death, assumed identities, a long-lost daughter... In short, it's a helluva pitch.

I found this to be pretty fun -- kind of in the vein of Hudson Hawk. The biggest problem was in the casting of the hitman. Tim Allen does not make for a convincing heavy.

B

Time Out (2002)

Man loses his job but hides it from his family by pretending to get a position with the U.N., which has him out of town for days at a time. In order to make ends meet, he cons friends into “investing” in a made-up scheme so that he’ll have the cash to keep the ruse -- which even involves buying an expensive vehicle to replace his sufficient but not flashy minivan -- going.

It's possible I might have enjoyed this somewhat if the film helped us understand him a bit. Why did he feel he couldn’t tell his wife? Why did he work so hard not to work? He came off as completely out of touch with reality and possibly mentally disturbed.

C-

8 Mile (2002)

Both Gary and I were pretty excited to see this movie at last. We were seriously let down. There was not nearly enough rapping and there was way too much Kim Basinger.

D+

Crush (2002)

I saw this about 10 years ago and absolutely adored it so, when it finally came up in the guide (and wasn’t that horrible-looking Alicia Silverstone “The Crush” movie that seems to be perpetually playing on some channel when I search for "Crush"), I jumped on it. Although I still really liked it, I’m not sure what kind of mindframe I was in the first time that made it capture me so completely. It’s a much more lightweight affair than it had become in my memory. Still, it definitely has its moments.

A trio of 40-something girlfriends with very little going on in the romance department gather weekly to compete for “saddest fuck of the week.” When Andie McDowell’s headmistress starts giddily hooking up with a much younger guy, her friends do their best to shut it down, for her own good. I really wish they’d cast anyone other than McDowell in the central role, though. It’s life-affirming and lovely, but she’s just awful.

B

Silent Night (2002)

Near the end of World War II, a German mother and her pre-teen son journey from their home to an old hunting cabin near the front lines. They are quickly invaded by American soldiers desperate to tend to their seriously wounded friend and then by German soldiers. The strongwilled Elisabeth welcomes them all but insists that all guns be left outside and that her home be treated as neutral territory.

It's a pretty moving story that's been slightly too sanitized for broadcast as a Hallmark movie.

B

John Q (2002)

Hardworking family man has his hours cut, his station wagon repossessed, and his son go into heart failure during a Little League game. Oh yes, he's a responsible husband and father so he's got insurance but...what? It's an HMO? Sucks to be him. Guess he should hijack the hospital.

So, obviously, it's going to be a heavy-handed message film -- but it went beyond simple cheesy sentimentality and got just plain bad. I mean, it was laughably terrible.

D

Hart's War (2002)

Pretty decent WWII stalag movie with a black officer accused of murdering a fellow prisoner who happened to be a white bigot. Not everything is as it appears, but there was some real tension and good performances in this rather under-the-radar film.

Maybe it was a bit more self-important than actually important, but at least it didn't feel stale.

B-

Murder by Numbers (2002)

I think that if this movie would have just focused a bit more, it could've been pretty darn good. As it stands, however, the story was split between Sandra Bullock -- flinty cop who's breaking in another in a long line of partners (she's FLINTY, see?). She also lives on a houseboat (she can shove off any time, get it?) and has an abusive past (she's GOT to make sure other victims get justice, you know?).

Sigh.

The other, better, part of the film follows the two high school kids at the center of Bullock's investigation into how a dead body in the woods came to be dead. The guys are played by Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt -- two amazing actors, even at this younger age. Give this part at B+ and the bundle of cliches that is the Bullock portion a D+ and we'll average that out for a

C+

Frailty (2002)

This is now the third or fourth time I've seen this movie and, if anything, my opinion has gone up. I keep watching it because I keep recommending it and then just wind up plopping down next to whoever's put it in the player (this time I was sharing the couch with AJ). There's something so different about it - a willingness to look kinda dumb for a while so that the payoff is bigger, maybe.

Without a doubt, one of our "good thing we bought it" DVDs -- probably our most-watched, non-comedy title.

B+

Bloody Sunday (2002)

A horrible event in Ireland's history known to most (including me, prior to this viewing) only through the words of a U2 song, gets a serious treatment here. The problem was, I spent the first three-quarters of the film a bit confused and somewhat bored.

I actually felt ashamed that I was left so cold by the carnage...I mean, how can I be so jaded to seriously say "this tragedy is boring"? But there you have it. I saw the power in the subject but not the telling. And, really. Should it be the viewers' job to find the power in a piece of art?

C+

Equilibrium (2002)

Not only is the story just a rip-off of several much better dark-visions-of-the-future films (Fahrenheit 451, Matrix, 1984), it's so ineptly handled that it's laughable.

In order to stamp out war, the populace self-injects "Prozium," an emotion-deadening drug. How do we know what the drug's name is and what it does? Why, because huge public address screens have a talking head playing on a loop passionately congratulating everyone for taking their emotion-deadening Prozium. Even if I were willing to overlook the fact that impassioned speeches employ passion, an emotion (and I'm not), that's just one of at least two dozen displays of the script's lazy attitude toward its own premise.

The fight scenes also made me giggle. Christian Bale -- emotion cop who's tasted sweet feelings and just can't go back -- employs a robotic fight technique that we see being taught to others as a matter of course. So why is he able to best a whole group of fellow cops? Don't they know the same tricks?

I really don't get why so many talented people agreed to appear in such a mess of a movie.

D+

Max (2002)

John Cusack plays Max Rothman, an upcoming artist who lost his painting arm during the first World War. Those who can't do, teach -- so Max opens a gallery and starts coddling promising artists, one of whom is a young soldier named Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor).

Adolf is, to put it mildly, a pain in the ass. He doesn't fit in with the others guys in his barracks -- an obvious know-it-all who finds the opinions and behavior of others intolerable. When Max reaches out to him, Hitler is rude even while making it clear that he desires fraternity. As Adolf is waking up to the possibilities of his canvas, the army is trying to wake him up to propaganda. Which path is his calling? Which will he choose?

The basic theme here is "if only Adolf Hitler could've made it as an artist, the Holocaust would never have happened"; kind of a "for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost" thing. But the movie does too good a job portraying Hitler as an extremely insecure man -- lashing out when he felt small (which was almost always). Success in the art world fluctuates. At best, success as a painter would have simply delayed the inevitable.

So -- interesting, though unconvincing, story. I was pretty glad when the movie ended...I couldn't wait to be done with both the foaming-at-the-mouth speechifying of Hitler and the stifling world (extending to his extracurricular sex life) of Rothman.

C+

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2002)

Um...erm...welllll.... It's definitely odd. It's a Japanese horror/comedy -- with claymation and musical numbers (one's even presented sing-along style) sprinkled throughout.

Despite the forced weirdness in every scene, you can't help but like the central family. The actors are charming and they give themselves over completely to the strangeness of each scene. I wish I could have done the same.

As unique as it is, though, I found my patience wearing thin about halfway through. It's definitely my new answer for the "what's the weirdest movie you've ever seen" question -- and that's worth something.

C+

Tadpole (2002)

Privileged, 15-year-old Oscar has a crush on his oblivious stepmother, Eve. While drunk (I don't know how spindly Oscar convinced the bartender that he's at least 21 -- but let's not worry about that right now), Oscar runs into Eve's best friend, 40ish Diane, and spends the night. Sarcasm alert: how delightfully charming!

Diane's not the only one turned on by Oscar -- the prettiest gal in his class is crushing on him and all of Diane's bored circle of ladies who lunch hang all over him, one even slips him her number. Um...excuse me. When the hell would this EVER happen? It's one thing to locate a single pedophiliac -- another for an entire GROUP to validate (and desire to commit) such horrible behavior as statutory rape.

Alright. Rant over. Even if the subject matter weren't both ridiculous and offensive, the movie's simply not well-written. Oscar and his best friend (the much LESS urbane Charlie) have self-conscious, overly-scripted chats about romance and, because Eve expressed a fondness for sideburns in her youth, shave a dog together to give Oscar some. There's also a ridiculous dinner scene with Diane, Eve, Oscar, and Oscar's father, Stanley, in which Oscar and Diane engage in some sort of madcap-in-slow-motion code talking, the schoolgirl hottie turns up in the same restaurant, and Diane forces an away-from-the-table kiss on Oscar which, due to the placement of a mirror, is seen by Stanley (who should, at this point, call the police -- but, again, let's not worry about that as the film sure as hell doesn't).

I simply have to write this movie off as a teenboy fantasy. I'm thankful it's such a sloppy film...it means I don't have to worry about anyone thinking I'm endorsing its content by giving it a high grade.

C-

Solaris (2002)

Whoa -- two "is she dead or what" movies in a row. Weird.

Atmospheric story of a man grieving his dead wife and being asked to go to a space station studying Solaris -- because, as his friend already there tells him, he possesses unique history that makes him particularly suited to experience it.

It's a weird place. Something's going on that's not normal. The tension is delicious -- the mood just right. Clooney finds out first-hand what the deal is the next day when he wakes up in his quarters to find his wife beside him.

I liked the look and the feel...I liked the premise...and I liked the acting. But, somehow, the idea of the film winds up being much more intriguing than the execution. It's beautiful but hollow.

B

Auto Focus (2002)

Greg Kinnear is quite good as Bob Crane, genial family man and local radio celebrity, whose life changes drastically when he lands the lead on Hogan's Heroes. Although there are a couple of good scenes of Crane trying not to fall too far into a life he seems to know he doesn't want: confessing/rationalizing to his priest in a coffee shop and his horror at finding that his buddy was the one fingering him during a "group grope," I have to say that the transformation from mass-attending grapefruit juice drinker to obsessed pornographer seemed to just happen. Maybe that's the way this stuff usually goes, but it still felt as though I was missing too much of the story.

Basically, it's a well-made film that feels rather hollow.

B

Mary Christmas (2002)

I've got my TiVo set to catch all movies with "Christmas" or "Holiday" in the title. I really should figure out a way to have it exclude those airing on PAX...

Rich little girl who lost her mother when she was young wishes for a new one for Christmas. Single, pretty lifestyle reporter for a local news station gets assigned to do a heartwarming series on one family's Christmas preparations. And there ya go. That's plenty of story for a little film that makes you feel all warm and cozy -- but the acting is flat and there's a really unnecessary element of Christmas Magic that the film would've been so much better off without.

It's something to watch while wrapping presents or trimming the tree. No need to give it your full attention as it doesn't really deserve it. Frankly, it doesn't even seem to expect it.

C-

Mostly Martha (2002)

Martha is a chef. And that's it. Her entire life is lived in a kitchen or in her apartment waiting to go to the kitchen. Then, just like in "Baby Boom," an accident lands this lone, uptight woman with a child.

But the set-up (driven woman gets a kid) is the only thing this film has in common with "Baby Boom." This isn't a comedy -- though it is a charmer. It's also a heartbreaker and a romance. I wasn't always enamored with the direction the story took, but I was always willing to go along with it. Just a nice affirmation that sometimes life can work out...and that often making someone else's world a bit better can have the delightful result of making your own better as well.

B+