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"American Pie" - Comedy with Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge.
Plot Intro: Four high school classmates make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night.
Review: Funny, sometimes gross, teen comedy.
Warning: Some nudity.
Rating:
"American Pie" at Amazon.com. "Analyze This" - Comedy with Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow.
Plot Intro: A Mafioso needs psychiatric counseling after getting shot at.
Review: Robert DeNiro is great. Billy Crystal does very good as "straight man," though he gets a few scenes where he does a mini-stand-up routine. Very funny.
Warning: May be too much foul language for some.
Rating:See also: "Analyze That" (2002) "Analyze This" at Amazon.com. "Anna and the King" - Drama with Jodie Foster, Yun-Fat Chow, Ling Bai, Tom Felton.
Plot Intro: A teacher and her son from England move to Siam (Thailand) in the middle of the 19th century. She becomes the tutor of the king's children and forms a close friendship with him and his family. The British are at it again. They are attempting to overthrow the king and take over.
Review: This film is more of a politically-conscious movie than other versions. The king and his family at least are portrayed by people from Asia. And the attempt to overthrow the king is clearly portrayed. Foster can do drama, but she sure cannot do a British accent. The boy who plays her son eventually plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. Recommended.
Rating:"Anna and the King" at Amazon.com. "Being John Malkovich" - Comedy with John Malkovich, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Mary Kay Place, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean. Written by Charlie Kaufman. Directed by Spike Jonze.
Plot Intro: A man discovers a small door in his office. He crawls into it and discovers that the slimy passage leads into John Malkovich's brain.
Review: Kind of weird, but at the same time entertaining. The scene when Malkovich himself goes into his own brain is inspired. The ending is perfect for the plot.
Rating:"Being John Malkovich" at Amazon.com. "The Best Man" - Romantic comedy with Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut.
Plot Intro: Before he appears as best man in a wedding, an early copy of his book — most of which seems to be based on events in the lives of those at the wedding — is discovered and makes the rounds.
Review: Fun to watch.
Rating:"The Best Man" at Amazon.com. "The Blair Witch Project" - Horror.
Plot Intro: Three people follow a trail into the woods in Maryland in order to film a documentary about a Blair Witch. They are never found again.
Review: A horror of a movie. I kept waiting for it to get scary. The final scene was more disturbing than scary.
Caveat: I want to make sure to let everyone know that this movie is in the list only because it had so much word of mouth and press. I will probably never watch this film again. I regret money and the two hours I spent watching it once. Can the makers of this film do one thing for me — give me back those two hours?
Rating:"Bowfinger" - Comedy with Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski.
Plot Intro: The head of an independent film company, Bowfinger (played by Steve Martin) makes a film in order to keep his troupe of actors together. They include a famous actor (played by Eddie Murphy) without getting him under contract.
Review: Hilarious. Highly recommended. No nudity. Very little foul language.
Rating:
"Bowfinger" at Amazon.com. "Election" - Comedy with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick.
Plot Intro: A film about a high school government election. An anal-retentive, overly goal-oriented student scares a teacher into some desperate acts.
Review: One way to look at it: a study in how a person can separate himself from his morals and standards at work and at home. Very funny at times.
Warning: Only for adults due to content and language.
Rating:"Election" at Amazon.com. "Galaxy Quest" - Comedy with Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver.
Plot Intro: The crew of a science fiction TV show are mistaken for the real thing by a group of aliens that are being attacked by a very aggressive group of aliens.
Review: Very humorous. Many times it is laugh out loud funny. Very well done for what it is attempting to do. The special effects are very good, too. The film was released in December, 1999, but the DVD was released in the summer of 2000. So I have the review in the sections for 1999 and 2000.
Rating:"Galaxy Quest" at Amazon.com. "An Ideal Husband" - Romantic Comedy with Minnie Driver and Rupert Everett.
Plot Intro: A single man (Everett) and woman (Driver) and a married couple discover who may be the ideal husband.
Review: Very enjoyable and entertaining. Minnie Driver and Rupert Everett are worth seeing the film. The costumes, set design, and dialogue are all top notch.
Rating:"An Ideal Husband" at Amazon.com. "The Insider" - Drama with Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Lindsay Crouse, Rip Torn.
Plot Intro: A research scientist, Jeffrey Wigand, is fired for no cause from one of the tobacco companies. He is then harassed and his family is threatened in order to coerce him to keep him quiet about what he knows about the tobacco industry. This drives him to testify as an expert witness in court. He is wooed by a producer for the CBS show "60 Minutes" to do an interview with Dan Rather. But after he is interviewed by Rather, the network pulls the plug on it being aired after receiving threats from the legal department of the tobacco company.
Review: Based on the true story of Suspenseful. Very effective. The is one film where Crowe shows that he is equal to any of the other stars on the screen. He is playing a completely different character than he has played in his other films. It is difficult to conceive why the tobacco industry treated him the way they did. Their tactics reminded me very much of how the KKK treated African-Americans in the South. Is there something in people that allows them to automatically fall into this behavior? Also, what did the tobacco industry think that he was going to do? They effectively took away all of his options. They made it plain that his life and the lives of his family were worthless whether or not he testified or was interviewed. How could he have lived the rest of his life constantly under threat? The only way to stop the threats was to take away the reason for the threats, to call the tobacco company's bluff.
Rating:
"The Insider" at Amazon.com. "The Iron Giant" - Animated feature with voices of Jennifer Anniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Cloris Leachman, M Emmett Walsh, John Mahoney.
Plot Intro: A huge mechanical monster is befriended by a boy in the paranoid 1950s.
Review: Excellent animated film. Excellent animation and story.
Rating:"The Iron Giant" at Amazon.com. "Mansfield Park" - Romantic comedy.
Plot Intro: A poor young relation is sent to live with her very rich relations. She is treated as a servant. As she grows up, she develops the ability to develop a good story and becomes a writer.
Review: One of my favorite films of the year. Humorous at times. Dramatic at others. Loosely based on a Jane Austin novel.
Rating:"Mansfield Park" at Amazon.com. "Matrix" - Sci-Fi with Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Catherine-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving.
Plot Intro: Computers takeover all life on the planet except those who are fighting in an underground organization.
Review: One of the best movies of the year. Highly recommended. A fantastic last third of the movie. The real action starts when Keanu Reeves enters into the first floor of a police station/government building. The combination of eye-popping special effects/camera work and the dynamic pumping music in the background will make you want to see if over and over again. It translated surprisingly well to a non-letter boxed format. I noticed one line that was messed up. When Switch is in the car holding a gun on Neo, and Trinity is about to remove the "bug", Switch calls Neo a "coppertone" rather than a "coppertop."
Rating:Comparison of "Monsters, Inc." and the "Matrix" series My review of "Matrix Reloaded" Review of "Matrix Revolution" "Matrix" at Amazon.com. "Mumford" - Romantic comedy with Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Short, Jason Ritter.
Plot Intro: A man named Mumford sets up practice as a psychiatrist in a town called Mumford.
Review: Well-written, well-acted. Very humorous and pleasant to watch.
Warning: Some nudity.
Rating:"Mumford" at Amazon.com. "The Mummy" - Adventure movie with Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Jonathan Hyde.
Plot Intro: A librarian hires a man to take her to a lost city of an ancient king of Egypt.
Review: Lots of special effects in this entertaining film.
Rating:"The Mummy" at Amazon.com. "Notting Hill" - Romantic Comedy with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
Plot Intro: A bookstore owner (Hugh Grant) has a chance meeting in his bookstore with a movie star (Julia Roberts) who is trying to remain incognito.
Review: The stars are work very well together. It would be great to see them do several films together (like Tracy/Hepburn). Roberts's character is particularly annoying how she treats Grant's character, especially when you notice that there are months at times between when they have contact. Romantic enough ending to overcome some (if not all) of these feelings you may have when you view the film.
Rating:"Notting Hill" at Amazon.com. "October Sky" - Drama with Laura Dern.
Plot Intro: Based on a true story about 4 high school students who see the Sputnik flying overhead and get interested in building small rockets. It becomes a way out of a small mining town.
Review: Inspiring.
Rating:"October Sky" at Amazon.com. "Payback" - Movie with Mel Gibson, Maria Bello, Kris Kristofferson, William Devane, James Coburn, Lucy Liu.
Plot Intro: A man does a job for $75,000, and he wants his money. Nobody seems to take him seriously.
Review: Very violent. One of my favorite films to watch.
Rating:"Payback" at Amazon.com. "Runaway Bride" - Romantic comedy with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.
Plot Intro: A woman has jilted several men at the altar. A reporter goes to her town to cover her upcoming marriage to the high school football coach.
Review: Entertaining.
Rating:"Runaway Bride" at Amazon.com. "The Sixth Sense" - Drama/horror with Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment.
Plot Intro: More drama than horror. A kid can see dead people. A child psychiatrist gives him counseling he needs.
Review: One of the great films of the year. Many surprises throughout. The dead are given horrific makeup to show what they looked like when they died. This affects the first part of the film mostly. The last half makes it a very touching drama. Well-written and well directed. Deserving of Oscar nominations.
Rating:My review of "Unbreakable" (2000)
My review of "Signs" (2002) "The Sixth Sense" at Amazon.com. "Sleepy Hollow" - Horror/comedy/mystery with Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken, and Miranda Richardson and directed by Tim Burton.
Plot Intro: A young NY City police criminal investigator wants the police department to use "modern" scientific investigation techniques and is assigned to investigate murders occurring in upstate New York.
Review: A lot of fun to watch. Enough of the Tim Burton humor to liven things up.
Rating:"Sleepy Hollow" at Amazon.com. "Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace" - Sci-Fi with Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson. Plot Intro: During the age of the republic, the planet Naboo is attacked by the Federation, and the future emperor engineers the destruction of the republic. Review: Great set up for Episodes 2 and 3. Almost as good as the "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Star Wars in the computer age. Ignore the reviews. Reasons for the 3 stars: If there is one criticism I have of the film it is the acting of Natalie Portman. Her delivery is so monotone and stiff and emotion-less that it was a relief when she was in a scene without lines. And, of course, there is the annoying Jar-jar Binks.
Rating:Star Wars Timeline My review of "Episode 2: The Attack of the Clones" (2002) My review of "Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith" (2005) My review of "Episode 4: Star Wars" (1977) My review of "Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) My review of "Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi" (1983) "Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace" at Amazon.com. "Stuart Little" - Family film with Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, and Michael J. Fox as the voice of Stuart Little and Nathan Lane as the voice of Snowbell the cat.
Plot Intro: Parents of a little boy go to an orphanage to adopt a little brother for their son. They come home with Stuart Little, and endearing and intelligent mouse.
Review: Based on the classic children's book by E.B. White, with a screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan (writer-director of The Sixth Sense), the movie is thoroughly entertaining for all ages. Michael J. Fox's voice is perfect for the little mouse. Nathan Lane has the right touch of jealousy, envy, and evil yet with a good heart. Jonathan Lipnicki is always cute. My only criticism would be the use of two words by one of the alley cats. The words may have been added in order to convey the idea that the cat was a bad cat. That fact is quite apparent from the moment of the cat's appearance. It was totally unnecessary in this children's/family film.
Rating:"Stuart Little" at Amazon.com. "Tarzan" - Animated Disney feature with voices of Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Nigel Hawthorne, Rosie O'Donnell.
Plot Intro: A baby is raised by apes after his parents are killed.
Review: Entertaining animated feature. Phil Collins won an Oscar for Best Song.
Rating:"Tarzan" at Amazon.com. "10 Things I Hate About You" - Romantic comedy with Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles.
Plot Intro: A popular girl can't date unless her older sister goes out on a date. The problem is that her sister hates and distrusts men.
Review: Based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." Somewhat entertaining. Not very believable.
Rating:"10 Things I Hate About You" at Amazon.com. "The Thirteenth Floor" - Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
Plot Intro: A scientist who has developed a virtual world feels threatened and leaves his partner a note. The scientist is killed, and the partner must work out the mystery.
Review: Thought-provoking thriller. Leaves you wondering where virtual reality begins and ends.
Rating:"The Thirteenth Floor" at Amazon.com. "Toy Story 2" - Comedy, Family film with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen.
Plot Intro: A toy collector steals Woody. Andy's other toys try to get him back.
Review: Twice as good as the first Toy Story movie in just about every way.
Rating:My review of "Toy Story" (1995) "Toy Story 2" at Amazon.com. "The Winslow Boy" - Drama with Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam.
Plot Intro: A boy is accused of stealing at this school. His father goes to great lengths to defend him.
Review: Excellent film. Good performances all round.
Rating:"The Winslow Boy" at Amazon.com.
"Antz" - Animated feature with Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Chrisopher Walken, Ann Bancroft, Dan Aykroyd, Dan Glover, Jennifer Lopez, John Mahoney.
Plot Intro: An ant is smitten with the daughter of the queen, but he doesn't fit in. The colony is threatened by a colony of termites.
Review: Woody as an ant? It fits here. Fun to watch, but I thought "a bug's life" was better.
Rating:"Antz" at Amazon.com. "Armageddon" - Futuristic Drama with Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler.
Plot Intro: Bruce saves the world from a meteor. I thought "Deep Impact" was better.
Review: Good action.
Rating:"Armageddon" at Amazon.com. "Babe - Pig in the City" - Comedy, Family. Also known as, "Babe 2".
Plot Intro: In order to save the farm, Mrs. Hogg takes Pig to the big city for an appearance.
Review: Sequel to "Babe" (1995). Great movie. If not as good as the first ("Babe"), it is a close second. The first movie created a small farm environment. The sequel creates a small city in great detail. The voices chosen for each character are perfect.
Rating:My review of "Babe" (1995) "Babe - Pig in the City" at Amazon.com. "a bug's life" - Animated Pixar feature with Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey, Phyllis Diller, David Hyde Pierce, John Ratzenberger, Roddy McDowall, Madeline Kahn, Denis Leary, Bonnie Hunt, Alex Rocco.
Plot Intro: An ant colony is troubled by a gang of grasshoppers. A little respected ant leads the resistance.
Review: Better than "Antz." Lighter. Dave Foley's voice is great for an ant that tries harder.
Rating:"a bug's life" at Amazon.com. "Bulworth" - Comedy with Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Christine Baranski, Oliver Platt. Story, screenplay, and direction by Warren Beatty.
Plot Intro: A senatorial candidate is depressed and puts a contract on his own life. As a result he has no inhibitions about what he says on the campaign trail.
Review: Parts of the film are hilarious, and parts are thought-provoking. Not liberal vs. conservative so much as rich vs. poor. If you can keep that in mind, you will realize that there is some truth to its basic premise.
Warning: Strong language.
Rating:"Bulworth" at Amazon.com. "A Civil Action" - Drama with John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, Sidney Pollack, Dan Hadeya, James Gandolfini.
Plot Intro: A lawyer represents people against a company that polluted the water table and killed or injured children.
Review: Based on a true story. Good study of the American judicial system.
Rating:"A Civil Action" at Amazon.com. "Dangerous Beauty" - Drama with Catherine McCormack, Jacqueline Bisset, Oliver Platt, Moira Kelly, Fred Ward, Joanna Cassidy.
Plot Intro: Chronicle of a courtesan in 16th century Venice. Based on a true story.
Review: The first part of the film is very good.
Warning: Some nudity.
Rating:"Dangerous Beauty" at Amazon.com. "Dark City" - Science Fiction with Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland.
Plot Intro: A man is accused of being a serial killer and is pursued by the police and a group of aliens.
Review: A science fiction film noire. The visual effects are extremely well done. I highly recommend this film. Has some nudity though.
Rating:"Dark City" at Amazon.com. "Deep Impact" - Futuristic Drama with Morgan Freeman, Leelee Sobieski, Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni.
Plot Intro: Robert Duvall and friends save the world from a comet.
Review: A little better than "Armageddon" in my opinion.
Rating:"Deep Impact" at Amazon.com. "Doctor Dolittle" - Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Peter Boyle, Jeffrey Tambor, Oliver Platt.
Plot Intro: A veterinarian finds out he can talk to the animals.
Review: A non-musical remake of the old Disney classic. Some funny moments.
Rating:"Doctor Dolittle" at Amazon.com. "Elizabeth" - Drama with Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes.
Plot Intro: Elizabeth survives suspicion during her sister's reign and develops from a party girl into the legend she became.
Review: Great film. Great costumes and set designs.
Rating:"Elizabeth" at Amazon.com. "Enemy of the State" - Drama/Thriller with Will Smith, Gene Hackman.
Plot Intro: A man tries to keep one step ahead of an agency of the government that is out of control.
Review: Will Smith and Gene Hackman are very good. Fun to watch.
Rating:"Enemy of the State" at Amazon.com. "Ever After" - Romantic Drama with Drew Barrymore, Angelica Houston.
Plot Intro: Portrayal of Cinderella story as if it was based on a true story.
Review: A wonderful movie. Drew Barrymore is great. If you don't like Drew Barrymore, you'll like her after seeing this film.
Rating:"Ever After" at Amazon.com. "Godzilla" - SciFi thriller with Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer.
Plot Intro: The old monster gets loose in a major city.
Review: An Americanized version of the old Japanese classic. It's OK. I was never a big fan of the old Japanese films. The new monster is different from the Japanese one. Not sure if it is a real improvement.
Rating:"Godzilla" at Amazon.com. "Hilary and Jackie" - Drama with Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths.
Plot Intro: Two musically talented sisters start having problems in their relationship when one of them becomes more famous.
Review: Based on a true story (though family, friends, and colleagues have disputed some of the details). Great performances. Some nudity.
Rating:"Hilary and Jackie" at Amazon.com. "Home Fries" - Romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore, Luke Wilson, Catherine O'Hara, Jake Busey, Shelley Duvall.
Plot Intro: Two brothers play a trick on their father that results in his death. His young pregnant mistress. One of the brothers becomes interested in helping her.
Review: Good performances by Barrymore and Wilson are affected by the story.
Rating:"Home Fries" at Amazon.com. "Hope Floats" - Romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr, Gena Rowlands, Kathy Najimy, Rosanna Arquette.
Plot Intro: A mother finds out that her husband has been unfaithful and moves back home with her mother in Texas. A local man begins to show interest, but the mother's feelings are complicated.
Review: Bullock is good — as always. There are good performances from the others as well. The movie is a light romantic story.
Rating:"Hope Floats" at Amazon.com. "The Imposters" - Comedy with Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub. Written and directed by Stanley Tucci.
Plot Intro: Two out-of-work actors hide on a cruise ship in order to hide from another actor who has threatened to kill them.
Review: A funny film in a Laurel & Hardy style.
Rating:"The Imposters" at Amazon.com. "The Land Girls" - War-time drama with Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz.
Plot Intro: During World War 2, city women are put to work on farms where men have left to go to war.
Review: McCormack and Weisz are very good. Based on a true story.
Rating:"The Land Girls" at Amazon.com. "Little Voice" - Drama with Michael Caine, Joan Blethyn, Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent, Ewan McGregor.
Plot Intro: A girl is discovered to have the ability to sing like famous singers (like, for example, Judy Garland).
Review: Based on a play, Horrock re-creates the part she had in the play. Good performances in a quirky story.
Rating:"Little Voice" at Amazon.com. "The Mask of Zorro" - Light Drama-romance with Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Plot Intro: Zorro trains a new "Zorro."
Review: A lot of fun. Highly recommended. Banderas is at his best ever, and he looks like he enjoys making the film. And who wouldn't? Catherine Zeta-Jones may be the most beautiful woman in the world.
Rating:"The Mask of Zorro" at Amazon.com. "Mulan" - Animated Dramedy voiced by Ming-Na, B D Wong, Gedde Wattanabe, Miguel Ferrer, Eddie Murphy, Harvey Fierstein, Pat Morita.
Plot Intro: Enemies are invading China, and the emperor marshals his forces in defense.
Review: Very good. Excellent family film. A good film for girls, since it portrays a young girl who braves going against social limitations in order to do what she thinks is right.
Rating:"Mulan" at Amazon.com. "The Negotiator" - Drama with Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson, David Morse, Paul Giamatti. Directed by F. Gary Gray.
Plot Intro: A police negotiator is framed and has to take over police headquarters in order to find out who is behind it.
Review: If you like adventures, thrillers, etc. you'll like this film.
Rating:"The Negotiator" at Amazon.com. "A Night at the Roxbury" - Comedy with Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Dan Hedaya, Loni Anderson, Molly Shannon, Dwayne Hickman.
Plot Intro: Two guys want to get into the hottest club in town. Then they decide they want to start their own club.
Review: Another SNL skit turned into a full-length feature. The skits on SNL were funnier.
Rating:"A Night at the Roxbury" at Amazon.com. "Out of Sight" - With George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Keaton, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Nancy Allen, Catherine Keener, Samuel L Jackson. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
Plot Intro: A criminal and a policewoman meet from time to time and develop a relationship that they cannot resist.
Review: Based on the Elmore Leonard novel. Clooney and Lopez are great and seem to generate a certain amount of heat on screen. Keaton, Rhames, Farina, and Jackson are also very good. One of my favorites.
Rating:"Out of Sight" at Amazon.com. "Patch Adams" - Dramedy with Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Jeter.
Plot Intro: An unorthodox physician starts a hospital where he can practice in his unorthodox style.
Review: Somewhat entertaining. Williams may be a little out of control for some viewers, but in this case it is still entertaining.
Rating:"Patch Adams" at Amazon.com. "Paulie" - Comedy with Buddy Hackett, Gene Rowlands, Tony Shalhoub, Jay Mohr.
Plot Intro: A parrot does more than "parrot" sounds. He can actually talk and communicate his thoughts.
Review: An entertaining family movie. Hackett's voice is perfect for a parrot, and he has that great comedic timing.
Rating:"Paulie" at Amazon.com. "Pi" - Written and directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Plot Intro: A man builds a supercomputer with which he discovers the relationship of Pi to just about all of life. It is the number of God. Others find out that he has discovered it.
Review: An excellent — if quirky — film. A little understanding of mathematics may help follow the plot, but it isn't really necessary. The building of the supercomputer, the discovery of the number, his approach to madness, and the plotting of Hasidic Jews and of Wall Street types all add to the unique plot.
Rating:"Pi" at Amazon.com. "Pleasantville" - Drama. Plot Intro: A brother and sister are sucked into a black and white TV show. Review: Very good. The special effects are great. Don't be surprised by the shift to a political-type message towards the end.
Rating:"Pleasantville" at Amazon.com. "Primary Colors" - Political drama with John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Larry Hagman, Rob Reiner. Written by Elaine May and Joe Klein. Directed by Mike Nichols.
Plot Intro: A man runs for president in 1992.
Review: Based on the best-selling book by "Anonymous." A thinly disguised portrayal of Bill Clinton.
Rating:"Primary Colors" at Amazon.com. "The Prince of Egypt" - Animated feature voiced by Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Sandra Bullock, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short.
Plot Intro: The story of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
Review: Relatively respectful account of the Exodus. Good for family entertainment.
Rating:"The Prince of Egypt" at Amazon.com. "The Red Violin" - Drama with Samuel L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi.
Plot Intro: A violin is made by a master violin maker in the 17th century. Considered by many to be the most perfect ever made. The story follows the violin from Italy to Germany to England to Communist China to an auction in the United States.
Review: A wonderful film. A wonderful series stories and wonderful music and performances throughout.
Rating:"The Red Violin" at Amazon.com. "Ronin" - Drama with Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Natasha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean. Directed by John Frankenheimer.
Plot Intro: A group comes together to steal a case with something in it.
Review: High-energy action film. Recommended.
Rating:"Ronin" at Amazon.com. "Rounders" - Drama with Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, Martin Landau.
Plot Intro: A reformed gambler is recruited to get a friend out of a financial fix.
Review: Kind of slow. Kind of formulaic. Almost like a TV movie. Malkovich's character is the weakest of the main characters. Damon, Norton, Turturro, and Landau are fine. I don't know very many people with Russian accents, but they don't seem to talk like Malkovich. It took away from the film.
Rating:"Rounders" at Amazon.com. "Rush Hour" - Drama with Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn.
Plot Intro: A Hong Kong Inspector's daughter is kidnapped. He tracks them down, but he has to team with a mouthy cop to get her back.
Review: Humorous. Jackie is still amazing. Chris Tucker is an acquired taste.
Rating:"Rush Hour" at Amazon.com. "Rushmore" - Comedy with Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Williams. Written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson. Directed by Wes Anderson.
Plot Intro: A high school student and the father of his friend attempt to woo a high school teacher.
Review: A humorous movie about a high school student who (some may say) has too much time on his hands. The student has a very large reservoir of creativity. One of the things to watch for are the plays which the high school student writes, produces, and directs. It is very funny how they are utilized in the film.
Rating:"Rushmore" at Amazon.com. "Saving Private Ryan" - War drama with Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina, Paul Giamatti. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Plot Intro: A soldier's brothers are all killed. A group of soldiers is tasked with bringing him back from the front lines.
Review: Should have won the 1998 Oscar for Best Picture.
Rating:"Saving Private Ryan" at Amazon.com. "Shakespeare in Love" - Costume dramedy with Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Affleck.
Plot Intro: Shakespeare has writer's block. It is solved through his relationship with a woman. He goes on to pen "Romeo and Juliet" and "Twelfth Night."
Review: Best Picture Oscar. Great fun, great costumes, great set design.
Rating:"Shakespeare in Love" at Amazon.com. "A Simple Plan" - Drama with Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton, Bridget Fonda.
Plot Intro: A plane crashes, and in it is a whole lot of money. The guys who discover it develop a simple plan to keep the money.
Review: Very good film.
Rating:"A Simple Plan" at Amazon.com. "Six Days, Seven Nights" - Adventure dramedy with Harrison Ford, Anne Heche, David Schwimmer. Directed by Ivan Reitman.
Plot Intro: Two people who have a hard time getting along crash onto a South Seas island. They have to learn to work together in order to survive and be rescued.
Review: Mildly entertaining.
Rating:"Six Days, Seven Nights" at Amazon.com. "Sliding Doors" - Romantic fantasy with Gwynneth Paltrow, John Hannah, Jeanne Tripplehorn.
Plot Intro: A young woman's life turns out very differently depending on whether she can catch a train.
Review: Interesting examination of how our lives are made up of a series of random events.
Rating:"Sliding Doors" at Amazon.com. "Small Soldiers" - Children's, young-teen's thriller. With Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jay Mohr, Denis Leary, Phil Hartman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ernest Borgnine, Frank Langella, Bruce Dern, Arthur Kennedy, Jim Brown, Sarah Michelle Geller, Clint Walker, Christopher Guest, Christina Ricci, Harry Shearer, Cheri Oteri.
Plot Intro: A teen working in his father's toy shop accepts shipment of some advanced toys. Turns out they are very advanced.
Review: Starts out interesting and gets more and more involved. It was better than I expected. Entertaining.
Rating:"Small Soldiers" at Amazon.com. "Smoke Signals" - Directed by Chris Eyre.
Plot Intro: A young Indian and his friend go on the road to visit the grave of one of their fathers.
Review: Very good film about Native Americans told by Native Americans from a Native American point of view Recommended.
Rating:"Smoke Signals" at Amazon.com. "The Spanish Prisoner" - Drama with Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara, Campbell Scott, Rebecca Pidgeon. Written and directed by David Mamet.
Plot Intro: A group works a scam.
Review: I found this film to be very good. It is always interesting to see scams in the works — even though they probably bear no relation to real ones.
Rating:"The Spanish Prisoner" at Amazon.com. "Tango" - AKA "Tango, no me dejes nuncas."
Plot Intro: After his wife leaves, a movie director attempts to make a film about tango.
Review: Good foreign film from Brazil. Nominated for Best Foreign Film. Great score.
Rating:"Tango" at Amazon.com. "There's Something About Mary" - Raunchy comedy with Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Chris Elliott, Matt Dillon.
Plot Intro: A man tries to find a girl he had a bad prom date with in high school.
Review: At times hilarious, at times humorous. Not for everyone. Scenes with the dog and those with Matt Dillon are worth seeing the film.
Warning: Some suggestive scenes. Some offensive language.
Rating:"There's Something About Mary" at Amazon.com. "The Thin Red Line" - War Drama with Nick Nolte.
Plot Intro: Remake of film from the 60s. Soldiers in the Pacific during WW2 attempt to survive.
Review: Realistic.
Rating:"The Thin Red Line" at Amazon.com. "The Truman Show" - Dramedy with Jim Carrey.
Plot Intro: A man grows up, unknowingly, to adulthood inside a TV show.
Review: Should have been nominated for best picture of 1998 rather than "The Thin Red Line." Worth seeing at least twice. The second time you see it, you'll notice the nuances of the writing and acting that make it even more effective.
Rating:"The Truman Show" at Amazon.com. "Waking Ned Divine" - Foreign film (no subtitles).
Plot Intro: One man in a small town holds the winning ticket in the Irish lottery. He's dead though. The town tries to collect the prize.
Review: Filmed on Isle of Man. Very humorous. Highly recommended. The man who impersonates the dead man is very funny. Think "naked on a motorcycle." Filmed on the Isle of Man.
Rating:"Waking Ned Divine" at Amazon.com. "The Waterboy" - Comedy with Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Rob Schneider.
Plot Intro: A mentally deficient man becomes a waterboy of his college team. Through a quirk of fate, he becomes the most feared linebacker in school history. Now he just has to get his coach to believe in himself.
Review: One of the better Sandler movies.
Rating:"The Waterboy" at Amazon.com. "The Wedding Singer" - Romantic comedy with Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore.
Plot Intro: A wedding singer and a waitress are engaged to the wrong people. They should be together.
Review: One of the better Adam Sandler films. One in a series of relatively good Barrymore films.
Rating:My review of 50 First Dates "The Wedding Singer" at Amazon.com. "What Dreams May Come" - Drama with Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Plot Intro: A couple's kids die, the husband dies, and the wife commits suicide. What happens after everyone is dead?
Review: Special effects are phenomenal. Robin Williams is very effective. You have to suspend your view of what the afterlife will be like. You have to understand that the film is dealing with a world that will not seem completely logical compared to the world we live in. Wonderful music.
Rating:"What Dreams May Come" at Amazon.com. "Wild Things" - Drama/thriller with Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Robert Wagner.
Plot Intro: A teacher is accused of sexual harrassment of one of the students. One thing leads to another.
Review: Twisty plot and some good performances. A very good film. Some sexually explicit scenes and some nudity.
Rating:"Wild Things" at Amazon.com. "The X-Files" - SciFi thriller with David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armen Mueller-Stahl.
Plot Intro: Muldur and Scully are investigating some weird goings-on.
Review: If you liked the TV series, you'll probably like the movie. I hadn't watched too much of the series before seeing the film, and I thought it was above average.
Rating:"The X-Files" at Amazon.com. "You've Got Mail" - Romantic comedy with Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Craig Kilbourne.
Plot Intro: A large bookstore opens and threatens the existence of a small bookstore down the street. The film deals with the relationship of the two owners.
Review: Remake of a James Stewart film, "Shop Around the Corner" (1940). A lot of fun.
Rating:"You've Got Mail" at Amazon.com. "Zero Effect" - Drama with Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neill, Kim Dickens.
Plot Intro: A man is being blackmailed, and he hires a detective to discover who is doing it and why.
Review: Once the story is understood as a modern day Sherlock Holmes story, it doesn't seem to be so odd. Stiller is fun as the annoyed sidekick. Pullman is great as the intense detective who has unusual theories about surveillance and other detective-related activities. There are other fine performances.
Rating:"Zero Effect" at Amazon.com.
"Absolute Power" - Drama with Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, E.G. Marshall. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Novel by David Baldacci. Screenplay by William Goldman.
Plot Intro: The president has an affair with the daughter of a powerful man. During a rendezvous, she is inadvertently killed. The crime is witnessed by a burglar who is on the run from that point on.
Review: Very good "Clint Eastwood" picture. Excellent performances from everyone involved.
Rating:"Absolute Power" at Amazon.com. "Air Force One" - Drama with Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell, Jurgen Prochnow.
Plot Intro: The president's plane is taken over by terrorists in order to get someone out of prison.
Review: Very good action picture. Harrison Ford does a great job as president. Oldman is very good as the very intelligent terrorist leader — the kind of role he has reprised multiple times.
Rating:"Air Force One" at Amazon.com. "Amistad" - Drama with Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Hawthorne, Pete Postlethwait, Stellan Skarsgard, Anna Paquin; directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Plot Intro: The slaves on an illegal slave ship mutiny but are caught off of the US coast and brought into court.
Review: A wonderful film; very moving. I can't recommend it highly enough. Should have been nominated for Best Picture Oscar. "Give us free!"
Rating:"Amistad" at Amazon.com. "As Good As It Gets" - Comedy with Helen Hunt, Jack Nicholson, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Plot Intro: A famous author who is agoraphobic has to interact with a struggling waitress and a gay neighbor, his friends, and his dog. The dog is a Brussells Griffon. It steals just about every scene it is in.
Review: Excellent film. Hunt and Nicholson won Oscars.
Rating:"As Good As It Gets" at Amazon.com. "Bean" - Comedy with Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, Burt Reynolds. Also known as "Bean: The Movie".
Plot Intro: Bean is sent to Los Angeles (from the art museum where he works) to help at the unveiling of a newly acquired painting, "Whistler's Mother."
Review: The character from the humorous British TV show is reprised in this film. I find most "Bean" episodes to be very funny, so I was interested in seeing what Atkinson would do on the big screen with 90+ minutes. While not as funny as some of the original skits, this film will please most "Bean" fans.
Rating:My review of "Mr. Bean's Holiday" (2007) "Bean" at Amazon.com. "Booty Call" - Romantic comedy with Jamie Foxx, Viveca A Fox, Bernie Mac.
Plot Intro: Two men look forward to their date with two hot women.
Review: Sexually explicit dialogue. Crude language. For many, it might be easier to watch with the sound muted.
Rating:"Booty Call" at Amazon.com. "Character" - Drama. Foreign. AKA "Karakter".
Plot Intro: A young man has to withstand several crises. Some of the crises are initiated by his own father. Is the father really hateful, or is he trying to build the young man's character?
Review: Won Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Dark, depressing, excellent.
Rating:"Karakter" at Amazon.com. "The Comedian Harmonists" - AKA "The Harmonists". See My review of "The Harmonists"
"Con Air" - Drama with Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, Ving Rhames, John Malkovich, Mykelti Williamson.
Plot Intro: An inmate gets out of prison on good behavior, and he hitches a ride home on a prisoner transport plane.
Review: Violent movie with some very disgusting characters in disgusting scenes.
Rating:"Con Air" at Amazon.com. "Conspiracy Theory" - Drama with Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and Patrick Stewart.
Plot Intro: A paranoid man monitors secret governmental organizations. He sends his theories to an attractive girl who works for the Justice Department. His wild theories are discounted. But one of his theories is close enough to the mark that he and the woman are chased by bad people.
Review: Mel Gibson is amazing.
Rating:"Conspiracy Theory" at Amazon.com. "Contact" - Sci-Fi with Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse.
Plot Intro: Worm hole travel to a conference with aliens.
Review: Based on a novel by Carl Sagan. The special effects are great — particularly when she arrives at the end of her journey. The meeting with the alien can be moving. Loses a lot when seen full screen. Widescreen is best.
Rating:"Contact" at Amazon.com. "Cop Land" - Drama with Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Rapaport, Cathy Moriarty, Annabella Sciorra.
Plot Intro: A small town in New Jersey is populated by New York police personnel. The local deaf sheriff idolizes them until he discovers the corruption.
Review: A great performance by Stallone. He gained quite a few pounds in order to play the part. And Keitel, Liotta, and DeNiro cannot give a bad performance.
Rating:"Cop Land" at Amazon.com. "Deconstructing Harry" - Comedy with Woody Allen, Judy Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Richard Benjamin, Tobey Maguire. Written and directed by Woody Allen.
Plot Intro: A writer has writer's block, so he tends to reminisce.
Review: Another acceptable Woody Allen picture.
Rating:"Deconstructing Harry" at Amazon.com. "The Devil's Own" - Drama with Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin, Rubén Blades, Treat Williams, Natascha McElhone. Directed by Alan J Pakula.
Plot Intro: An Irish terrorist temporarily lives in NYC under an assumed name with an Irish cop while he attempts to buy guns for the cause.
Review: Good teaming of Ford and Pitt. One of McElhone's early films.
Rating:"The Devil's Own" at Amazon.com. "Fairy Tale: A True Story" - Drama with Peter O'Toole, Harvey Keitel, Mel Gibson.
Plot Intro: Two children take a picture in 1917 England which is thought to be of fairies. It stirs up a lot of controversy. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle confirms that the picture is real. More controversy.
Review: Based on a true story. Interesting portrayal of the events around the pictures taken by two young girls. Good family entertainment.
Rating:"Fairy Tale: A True Story" at Amazon.com. "Fierce Creatures" - Comedy with John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Palin.
Plot Intro: A new zoo director comes in, and problems occur.
Review: The crew from "A Fish Called Wanda" had so much fun on the first film that they decided to do another one — though it's not a sequel. This film is not as good as "A Fish", but is that all that matters? Probably.
Rating:"Fierce Creatures" at Amazon.com. "The Fifth Element" - Sci-Fi with Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Ian Holme.
Plot Intro: A taxi driver gets involved in helping a strange girl and ends up helping save the world.
Review: If it weren't for Chris Tucker, this would be a great film. His voice is grating. If you find him funny, you will like the film even more than I do. Worth seeing at least once for the special effects.
Rating:"The Fifth Element" at Amazon.com. "4 Little Girls" - Documentary directed by Spike Lee.
Plot Intro: Four African-American girls die as the result of a church bombing in the 1960s.
Review: Excellent documentary portraying the way southern society — and possibly that of the whole country — was divided along racial lines in the 1960s. Hatred can even affect the innocent.
Rating:"4 Little Girls" at Amazon.com. "The Full Monty" - Comedy with Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson.
Plot Intro: Four men who are out of work in Birmingham, England try to make a big score by doing an exotic dance in front of a club full of women.
Review: Charming film. Great soundtrack. Recommended.
Rating:"The Full Monty" at Amazon.com. "G.I. Jane" - Drama with Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Morris Chestnut. Directed by Ridley Scott.
Plot Intro: A woman is allowed to join the Navy SEALS, because everyone expects her to fail.
Review: Demi does some amazing stuff, but the script is lacking something.
Rating:"G.I. Jane" at Amazon.com. "The Game" - Drama-thriller with Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Carroll Baker.
Plot Intro: A man's life is ruined by a game. The question is when is the game over?
Review: Very effective thriller. Douglas is excellent. I just wanted to punch Sean Penn's character at the end.
Rating:"The Game" at Amazon.com. "George of the Jungle" - Comedy with Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, John Cleese, Richard Roundtree.
Plot Intro: A jungle expedition runs into George, and George runs into a tree. "Watch out for that tree!"
Review: A lot of fun. Fraser is great at these cartoon characters. He's excellent in most of his other films as well.
Rating:"George of the Jungle" at Amazon.com. "Good Will Hunting" - Drama with Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellen Skarsgård, Casey Affleck. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Plot Intro: An inner-city kid works at a college as a janitor. Problem is that he is smarter than everyone there — including the teachers.
Review: Excellent movie with very good performances all round.
Rating:"Good Will Hunting" at Amazon.com. "Grosse Pointe Blank" - Comedy-thriller with John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria.
Plot Intro: A professional assassin is given a job in his hometown at the same time that his 10th year high school reunion is taking place.
Review: Cusack and Driver are very good — as always.
Rating:"Grosse Pointe Blank" at Amazon.com. "The Harmonists" - Drama. AKA "The Comedian Harmonists."
Plot Intro: Before the rise of Hitler to power in Germany, a group of men form a singing group called the "Comedian Harmonists." They become one of the most popular singing groups in Germany. The problem is that some of them are Jewish.
Review: Another film portraying the terror and the pain involved in Germany before the war. Excellent.
Rating:"The Harmonists" at Amazon.com. "Hercules" - Animated musical feature from Disney. Plot Intro: A boy finds out he is the son of Zeus. Review: A different style of animation for Disney. A lot of fun.
Rating:"Hercules" at Amazon.com. "Jackie Brown" - Drama with Pam Grier, Samuel L Jackson, Robert DeNiro, Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Based on a novel ("Rum Punch") by Elmore Leonard. Plot Intro: An aging airline stewardess is involved in money laundering for a drug dealer. She is caught and recruited to bring the drug dealer down. Review: Excellent adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. More of Leonard's novels should make it to the screen.
Rating:"Jackie Brown" at Amazon.com. "Karakter" - See "Character".
"L.A. Confidential" - Drama with Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito.
Plot Intro: The L.A. Police investigate a shooting.
Review: Very good film. Russell Crowe is building his career at this point. Basinger won her Best Supporting Actress award. She had a very good performance, but she wasn't on the screen very much.
Rating:"L.A. Confidential" at Amazon.com. "Liar Liar" - Comedy with Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Cary Elwes, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe, Swoozie Kurtz, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Cheri Otari.
Plot Intro: A lawyer has a problem with lying. His son makes a wish while blowing out the candles on his birthday cake that his father would no longer be able to lie.
Review: One of the better Jim Carrey vehicles. Very funny.
Rating:"Liar Liar" at Amazon.com. "Life is Beautiful" - Drama. Foreign film.
Plot Intro: One man's attempt to have his family survive the Holocaust.
Review: Funny, touching. A funny movie that does not make light of the Holocaust and the suffering in WW2.
Rating:"Life is Beautiful" at Amazon.com. "Lost World: Jurassic Park" - Science fiction thriller with Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard Attenborough. Also known as "Jurassic Park 2." Directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Plot Intro: Apparently, the madman who began the Jurassic Park is at it again. He had a second island where he was attempting to see what would happen if the dinosaurs roamed free. Would they come to some kind of equilibrium? Other scientific questions can also be answered by the experiment. But there are also problems. How do you keep the creatures from getting loose? How do you keep people away from the island? A research scientist is hired to find out how the experiment is going. She happens to be Goldblum's character's girlfriend. He mounts an expedition to rescue her. At the same time there are others who are going to "harvest" some of the creatures for a zoo near Los Angeles.
Review: Pretty good sequel to the 1993 hit "Jurassic Park". Goldblum is great as the chaos theory mathematician.
Rating:My review of "Jurassic Park" (1993) My review of "Jurassic Park III" (2001) "Lost World: Jurassic Park" at Amazon.com. "love jones" - Romantic comedy with Larenz Tate, Nia Long.
Plot Intro: A young poet attempts to woo a beautiful woman who is cynical about relationships.
Review: Very entertaining. The two stars are attractive together.
Rating:"love jones" at Amazon.com. "The Man Who Knew Too Little" - Comedy with Bill Murray, Joanne Whalley, Peter Gallagher, Alfred Molina.
Plot Intro: An employee of Blockbuster in Des Moines, IA, visits his brother in London on his birthday. The brother, however, has a business dinner he is hosting, so he arranges for the visiting brother to be involved in a TV show. Unfortunately, the visiting brother gets sucked into an international spy scheme — something he never understands. In the process he meets a beautiful girl who just wants to get her letters.
Review: I love this film. I think it is Murray's best since "Groundhog Day." Joanne Whalley is beautiful. I have lost count how many times I've viewed the film. I've always wanted to know what people in England think about it. If you are from Britain and have seen it, let me know what you thought.
Rating:My review of "Groundhog Day" (1993) "The Man Who Knew Too Little" at Amazon.com. "The Matchmaker" - Romantic comedy with Janeane Garofalo.
Plot Intro: An election campaign expert ends up in an Irish town at a time when they are preparing for an annual matchmaking festival.
Review: Another very pleasant Garofalo vehicle.
Rating:"The Matchmaker" at Amazon.com. "Men in Black" - Science fiction comedy-thriller with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
Plot Intro: A secret agency keep tabs on the aliens hiding out on Earth. They have to deal with a lot of crazy stuff.
Review: A lot of fun. Jones and Smith make a good team. Fiorentino is good, too, but she needed more screen time to have more impact. There just wasn't enough story to go around for everyone. D'Onofrio is amazing.
Rating:"Men In Black II" (2002). "Men in Black" at Amazon.com. "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" - Mystery drama with John Cusack, Kevin Spacey. Directed by Clint Eastwood.
Plot Intro: A murder in Savannah GA is investigated.
Review: Supposedly based on a true story. You get the feeling that it could have been better.
Rating:"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" at Amazon.com. "Mrs. Brown" - Drama with Judi Dench, Billy Connolly.
Plot Intro: Queen Victoria has a special relationship with one of her staff after the King dies.
Review: Very good film.
Rating:"Mrs. Brown" at Amazon.com. "Mr. Nice Guy" - Martial arts film with Jackie Chan. AKA "Yatgo ho yan".
Plot Intro: A Chinese chef who has a TV show in Australia is chased when he gets involved with a reporter who filmed a drug bust.
Review: Love just about anything Jackie Chan. Good fights and some comedy. Jackie does his own stunts.
Rating:"Mr. Nice Guy" at Amazon.com. "Mouse Hunt" - Comedy with Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Christopher Walken, Michael Jeter.
Plot Intro: Two men inherit a house. After they find out that it is valuable, they try to fix it up and sell it. However, there is one little thing stopping them.
Review: Cartoonish action sequences. I saw this in the theatre with some friends, and we nearly rolled on the floor laughing. For some reason, it wasn't nearly as funny on video.
Rating:"Mouse Hunt" at Amazon.com. "Murder at 1600" - Drama with Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Alan Alda, Ronny Cox, Diane Baker, Tate Donovan.
Plot Intro: A murder happens at the White House, and the cover-up begins.
Review: OK.
Rating:"Murder at 1600" at Amazon.com. "My Best Friend's Wedding" - Romantic comedy with Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett, M Emmet Walsh.
Plot Intro: Two friends agree that when they reach 30, if they aren't married, they will marry each other. She gets notification that he is going to get married. She realizes that she loves him — maybe, and she tries to break up the wedding.
Review: Funny at times, and painful at times. Everett and Diaz are great.
Rating:"My Best Friend's Wedding" at Amazon.com. "Out to Sea" - Comedy with Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon, Gloria DeHaven, Elaine Stritch, Hal Linden, Donald O'Connor, Rue McClanahan.
Plot Intro: Two old men board a boat in order to scam old women.
Review: The last Lemmon-Matthau movie. Still pretty good.
Rating:"Out to Sea" at Amazon.com. "Private Parts" - With Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Mary McCormack.
Plot Intro: How Howie became famous. The early days of Stern in radio.
Review: Supposedly a factual account of how Howard Stern became successful.
Warning: Some nudity and foul language and adult subjects.
Rating:"Private Parts" at Amazon.com. "The Rainmaker" - Drama with Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voigt, Mary Kay Place, Dean Stockwell, Teresa Wright, Virginia Madsen, Mickey Rourke. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the John Grisham novel.
Plot Intro: A guy fresh out of law school starts working for a shady lawyer. He ends up working on a case of medical insurance abuse that could be worth multi-millions.
Review: Great film. Damon is young enough, and the insurance executives are evil enough.
Rating:"The Rainmaker" at Amazon.com. "RocketMan" - Comedy with Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler.
Plot Intro: A geeky guy gets his chance to go up in space.
Review: Kind of childish with low-brow humor. You may think that it's funny. Kind of in the Jerry Lewis vein.
Rating:"RocketMan" at Amazon.com. "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" - Comedy with Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming. Robin Schiff adapted his play.
Plot Intro: Two girls who were not in the most popular group in high school have to face up to all the stories they've told about their lives when they go to their tenth year reunion.
Review: Sorvino and Kudrow are very good.
Rating:"Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" at Amazon.com. "Scream 2" - Thriller with Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Sarah Michelle Geller, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Liev Schreiber, Portia de Rossi, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rebecca Gayheart, Tori Spelling. Directed by Wes Craven.
Plot Intro: The events of the first movie were written into a book and then turned into a movie. Bad things are happening in Woodsboro again. Copycats?
Review: Some thrills, some funny moments. The film is interesting to a certain extent because of all the young actors.
Rating:My review of "Scream" "Scream 2" at Amazon.com. "Starship Troopers" - Sci-fi thriller with Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Rue McClanahan. Based on the Robert Heinlein book.
Plot Intro: A group of recruits gel together to become an effective fighting unit against an intimidating foe.
Review: Excellent special effects. If you like the movie, you should read the book. The book is, of course, better. The Troopers descend to planets in their own personal re-entry capsules, and they wear suits that are much more than anything they attempted to show in the movie — which is too bad.
Rating:"Starship Troopers" at Amazon.com. "The Sweet Hereafter" - Drama with Ian Holm.
Plot Intro: There is a school bus accident. A small town must deal with the tragedy.
Review: Excellent drama.
Rating:"The Sweet Hereafter" at Amazon.com. "'Til There Was You" - Romantic comedy with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dylan McDermott, Karen Allen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston.
Plot Intro: After years of near meetings, two people meet and fall in love.
Review: Sweet story.
Rating:"'Til There Was You" at Amazon.com. "Titanic" - Drama with Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart. Directed by James Cameron.
Plot Intro: The maiden voyage of the unsinkable ship.
Review: Excellent film. Won Best Picture Academy award for the year and smashed all sales records. Excellent special effects that make it look like it is really happening.
Rating:"Titanic" at Amazon.com. "Tomorrow Never Dies" - James Bond adventure film with Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce, Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn.
Plot Intro: A media mogul hatches a plot to start a war between China and Britain in order to expand his media empire.
Review: Brosnan makes a very good Bond (Connery is regarded by just about everyone as the best). Yeoh is beautiful. Hatcher is sexy. Many good performances can be found. Good action and special effects.
Rating:"Tomorrow Never Dies" at Amazon.com. "Wag the Dog" - Political comedy with Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H Macy, Woody Harrelson. Directed by Barry Levinson.
Plot Intro: The president does something scandalous during a presidential re-election campaign. The "troops" are called in to cover it up.
Review: Excellent political comedy that emphasizes that nothing that is seen in any media can really be trusted.
Rating:"Wag the Dog" at Amazon.com.
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"Beautiful Girls" - Romantic comedy with Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Annabeth Gish, Lauren Holly, Timothy Hutton, Mira Sorvino, Rosie O'Donnell, Natalie Portman.
Plot Intro: High school friends re-unite before their high school reunion.
Review: A good film. O'Donnell is very good, as is Portman (why couldn't she be this good in the Star Wars movies?). A film about what happens in your 20s when you face up to what your life is shaping up to be.
Rating:"Beautiful Girls" at Amazon.com. "Big Night" - Comedy with Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, Liev Shreiber, Ian Holm. Stanley Tucci was co-producer, co-writer, and co-director.
Plot Intro: A restaurant is in trouble. The owner of a nearby restaurant offers to help.
Review: A very good little film. More of a character study or situation comedy movie. No action.
Rating:"Big Night" at Amazon.com. "The birdcage" - Comedy with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart, Christine Baranski, Hank Azaria. Directed by Mike Nichols. Based on a French play that was made in the French movie "La Cage aux Folles."
Plot Intro: The son of two homosexuals in Miami's South Beach is going to get married to the daughter of two very conservative people.
Review: Remake of "La Cage aux Folles." Nathan Lane is brilliant. Christine Baranski is great. Williams is more of a straight man in this film. I first saw this in a theatre in Miami, and we were rolling on the floor -- figuratively speaking. It was interesting to watch it there, because the film is supposed to occur on South Beath. It doesn't seem to have the same punch on the small screen with a small group — especially since everyone would know the story.
Rating:"The birdcage" at Amazon.com. "La Cage aux Folles" at Amazon.com. "Brassed Off!" - Romantic comedy with Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor.
Plot Intro: A local brass band in a small British town may have to disband after the coal mine closes.
Review: Pleasant romantic comedy. Some foul language.
Rating: