2002-1.  CHICAGO, 2. Signs, 3. Punch Drunk Love, 4. The Bourne Identity, 5. About a Boy, 6. Frailty, 7. The Sweetest Thing, 8. Minority Report, 9. Insomnia,  10. The Hours

ARCHIVED REVIEWS

: Loved it, recommend it, impressed, will watch it again, my kind of movie

 :Liked it, was glad I saw it in the theatre, impressed

 : An average movie that I could have waited to see on DVD rental or even HBO

 : Hated it, a waste of money, watching it again would be the worse kind of torture

"I am Sam"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://iamsammovie.com/

My Review:  Over all a pretty good movie.  It was a tear jerker and the little girl...she was perfect for the part.  Just a feel good movie, I was glad I saw it.

"The Counte of Monte Cristo"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://bventertainment.go.com/movies/montecristo/intro.htm

My Review:  After watching Oscar quality movies the last couple of months this movie flopped with me.  I found it boring, LONG and predictable.  There wasn't really anything I liked about it.  I'm glad Guy Pierce is getting work but his acting was not up to his performance in Memento or L.A. Confidential.

"Amelia" 

My Review:  This was a French film that was nominated for a Golden Globe.  I watched it at an independent theatre called the Rag Tag Cafe.  It was a very pleasant experience.  The movie was very, very good.  It was light-hearted, fun and hilarious.  I think I will start watching foreign films more often after watching this gem.

"The Shipping News" Starring Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, and Cate Blanchett

Rated: R

Official website:  http://www.miramaxhighlights.com/theshippingnews/

My Review:  Excellent movie.  A remarkable tale, the Newfoundland scenery is gorgeous, Kevin Spacey gives one of his best performances as an emotionally abused man.  It is rated R for some disturbing scenes but I felt they were essential to the telling of the story.  A very well done movie by the director of Chocolat (another of my favorites).  Judy Dench was always great, of course.

"A Beautiful Mind" Starring Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly

Rated: PG-13

Office Website:  http://www.abeautifulmind.com/

My Review:  I haven't cried that much during a movie for a long, long time.  This was a great movie!  The story was great and I was glad that it was based on the life of a real person.  Over all very, very good.  Four stars...and probably some Oscar awards too.

"Lord of the Rings" Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett and others.

Rated: PG-13

Office website: http://www.lordoftherings.net/

My Review:  Awesome, awesome movie!  It did at sometimes feel like a 3 hour long movie but I was never bored.  I haven't read the books before so I can't say anything about how well they adapted the book to film.  The special effects were great and it was just an overall great film.  I can barely wait for the next one...but I will have to wait...until December 2002. 

"Life as a House" Starring Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas

Rated: R

Official Website:  http://www.lifeasahouse.com/

My Review: Great feel good movie.  I didn't watch this movie at the theatres, rather on my computer but it was still very good.  And it was one of the few movies I've watched on my computer that I would watch again on DVD.  Every one did a really great job of acting, especially Kevin Kline.  Take some Kleenexes to this movie... 

"Ocean's Eleven" Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and many more

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://oceans11.warnerbros.com/cmp/main.html

My review:  Just another heist movie with a lot of famous people in it.  This movie was enjoyable but didn't do anything that hadn't been done before.  So if you're looking for a mindless, fun flick this is it.  Just don't expect too much from it.  Casey Affleck and Scott Caan gave the best performances (I thought) of all of the cast members. 

"Kate and Leopold" Starring Huge Jackman and Meg Ryan

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.kateandleopold-themovie.com/

My Review:  My review simple for this one...Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman! 

(and an extra just for Hugh Jackman)

"Vanilla Sky" Starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz

Rated: R

My review:  A wild, wild ride.  Though the shock ending wasn't as good as some other movies (say "Memento" or "Unbreakable") it was interesting.  It wasn't the ending I expected at least.  Over all an entertaining movie, I wouldn't take the kids to see it though.  Penelope Cruz was great, I'd like to watch the original Spanish version of this movie now that she also starred in. 

"Forty Days and Forty Nights"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.miramax.com/40daysand40nights/

My Review: A cute, funny movie.  More cute and somewhat romantic than hilariously funny.  Sophomoric humor but it got several laughs from me.  Not sure what that says about me...but I did enjoy the movie.  Warning: Definitely deserved the R rating.

"Brotherhood of the Wolf"

Rated: R

http://www.lepactedesloups.com/new/default.asp

My Review: Great movie.  A little long but it was worth it.  I'd like to see several of the actors in more movies.  I was expecting to be a little more spooked than I was but overall it was pretty good.

"National Lampoon's Van Wilder"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.nationallampoon.com/vanwilder/

My Review:  About what you would expect of a National Lampoon movie made in 2002.  I thought it was hilarious.  It was somewhere between American Pie and Something About Mary if that gives you any idea of the type of humor.  Some things were just too corny but several times I almost fell off of my seat laughing.  I like Ryan Reynolds from watching him on the show "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" but I can do without Tara Reid.  Something happened to her since American Pie, can we say anorexia?

"Frailty"

Rated: R

Official website:  http://www.frailtythefilm.com/

My Review:  Very Stephen King-like.  I loved this movie, it was scary and thought provoking.  It's one of those movies that when it's over you're discussing it for several days.  I liked it of course because of the surprise, twist ending (you know me...a sucker for that type of movie).  A much better twist ending than Vanilla Sky by a long shot.  Even though the whole movie was centered on a violent subject you never really saw a lot of violence, it was more implied which I appreciated.

"High Crimes"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.highcrimesmovie.com/main.html

My Review:  Great movie!!  Lots of action, mystery, intrigue. Ashley Judd did a great job as usual.  Another surprise ending but this one I could see coming a little so not nearly as good as Frailty.  Overall very enjoyable movie.

"About a Boy"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.about-a-boy.com/

My Review:  Very cute, very funny movie.  I was laughing or chuckling throughout the whole movie.  I love Hugh Grant and this is the best part for him.  Marcus' eyebrows were a little strange I must admit (you'll see what I mean if you watch this movie) but it added to his charm I guess.  Just a great feel-good movie, one of the funnier ones I've watched lately.

"Insomnia"

Rated: R

Official website:  http://dontcloseyoureyes.warnerbros.com/

My Review:  A good murder mystery that keeps you guessing to the end.  I didn't know if Robin Williams could pull off the psycho bad guy role but he did it very well.  I was excited about seeing this movie because I liked the director's previous work "Memento" a lot.  This one didn't quite live up to "Memento"...  If you're looking for something different than the usual hyped up summer flick this would be it.

"Spiderman"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.spiderman.sonypictures.com/

My Review:  I loved this movie. It had all the good ingredients...the perfect actors/actresses for the roles, adventure, love, awesome visual effects.  A great movie to take the kids to, too.  I can't wait to see the next two.

"Star Wars:Episode II - Attack of the Clones"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/

My Review:  Great movie!!  I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan in the world but even I enjoyed this movie.  My favorite scene - the Yoda fight scene.

"The Bourne Identity"

Rated:  PG-13

Official website:  http://www.thebourneidentity.com/index_2.html

My Review:  Great, great movie! I think this had one of the best car chases I've seen in a long time.  Fairly clean for an action movie.  It had suspense and great acting. I especially liked the job done by German new-comer Franka Potente.  Matt Damon was great as always

.

"Minority Report"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.minorityreport.com/

My Review:  Awesome movie!!!  I went into this movie thinking I would like "Bourne Identity" better but I loved this movie.  It had twists and turns everywhere, some were a little predictable but most were not.  I can't say much about it without giving things away, it was so much better than A.I.  One of the best movies I've seen all summer...and considering what's being released the rest of this summer it may be the best movie I see all summer.

"Mr. Deeds"

Rated:  PG-13

Official website:  http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mrdeeds/

My Review:  Horibble, horrible movie.  The only thing this movie had going for it was Adam Sandler and even he couldn't make this movie funny.  Every good joke (and there were only about 5) you had already seen in the previews.  I enjoy Adam Sandler and all of his movies but this one was the worst, I hope he does better with his next choice of scripts or he's going to quickly lose the Adam Sandler appeal that gets people to his movies.

"Road to Perdition"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.roadtoperdition.com/

My Review:  Great, great movie.  One of the best I've seen all year, definitely an Oscar contender especially for Tom Hanks.  There wasn't a lot of violence but the language was pretty harsh for that era of time.  Overall an awesome movie with an ending I didn't predict.

"Austin Powers: Goldmember"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.austinpowers.com/

My Review:  A pretty funny movie.  Though some people have been saying it is funnier than the first movie I can't say I agree.  There were a lot of old jokes, a few new jokes.  Goldmember was pretty disturbing and I didn't find the chemistry between Foxy and Austin believable at all.  Still pretty funny, it got a few chuckles out of me.

"Signs"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.movie.de/zeichen/

My Review: Wow!  I don't know how M. Night Shyamalan keeps doing this but he's worked his magic again.  I loved this movie!  I would recommend it to anyone.  The message was good, it made you jump in the right places...Wow!  It was just another incredible movie by this very talented director.

"Punch Drunk Love"

Rated: R

Official web site: http://www.punchdrunklove.com/

My Review:  Great movie!  Very, very dark and dry humor but it was so hilarious.  I'm happy to say though that no one dies:)  At moments I was worried.  I'm so glad Adam Sandler starred in this movie, especially after "Mr. Deeds", he has redeemed himself with me.  It's been months since I've been to the movie theatre but this one couldn't be missed.

"The Ring"

Rated: PG-13

Official web site:  http://www.ring-themovie.com/

My Review:  The most horrible movie I've seen in a long time.  This movie ended up being something in between "Scream" and "The Blair Witch Project".  The plot was horrible, there were over 20 ends left loose with no explanation. I know that it is based on a Japanese film that was made several years ago but from what I'm reading the original film was much scarier.  I think I jumped maybe one time when watching this movie...I don't know what I expected but definitely not what it turned out to be.

"My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding"

Rated: PG

Official web site:  http://movies.yahoo.com/greekwedding/#

My Review:  Very funny and cute. Just a great movie!  No wonder it's been at Forum Theatres for about 4 months now.

"Catch Me If You Can"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.dreamworks.com/catchthem/jump2.html

My Review:  Pretty entertaining flick.  I need to watch the A&E special now to see how much of it was actually true.  Dicaprio did a really good job, though I'll never really be able to see him as anything other than "Jack".

"Far From Heaven"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.farfromheavenmovie.com/

My Review:  Jeepers, this was a swell movie!  OK, enough of the 50's jargon which was all over this movie.  Great movie, great cast, great costumes, great set decorations...you left feeling like you had been watching a movie actually made in the 50's and very thankful that today we have (somewhat) changed our attitudes and ideas from how they were then.

"Gangs of New York"

Rated: R

Official website:  http://www.gangsofnewyork.com/

My Review:  A story that has been told before, boy sees dad die, boy vows to revenge dad, etc.  Even though it was predictable it was very well done.  The violence was pretty graphic, deserving of the R rating.  Daniel Day-Lewis did the best job of acting as anyone in this movie.  The sets and costumes and nuances of that time were realistic and the music was really great.  I did look at my watch once or twice during the 3 hour long movie but mostly because I was hungry!

"Adaptation"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/adaptation/

My Review: Very different and original.  Pretty dry laughs but they all got a chuckle out of me.  Not for everyone, if you didn't like or didn't see because you didn't think you would like "Being John Malkovich" then you probably don't want to see this movie.  Though I must say I enjoyed this movie much more than "Being John Malkovich", may have something to do with my fear of small spaces?

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.lordoftherings.net/

My Review:  Just OK.  I wasn't as impressed as with the first movie of this triology.  It was still pretty good though...Gollum was entertaining.

"The Recruit"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://touchstonepictures.go.com/recruit/

My Review:  So predictable and unrealistic that I was bored to tears.  I guess I should know better than to expect a great movie when Al Pacino is in it anymore.  He just doesn't pick very good films to star in these days.  Now, I love Colin Farrell so the movie may have been worth it just for him...hmmm, no even he wasn't worth the money I wasted on this movie.

"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.howtoloseaguymovie.com/

My Review:  Pretty cute movie with lots of laughs.  Just about what you would expect from this type of movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two of my favorite actors made this movie even more enjoyable.

"The Hours"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.thehoursmovie.com/home.php

My Review:  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.   Unbelievably good.  Now I have to rethink my pick of Chicago for the Best Picture winner at the Oscars this year.  They weren't kidding in the trailer when they say this movie could not only change the way you think but also change your life.

"Old School"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.oldschool-themovie.com/

My Review:  So, so, bad but so hilarious!  I laughed so hard at one point that I was crying.  Will Ferrell was the best part of this movie, he was great.  Piven was awesome as the dean!  Of course at some points this movie might have went a little too far (hence the R rating) but overall it was enjoyable.

"Chicago"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.miramax.com/chicago/index.html

My Review:  Awesome, incredible, breathtaking, remarkable, fantastic, amazing, outstanding... 

"The Pianist"

Rated: R

Official website: http://www.thepianist-themovie.com/

My Review:  Wow.  No wonder Adrian Brody won best actor, he was incredible.  The movie was very moving, opening your eyes again and again to the insanity and cruelness of the German Nazis that we sometimes forget about, or MOST of them.  Great movie, everyone should see it. 

"Anger Management"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/angermanagement/

My Review:  The best Adam Sandler movie since "Big Daddy".  Jack Nicholson made this movie though.  He and Adam Sandler were a good match.  Overall pretty good movie.

"X-2"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://www.x2-movie.com/

My Review:  Awesome movie!  Very impressed.  So much better than the first one, mainly because the characters have already been introduced so they could jump right into the action.  Not too sure about the ending, I thought it could have been done differently but I'm sure all will be revealed in the next X-men movie.  Can't wait! 

"The Matrix Reloaded"

Rated: R

Official website: http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/

My Review:  Pretty good.  I still like the first one the best.  The plot was a little lacking in this one and the "preachy" scenes a little too frequent.  Visual effects and action sequences were still great.  I still don't understand the Matrix but it was a good movie to catch at the theatre. 

"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"

Rated: PG-13

Official website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/pirates/index.html

My Review: Hilarious!  Awesome movie!  Johnny Depp was...well, words cannot describe how funny his part was and how well he played it!  Great movie for the whole family, I loved it!  Haven't seen a better movie all year yet!

"Big Fish"

Rated: PG-13

Official website:  http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/bigfish/index.html

My review:  Great movie!  I was a little reluctant to see it at first but I went along with Keith.  I am really glad I saw this movie, it was very well done.  And if you aren't bawling at the very end (and you'll know where I mean once you've watched it)...well, then you have must have no heart, tinman!  I'm afraid this one might get passed up for Oscars but it was definitely worthy.