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Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Shannon Dougherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck
My rating: * * *
C
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Michael Mann, based on the novel by Thomas Harris
Starring: William L. Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan
My rating: * * * 1/2
T, Cr
Directed by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Written by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Hugo Weaving
My rating: * * * * *
O, SF, A
Go to my page for The Matrix
Directed by: Larry & Andy Wachowski
Written by: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Monica Bellucci
My rating: * * * *
A, SF
Directed by: Larry & Andy Wachowski
Written by: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith
My rating: * * * 1/2
A, SF
Directed by: Mark S. Waters
Written by: Tina Fey, based on the book 'Queen Bees and Wannabes' by Rosalind Wiseman
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried
Review: This teen comedy-drama is an above-average teen movie. Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) has been home schooled all her life and is entering the world of an American high school for the first time. She is befriended by the Plastics, the three meanest girls in school, and discovers the levels of nastiness girls can reach. This movie has been compared to Heathers, the 1989 black comedy set in an American high school, starring Winona Ryder in the same sort of role as Lindsay Lohan. While it is not as dark as Heathers, it is just as bitchy. It is also a very funny, sometimes uncomfortable look into the world of teenage girls and the social hierarchies they institute and battle to either uphold or demolish, depending on their perspective. It avoids most of the clich�s in a sense, but most of the typical ingredients are there in some form. But this is an enjoyable movie, very funny in parts, and insightful at the same time.
My rating: * * * *
C, D
Directed by: Jay Roach
Written by: Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo
Review: Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Pamela Byrnes (Teri Polo) are finally getting married. They�ve set a date, Greg is getting along with Pam�s parents, and the only thing left to do is for her parents to meet the Fockers. Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) says that he measures a man by what his parents are like (ye old �the apple doesn�t fall far from the tree� idea) so Greg is a little worried about him meeting his mother Roz (Barbra Streisand), a sex therapist for the elderly and his father Bernie (Dustin Hoffman), a retired lawyer who quit his job to be a stay at home dad. Of course a conflict of personalities occurs between the two sets of parents and Greg is embarrassed multiple times in the process.
My expectations weren�t too high for this movie because I�d read bad reviews so I was pleasantly surprised when I found it to be very funny at times. I thought all the big names playing the parents, while having a �wow� factor attached, might result in some sort of clash but they all work together quite nicely. However, it does mean Ben Stiller has less time to flex his funny muscles and his role is sort of relegated to that of a sideliner. But fear not, he is still at the centre of many cringe-worthy moments, the fondue scene being particularly so, but I won�t go into details. Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman are great as the Fockers, and their lack of reserve is refreshing and often laugh-inducing. Although not quite as good as the first, it still has as many laughs and that counts for a fair amount in a comedy, right?
My rating: * * * 1/2
C
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan, based on a story by Jonathan Nolan
Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano
Review:
My rating: * * * * *
T, Cr, M
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by: Ed Solomon, based on the comic book by Lowell Cunningham
Starring:Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Fiorentino
My rating: * * * 1/2
C, A, SF
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by: Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro, based on the comic book by Lowell Cunningham
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle
My rating: * * *
C, A, SF
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Michael Mann, based on characters from the TV series created by Anthony Yerkovich
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, Naomie Harris
My rating: * * * *
A, Cr, R
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Scott Frank, Jon Cohen, based upon the short story by Philip K. Dick
Starring: Tom Cruise, Max von Sydow, and Colin Farrell
My rating: * * * *
SF, D, A, C, M, T
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Written by: J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller
Starring: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburn, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kerri Russell, Maggie Q, Billy Crudup
Review: So what do you expect from Mission: Impossible � III? Are you after an intelligent, plot-driven, action-packed spy flick? Well, you�ll be halfway pleased with this at least. I suspect people don�t expect much more than a popcorn action flick from MI3 considering what MI2 was like. Thankfully this third installment is so much better than MI2 but still retains that glossy Hollywood flavour, unlike the darker original Mission Impossble.
However, that�s not necessarily a bad thing because MI3 is a LOT of fun. Sure there are few bits you�ll scoff at, but most of the time, if you�re laughing, it�s because it�s actually really funny! Look out for the scene where Ethan Hunt and his team break into the Vatican, it�s quite hilarious.
In some ways you can see J.J Abrams inexperience as a film director; it doesn�t always flow that well, and the plot is second to the individual scenes (which are all well done). The talked about �emotional aspect� of the film works to a certain degree, but doesn�t truly convince. However, it�s enough to make you care about the characters without being too mushy.
One thing that did strike me about this movie was a couple of points at which it is very similar to the James Cameron / Arnold Schwarzenegger movie True Lies. The most obvious aspect is the 'secret government operative whose wife has no idea what he really does', and what follows from that � she gets kidnapped, has no idea what�s going on, her husband's secret is revealed, etc. And then there's the car chase / explosions scene on the bridge (it appears in the trailer) which was a VERY similar set-up to a scene in True Lies. Who knows, perhaps it was done on purpose as some sort of reference?
In the end, however, it's an above-average popcorn flick and the good outweighs the bad. It�s clever, unexpectedly funny, and packed with great action scenes.
My rating: * * * *
A, T, D
reviewed May 2006
Directed by: Mike Newell
Written by: Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhal, Ginnifer Goodwin
My rating: * * *
D
Directed by: Peter Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich
Written by: Robert L. Baird, Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett Reese, Jonathan Roberts, Andrew Stanton
Starring: (the voices of) John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi
My rating: * * * *
C, A, O, An
Directed by: Baz Lurhman
Written by: Baz Lurhman, Craig Pearce
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Richard Roxburgh, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo
My rating: * * * *
R, O, Mu
Directed by: Doug Liman
Written by: Simon Kinberg
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody
Review: John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) Smith have been married for 6 years and feel that their marriage is falling apart; they go through every day as a routine, never really communicating or feeling any passion about the marriage. The primary reason for this would likely be that each of them is a hired assassin and can�t tell the other. When they find out their spouse�s secret they are both hired by their respective companies to kill the other. Through this premise, the movie tries to explore the theme of relationships, often successfully but not exactly subtly.
The film for the most part focuses on Pitt and Jolie�s characters, with only two other roles that have any substantial speaking parts. Vince Vaughn plays Mr. Smith�s co-worker, a layabout assassin who still lives with his mum, and Adam Brody (Seth from The O.C.) plays a target that John and Jane are both trying to kill. Both of these characters bring humour to the film, although Pitt and Jolie do a good job of producing a few laughs as well. However, the movie is foremost an action movie, especially towards the second half when there are several large-scale action sequences including a high speed car chase and a house-demolishing fight scene.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have an obvious chemistry between them in their scenes and they�re given some great lines to bounce off each other. I kind of feel bad for mentioning their chemistry as its like I�m putting yet another nail in the Pitt/Aniston coffin, but that said, it really doesn�t have much to do with the movie, and the rapport between the two leads serves the film well.
One problem I had with the movie was the high body count, and having to try to sympathise with leads who kill people for a living without a second thought, but for the most part the film distances us from the reality of their job and the two actors are so charming that you can�t help liking them.
All in all, this is a movie that combines comedy, relationship drama and a lot of action all in one, not entirely successfully, but enjoyably.
My rating: * * * 1/2
A, R, C
Directed by: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Written by: Robert D. San Souci(story), Rita Hsiao, Chris Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, Raymond Singer, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer
Starring: (the voices of) Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, Ming-Na, Pat Morita
My rating: * * * *
C, R, W, An
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Written by: screenplay by Brian Helgeland, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane
Starring: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney
My rating: * * * * 1/2
O, D, Cr