2003

Movie	Star Rating	Comments
The Dreamers	3	An adult art film by Bernardo Bertolucci telling the story of three college students in Paris in 1968. A nice slice of life with some fascinating scenes but the thin story drags it down.
City of God	3.5	A disturbing look at life in a Brazilian ghetto. The gangs are run by kids (as in 12 year olds!) and they toy with the cops for sport. Based on a true story, this is a gritty, violent look at life in the third world.
Touching the Void	3.5	I normally don't have much sympathy for mountain climbers in peril. I have trouble with the hero designation for those that have a crew of 150, a budget of millions and use more gear than was needed for the invasion of the Falklands. But here we have two climbers, with only what they can carry on their backs, trying to scale a 21,000 foot Peruvian peak in a way never attempted before. Up is not the problem, down is an incredible nightmare. The approach is riveting; the two climbers discuss their ordeal documentary style, interspersed with harrowing reenactments of their adventure. Very well done and very scary. This is a story of a man with an enormous will to live. Inspiring. So why only 3 and half stars? As good as 90% of the movie is, I was disappointed at the ending. After take us through every excruciating inch of their survival trek, the film ended too suddenly for me. I would have liked a little more follow up on their situation.
The Cooler	3.5	A Vegas fable, with the always likeable William H. Macy as the cooler, a guy so unlucky that all he has to do is walk by a roulette table to make everyone lose. The violence is a bit out of place at times but the terrific ending made up for it.
Monster	4	Not only am I sure that Charlize Theron will be nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Monster, I am sure she will win. Find a bookie, ignore the odds and bet the house on her to take home the statue. And it's not the physical change of a beautiful woman into a street skank, it is much more how she becomes the character, much the way Billy Bob Thorten became Carl in Sling Blade. This is a scary, troubling true story of a woman on the very edge of society.
In America	2.5	This is on lots of Top Ten lists, but it will settle in at around 50 on my Top 100. The performances are great, especially the two daughters, but I just couldn't buy the premise of the father setting up his family for life in the ghetto so that he can pursue his acting. It's not like he is committed to being an actor, and needed to live in the city, he is barely committed to getting out of bed in the morning.
21 Grams	4	Amazing performances by the three leads (Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts) as their interlocking stories are complicated by a seemingly random style of editing that was troubling at first. The sequencing of Memento had a purpose, here the time jumping took some getting used to, but it all comes together in the end.
Paycheck	2.5	This is on of those science fiction movies that work as long as you forget the science part and focus on the fiction, as in; it could never happen.
House of Sand and Fog	4	A fascinating study of culture, pride, despair and loyalty. With the setting of a seemingly innocuous real estate transaction, this conflict between individuals who are both right can be seen as an analogy for so many things in today's complex world. Very well acted with a likely Best Actor nomination for Ben Kingsley.
Cold Mountain	4	An amazing epic love story, with the end of the civil war as the backdrop showing us not the "glory" of battle but the horrors of war; starvation, chaos, and despair. I liked the way the characters adapted to survive when faced with the most difficult of challenges.
Big Fish	3.5	This novel was made to be filmed by Tim Burton, but he had to be careful not to get too excited about all of the outlandish "story" sequences, which he almost did. Fortunately, by the third act he returns to the main theme, ties things up nicely and gives us a very good film about family, relationships and what really matters in life.
Something's Got to Give	3	A romantic comedy featuring Jack Nicholson playing Jack, the rogue who only dates young women, until he meets the Diane Keaton character. And of course they fall in love (but I am not sure why, I just didn't see what he saw in her.) Funny at times, and pleasant overall but needed to be about 30 minutes shorter. We all know what's going to happen, it shouldn't take so long to get there.
The Station Agent	3	This is one of those small art films (STOP), and despite some nice moments it just doesn't reach high enough (DON'T DO THIS) to get a top rating. And when you consider the time of year, this film is dwarfed (YOU ARE GOING TOO FAR NOW) by the competition.
Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King	4	I liked all three, but TROTK is clearly the best. Gollum/Smeagle is back, continuing his inner debate. The hobbits show their mettle, their camaraderie, and Samwise Gamgee emerges as their biggest hero. This is a special effects triumph (except for the nagging problem of trying to make the hobbits look real in scenes with humans, sometimes it looks like a bad episode of Land of the Giants.) I thought the battle scenes were great in The Two Towers, but TROTK easily tops them in scale, impact and creativity. One of the best films of the year.
The Last Samurai	3.5	A story of culture and commitment as a U.S. soldier tries to regain some sense of order and honor by learning the ways of the Japanese Samurai after his disturbing experience fighting native Americans in the post Civil War West. A fascinating look at a different world.
Talk to Her	4	As a rule I don't like subtitled films, and generally avoid them, but I heard so many good things about Almodovar's Talk to Her, that I thought I would give it a try (plus I was in Buffalo with nothing to do!) A unique story of devotion, friendship that develops slowly but powerfully. A very good rental, stick with it, you will be glad you did.
Bad Santa	2	Bad Movie I was looking forward to this well reviewed "dark" comedy. I like Billy Bob and am always up for some sarcastic, cynical comic relief. But it plays like a one joke SNL skit, just not enough comedy to sustain a full length movie.
Tupac; Resurrection	3	An unusual approach; a biography narrated by the subject (rapper Tupac Shakur), in a film made after Tupac died. Life after death? Time machine? Distortion of Space/Time Continuum? Not quite so intricate, the producers built the project using edited interviews with Tupac. He talks about his childhood (over home movies), his rise to stardom, his activism and his frequent brushes with authority and the rap sub-culture.
Gothika	2.5	Halle Berry is excellent as the psychologist accused of murder and placed into the mental institution where she previously worked (right, like that would happen.) But she can't quite save the forced plot.
The Human Stain	3.5	There is a much talked about "secret" in this film, but it won't be much talked about here, because then it wouldn't be a secret. (Roger will tell you all about it in his review.) Despite Anthony Hopkins being amazingly miscast, this is an worthwhile film; deep, thought provoking, with another great performance by Nicole Kidman.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	4	A terrific epic, with exciting battle scenes, intricate character development and a few unexpected turns. Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Screenplay and Best Actor (Russell Crowe) are in the bag.
Shattered Glass	3.5	Based on the true story of Stephen Glass, the whiz-kid writer for the New Republic who was under soooo much pressure that every once in a while he felt like he had to twist a fact, add a fictional source or, what the hell, just make up the whole damn story! Got to make that deadline! A fascinating look at corporate America.
The Matrix Revolutions	2	I didn't like the first two much (except for the cool visuals) and this one is downhill from those efforts. It did have some (unintentionally) funny scenes though. My favorite is when Neo and Trinity hop into their incredibly complex and enormous flying machine, try to start it, can't, and Trinity says "It must be a fuse" !! A FUSE! what is this, 1940?!! So Trinity goes into the back of the ship while Neo waits (reading the paper? doing his nails? trying on cool sunglasses?) and of course that's where the bad guy is waiting for her and proceeds to blah, blah, blah..... And about those cool visuals, I loved the scene in the original when Trinity runs up the wall to escape the bad guys. Just amazing. But here is a typical scene in Revolutions: The good guys burst into a room and start shooting at the bad guys. 10 people firing at each other, in a 12 foot by 12 foot room, all with automatic weapons, and naturally no one is getting hit but they needed a special effect so the bad guys rotate themselves to stand on the ceiling. Still firing away, not any more protected than they were before and still no one is getting hit (maybe their fuses are blown.)
Elf	3	Saw the preview, looked pretty silly, almost didn't go but Roger said it was worth it and he was right. It is silly, and goofy but Will Farrell fan's will like it, kids will like it and lots of people clapped at the end.
In the Cut	3	This is a first, a new genre; a serial killer / art film. Excellent cinematography, great performances and deep characters set against a typical "find the slasher" backdrop.
Scary Movie 3	3	Better than SM2, not quite as good as the original, but it kept me laughing.
Sylvia	1.5	If you loved last years Oscar nominee The Hours you will adore Sylvia. Of course that is like saying that if you like to drive wood chips under your fingernails you will like to drop a bowling ball on your toes. Sylvia is boring and depressed. So is the movie.
Runaway Jury	2	A convoluted story and no one to cheer for make Runaway Jury a loser.
Mystic River	4	It is clearly an off year for movies (this is only my third 4 star flick of 2003), but Mystic River would be a winner in any year. An intriguing story told by a great cast that give wonderful performances.
Veronica Guerin	3.5	Based on Veronica's crusade as a newspaper writer trying to bring down crime lords in Scotland, it is a gripping tale but I found that I liked the movie more than I liked her. Although she certainly got results, she was reckless and a little bit stupid. The irony is that the amazing impact she had is because of her fearlessness; martyrdom is a powerful force.
Intolerable Cruelty	3	George Clooney is great as the smarmy lawyer in this unusually tame effort by the Coen brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Fargo.)
Kill Bill Volume 1	3	This is Tarantino's ode to martial arts flicks with lots of over the top action scenes with a smattering of hip dialogue. But I did feel a bit cheated by the fact that this was originally one long movie and the studio talked him into making it into two. You can tell, the story is not over, but now I get to have two large bags of popcorn for "one" movie (a first!)
School of Rock	2.5	Jack Black dominates in what is basically a sports movie (build the team, challenge the players, finish with the big game - in this case the Battle of the Bands), but it could used a few more laughs.
Out of Time	3.5	A very well done film noir, without the plot impossibilities that so many thrillers have these days. This will keep you guessing (especially if you haven't seen the trailer.)
Underworld	3	My favorite vampire vs. werewolf film of the decade! This was a popcorn fix excursion but I was pleasantly surprised. Looks good, actually has a somewhat intriguing story and features some nice matrix-style effects.
The Rundown	3	Better than the trailer led me to believe. And it would have more fun if they had toned down some of the violence, this is a comic book film and they shouldn't have looked to The Deer Hunter for inspiration.
Lost in Translation	3	A nice slice of life, and the location of the slice is the key. This is a story of two Americans trapped in Japan for a few weeks separated from their spouses and their comfortable surroundings. Naturally they hook-up but that's where the typical plot line stops. Good performances, and interesting look at Japanese culture.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico	3	Writer/ Director/ Producer/ Editor/ Musician Robert Rodriguez obviously loves his work. He must have had a lot of fun making this movie, and all of that joy shows on the screen. Lots of well filmed action, a few jokes thrown in and another good performance by Johnny Depp make this a good popcorn afternoon.
No Good Deed	3	A low budget, but effective thriller with plot gaps that can be overlooked as you try to figure out which of the bad guys will turn out to be the good one in the end (or will any of them?)
Matchstick Men	2	This is getting excellent reviews from just about everybody (72% positive on rottentomatoes.com - the review aggregating website), but not from me! This is ostensibly three movies in one, so lets pick 'em apart one at a time! Much is being made of the portrayal by Nicolas Cage of a obsessive-compulsive, but while he gets the surface fine the heart is missing. OCD isn't psychosomatic, and why is he smoking all the time if he hates dust, smoke and dirt?? The second movie in a movie is his relationship with his long lost teenage daughter. He had never before met the girl, so how does he try to build a relationship? By taking her along on a dangerous scam. Nice Dad. Part three of this multi-part mess is the Con Game stuff. The audience is conned by a miserable big twist at the end that is as likely to happen as the Bears winning the Super Bowl this year.
Thirteen	3.5	A very scary (and likely all too accurate) portrayal of teenagers that turn to the dark side. Co-written by one of the teen leads, this movie feels way too real. It features outstanding performances by Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed as the teen hell raisers and Holly Hunter as the Mom that tries so hard.
American Splendor	3.5	A true story of a man famous only for being famous. A less than average Joe, twice divorced, working a mundane job as a clerk in a VA hospital finds a niche as a writer of underground comics. This brings him only modest success, but it does start a notoriety chain (appearing on David Letterman, a play made of his life) that results in the making of this film. The approach is intriguing as interview clips of "the real" Harvey Pekar, his wife and nerdy friend are cut into the film. This enables the viewer to see how well the actors represent them.
The Order	1.5	I hadn't seen a movie in 2 weeks, the night sweats and hand tremors were getting worse. I needed a fix. Something.... anything. I knew "The Order" had not been released for critical review but I took a chance anyway... big mistake. I bailed after an hour, I am sure that the last 40 minutes could not have added any value to this misguided, boring mess of a movie.
Le Divorce	2	A confusing jumble of ideas, subplots, and characters. At one point I turned to Denise and asked "Is this a comedy?" We weren't sure. Another example of how hard it is to turn a novel into a good movie.
Open Range	3	A bit corny at times, but you have to like Costner and Duvall as the reluctant cowboy heroes. This is a classic western with modern production values.
S.W.A.T	2	Apparently they have run out of good TV shows to base movies on, now they are tapping into car wrecks like this one. Colin Farrell is obviously not concerned about his reputation (big paychecks will do that to you.)
Dirty Pretty Things	3.5	A fascinating portrayal of the life of "the little people" in London as they are caught up in a scheme to improve the supply of human organs for transplant (maybe that urban legend is true after all?)
Gigli	2.5	Two and a half stars for the worst reviewed movie of the year??? Is that a typo you say??? It's for real, it wasn't nearly as bad as the Bennifer haters would have you believe. It does have plenty of problems, not the least of which is the miscasting of Ben and J. On the plus side, the scene about "what a women wants" is great, and the cameos by Walken and Pacino are worthwhile.
Seabiscuit	4	Just prior to seeing Seabiscuit, I watched movies where robots fought robots, pirates fought skeletons, cops fought everybody, dead bodies were tossed around like frisbees and zombies were killed by the dozens. Numbing. Now a good 'ol American movie comes along with terrific structure, performances and cinematography. One that has intelligent dialogue and a spirit that just makes you feel good. The audience clapped loudly when the credits came up. I was one of them.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life	2	I keep hearing that this is better than the first, but I disagree. Lara is fine, but the action sequences (although well drawn on paper) suffer on the screen. The editing, direction and effects are not up to 2003 standards.
Johnny English	1.5	Popcorn fix movie. Couldn't help myself, needed the big one with extra butter. Bad choice, bad movie.
Bad Boys II	1.5	What made this especially painful to watch was the fact that there was a family of five sitting behind me, including two girls about five and eight. I cringed every time another line was crossed. This movie is way over the top with scathing violence, impossible action scenes and just way too many dead bodies flying across the screen. The Buddy Movie becomes The Body Movie.
Swimming Pool	3.5	ART FILM WARNING: This movie moves slowly, requires thought, includes a few subtitles and may actually require you to discuss the "meaning" after viewing.
Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl	3	Johnny Depp steals the show, his pirate performance is worth the price of admission. Sequels are inevitable. The action scenes are well done and the plot has fewer holes than most of this genre.
Finding Nemo	3	Another from the Toy Story group, with the expected incredible CGI and warm story.
Whale Rider	3	A nice little art film, that of course won't find wide release because with an average of 20 screens in suburban theatres there is just no way they can bump a few of the 442 daily showings of "League of Extraordinarily Lame Summer Movie Sequals" to put up a movie that makes you smile as you think about it later.
Terminator 3; Rise of the Machines	3	Since T3 is a sequel, let's review the plot of T2: Arnold returns from the future (this time as a GOOD guy cyborg) and helps to protect John Connor from the BAD guy cyborg sent to kill John. Arnold and John then try to stop Skynet from taking over the world (which would allow the machines to start "Judgment Day", where lots of nukes would kill everybody, effectively ending the Terminator franchise.) So did they come up with a clever new plot line for T3? Nope, everything I describe above is in the new one! (screenwriting by Xerox) Despite the duplication, Arnold "is back", the car chase is in a league with the ones in Bullitt and The French Connection (light years ahead of the one in Matrix Reloaded) and the effects filled, non-stop action is great fun!
28 Days Later	3.5	Described as a "zombie" film by many, it is actually an "end of the world" movie (much better genre). Scary at times and thought provoking throughout.
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	3.5	I liked it. A lot. There, I said it. Hard to admit, but it was funny, way over the top (they didn't bother with any of the semi-serious plot development scenes) and great with popcorn.
Hulk	2.5	It has a nice start, with some intriguing split-screen editing to give it a comic book look, but the Hulk is too big, too green and too phony for me. The ending was silly. If you like comic movies, rent Spider-Man or Daredevil.
2 Fast 2 Furious	2.5	Great race scenes but a ridiculous plot that they take too seriously. If they wanted pure summer action, they needed to jettison the plot (e.g. Charlies Angel's) rather than pretend that it makes sense.
May	2	An art film getting rave reviews, it features despair, loneliness and random violence by central character May (all because Mommy didn't like her.) Boring.
Hollywood Homicide	2	It's been done before, done before, done before. A buddy cop movie with the aging vet trying to get along with the twenty-something, screw-up partner.
Bend it Like Beckham	2.5	A pleasant film about a teenage girl whose parents don't want her playing soccer, so of course she spends every waking moment playing, practicing or thinking about playing soccer.
The Italian Job	3	I just finished two books about screenwriting by William Goldman (screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), and he maintains that 'story structure' not dialogue is the most important part of a script. This caper/thriller movie has great structure, featuring two terrific 'heists' but the dialogue is second class (could have used some doctoring by Mr. Goldman!) This movie also has the most impressive product placement marketing since Reeses Pieces in E. T. Three souped-up Cooper Mini's are featured in several extended scenes. I don't know what they paid, but they definitely got their money's worth.
Winged Migration	3.5	An amazing documentary about migrating birds with very little narration relying instead on incredible photography that had led me to create a movie mantra " How did they film that?" (he said over and over, repeatedly and redundantly!)
The Shape of Things	3	Neil LeBute with another of his relationship movies, this one more of a two act play with only four characters, but it kept my interest throughout.
Matrix Reloaded	2.5	I didn't "get" the first one, and I don't "get" the reload either. I still have problems with the lack of rules present in "the matrix". Example: Neo is engaged in hand to hand combat with 100 bad guy look-alikes, but earlier he suddenly exhibited the ability to fly (looked just like Superman, didn't he?) Why doesn't he fly away when confronted by the nastys? Easy answer; if he did, no special effects kung-fu scene. So, no rules, no structure, low expectations, silly plot, but I have to admit, they do wear some cool looking sunglasses.
The Good Thief	2	Good thief.... bad sound editing. Hard to understand half of the characters half of the time makes for a story line that is only halfway decent. Nick Nolte mumbles through his role in a plot that probably would have been convoluted if I could have understood the dialogue.
Xmen2	3	A sequel better than the original, especially the look and the effects (the first one had some low-rent scenes).
Confidence	2.5	A good try, but it doesn't quite make it. This is one of those movies filled with twists and turns that exist only to justify the next plot device. At the time it makes sense, but when you think about the story afterwards you feel cheated.
Identity	3.5	This is a love it or hate it movie. I enjoyed it, Denise took the other side. A thriller that will pull you in different directions and if you accept some of the ambiguities you will like it.
A Mighty Wind	2.5	Same writers, director and the entire cast from the very funny "Best in Show", but just doesn't have as many laughs or as many fun characters.
Holes	3	From the kids book of the same name, it works for big kids too.
Laurel Canyon	3.5	The great performance by Frances McDormand makes the movie worthwhile.
The Core	3	A corny, campy sci-fi movie with outrageous science that still manages to be fun because it stays within the rules it sets up. It was easy to suspend belief and just go with it.
Phone Booth	4	The first really good film of 2003. A compact thriller, essentially a one act play that keeps building and finishes strong. Colin Farrell is outstanding as the smarmy publicist having a very bad day.
Head of State	3	If you like Chris Rock's stand-up routine you will like this movie. I laughed very hard quite a few times. It has a few rough edges (this is Rock's first time as director) but his script is funny.
Basic	1.5	Here is my excuse; I caught some review headlines that mentioned "complex" and "plot twists"... right up my alley, I can handle complex - I like twists. So I figured Ebert's one star review was more of his David Gale hysteria, and I headed for the popcorn. The plot is not complex, it is not intricate ... it is impossible, incomprehensible and shameful. If Titanic had been written by the screenwriter of Basic, the movie would end with the boat magically popping back to the surface, in one piece, with all of the passengers alive and well, happily sitting on deck chairs listening to the band playing ragtime.
Dreamcatcher	3	Dreamcatcher is written by William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan (two of my favorite screenwriters) from a book by Stephen King. Most King adaptations fall short, but these two writers seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Excessive at times, but filled with interesting dialogue.
View From the Top	1.5	Late Winter; the ugly movie season. Three of the last four films I have seen have been bad. I blame my attendance this time on Roger, he was obviously distracted by the short skirts on the "Sierra Airlines" flight attendants when he gave this three stars. This movie is a confused mess. It features an out-of-place fist fight between two stewardesses, a silly, "afterschool special" story line for Gweneth Paltrow and Mike Myers dropped in for semi-comic relief. The film is so bad that the outtakes shown over the credits are not only humorless, but most of them are from scenes cut from the movie!
The Hunted	3	Over the top, but in an entertaining way, although I am sure that many will just find it too implausible and ultimately too violent.
Bringing Down the House	1.5	I was talked into going. Honest. Really. Not my fault, I didn't pick it. The preview is bad, the movie is worse.
Tears of the Sun	2	Bruce Willis is not the problem, he is believable as the action star, but the story has too many holes and the battle scenes were poorly staged. And given the importance of movie marketing in Hollywood today, who thought that this title would bring anyone into the theatre?
Poolhall Junkies	2.5	This is one of those "Rocky" type films where an aspiring actor/writer/director maxes out his credit cards and begs friends, relatives and bystanders to loan him a few bucks to make his movie. In this case it's Mars Callahan in charge, and he does pretty well. As a sports movie we know it will end with the big game, but this time it's the big con and it is almost believable.
The Life of David Gale	3.5	Roger Ebert reviews hundreds of movies every year. He gave this movie ZERO stars, one of only 28 movies to receive his lowest rating since 1985 (source: Roger Ebert's Sun-Times web site.) Why such a bad review?.... he didn't like one aspect of the ending. hmmm... sounds like he was having a REALLY bad day. I didn't mind the ending at all, I enjoyed the twists and was quite proud of myself that I basically figured it all out about half way through. (Maybe Roger was mad because he got fooled!)
Dark Blue	3	An enjoyable thriller about bad cops in the LAPD, using a back drop of the South Central Rodney King riots. The intrigue of the plot had me hooked until a drop off in the final scene.
Daredevil	3.5	Another fun comic book movie, this one has all of the necessary components, and executes them all well. Colin Farrell as Bullseye is especially fun to watch.
Shanghai Knights	3	Jackie Chan has found a formula that works well for his recent movies. He combines his traditional highly choreographed action scenes with a standard "buddy" movie. This one finds him hooked up again with Owen Wilson (always funny) as the sidekick, it also worked well with Chris Tucker in the buddy part.
The Recruit	3	"Nothing is what it seems" is the tag line repeated throughout the film by the spy trainer played by Al Pacino so that recruit Colin Farrell knows that: 1) Al's chronically messy hair is actually a hairpiece that features a suspiciously odd hairline. AND 2) The plot will contain more twists and turns than the new coaster at Great America and suspected bad guys are probably good guys unless they are bad guys posing as good guys pretending to be bad guys. Despite the plot conveniences and a too long first act, it is enjoyable and therefore barely recommended.

MovieWatch

My Favorites of 2003