Movie Reviews - A

101 Dalmatians: 4

12 Monkeys: 3 1/2

1408: 3 1/2

I'll watch nearly anything with John Cusack because the man's grown on me.  I'll also give most Stephen King movies a try.  This flick has all the King trademarks - the alcoholic writer who's suffering due to family problems, the dead child that haunts literally and figuratively, the hotel with an evil history.  It even has the level-headed black man, played by Samuel L. Jackson.  But it pales in comparison to that late great, The Shining, in just about every respect.  The haunting quickly turns into furniture-splitting pandemonium, with rapid, major changes that are very difficult to accept.  A few times spookiness starts to build up and never goes anywhere.  Cusack does a great job, especially considering that he spends a lot of the film by himself, but he can't give the old formula new life.  The movie gets 3 1/2, but Cusack deserves a 4.

28 Days Later: 3

300: 3 1/2

This movie was made for the big screen and even though I got to see it in a great theater, I didn't walk away raving about it like everyone else.  Don't get me wrong, there are good things about it - the cast is excellent and the script has a good pace, so that it doesn't feel like a lengthy film.  From what I hear, it captures the comic perfectly (though I haven't read it, so I wouldn't know).  But it just didn't suck me into the action and refuse to let go, the way an action movie should.  It's shot too much like a music video for my taste; instead of saving slow motion for the end of battles, most battles proceed like they're happening underwater.  The fantastic creatures don't help, either; the battle is larger than life without Quasimodo and the cave trolls from the Lord of the Rings running around.  Worse still, the deaths that should be the most dramatic fall flat and the scenes intended to bring more of a woman's presence to the film feel like they were taken from the Gladiator cutting room floor and tacked on.  To top it all off, 300 is yet another film that shows people denigrating the ancient gods and praising things like modern democracy, in fine American tradition.  Just two more ways that the film dragged me out of fantasy and right back into reality.

A Beautiful Mind: 4

A Bug's Life: 2 1/2

A Clockwork Orange: 5

A Knight's Tale: 4

A Nightmare on Elm Street: 5

This is one of my favorite horror films of all time and it remains the best of the series.  I grew up with this movie, featuring an oh so young Johnny Depp, and it has always appealed to me as a story.  Not only does the neighborhood have a boogeyman, but he's one of the prime boogeymen of the 1980s - the child molester.  For once, parents get to have their horrible revenge, but they end up creating a monster that haunts their children's dreams.  There is something so elemental and powerful underneath this premise that, even though I saw the increasingly silly sequels, I still get tingles whenever I watch the original.

Addams Family Values: 3

Airplane: 3

Alice in Wonderland: 3 1/2

Alien: 3 1/2

This film is made by older standards and you have to be willing to deal with those standards when sitting down to it.  Alien is slower, more deliberate, and often quieter than newer films.  There are only a few action scenes, especially compared with the rest of the series, and they're not very flashy.  But if you can slow down, there's an atmosphere to be appreciated in Alien, not to mention the considerable talent of Sigourney Weaver.  It's the now-classic trouble-in-space scenario, in which you're too far to get help and too close to an alien threat for comfort.  There's real suspense to be had if you can bear to wait for it.

Aliens (Alien 2): 5

When I think of the Alien series, this is the film that first comes to mind.  It has been a staple of my movie-watching, something that I grew up with and continue to enjoy.  It starts out with a plucky band of space Marines, including the familiar, handsome Michael Biehn and led by Sigourney Weaver's Ripley.  The movie quickly takes you neck-deep into trouble and leaves you there to fend for yourself.  Make no mistake, this is an action film with a liberal dose of monsters, and suspense is short-lived only because the threats move in so fast.  This is the movie that made Ripley one of the top female movie role models of my girlhood, and I still love watching her blow everything to hell.

Alien 3: 2 1/2

Alien Resurrection: 3

I skipped this flick when it was out in theaters because the trailers just didn't appeal to me, but it was still great on the small screen.  It has real heart underneath that shows through in the story and the acting, and it's the best movie that Kate Hudson's done, hands down.  It had me laughing like I rarely do with rented films, and whenever I watch it, I have a good time.

I love Kevin Spacey. The man is one of the best actors I've seen. He's average looking, ordinary, until he becomes someone else. He is a true talent. He was fun to watch in this tale of terrible suburbia. He plays a man in a nice house, with a nice car and a nice family who hates all of it. He wants to get back to his days as a teen working out in the garage. He wants a cool car, not a sensible one. He wants his wife to pull the stick out of her ass. He wants his daughter to be happy (although, if he really remembered his teen years, he would understand that it just doesn't work that way when you're sixteen). He blackmails his boss and tries to reconnect with his wife. Meanwhile, his daughter starts eyeing the clean-cut drug dealer living next door. The performances are wonderful in this movie. The drama is good. Don't see it if you hate movies where people show actual emotions. The acts of violence all have feeling in this film.

I had heard a lot about this movie. I had heard that it was disturbing. Well, violence is usually disturbing. I'd heard it had to do with the white power movement. Most people find racism disturbing. I knew that Edward Norton was in the lead role, and he can do disturbing oh so well. My boyfriend held it in high esteem and was very impressed with Norton. I liked the movie, but it didn't disturb me as much as some. Edward Norton looked great and performed at a very high intensity level. The ending, for some reason, left a little to be desired. I don't know why, but it seemed incomplete. Maybe I just wanted resolution. Regardless, the movie was a good one but it isn't something I'd watch again.

American Pie is a simple movie about a group of high school guys determined to lose their virginity before they graduate high school.  The hilarity that ensues is enough to keep you going through the whole flick, and it's still good the second time around.

I wish I had enjoyed this movie more. I saw it with my boyfriend and two friends. They were all loving it. I simply didn't. It seemed like the writers had to bring back beloved characters for one more money-milking session... but they didn't know what to do with them. Okay, so they're in college - now what? They kept talking about how much fun they were going to have the whole movie long, but most of the laughs were cheap. There were a few good scenes, and the lesbian scene was priceless, but overall it bored me. I did a cha cha in my seat, wanting to leave. Not a good sign.

Anastasia: 3

Annie: 5

Apocalypto: 3

It didn't take me long to figure out that this film, while exotic and high-budget, wasn't going to be a great movie.  What the strange and enticing trailers left out was the fact that this is a chase movie, and at least half of the time is spent watching characters hoof it through trees.  The camerawork is too fast and blurred to see much, so the chase scenes quickly become tedious.  There are some truly breathtaking scenes but most of them can be found in the trailer.  The cast is truly excellent, however, and I hope to see them again (though it seems unlikely).  The costumes, sets, and makeup were worth every penny, but the story could have been so much more.

Armageddon: 2

Do you live in suburbia? Do you have a neighbor who wears Mr. Rogers sweaters and loafers? Does your neighbor smile at you a lot? Then he must be a terrorist wanting to bomb someplace important. How dare his wife bring over cookies like she doesn't know the score! The main character spends the whole of the movie becoming more paranoid about his neighbor. Low and behold, the main character is a conspiracy theorist. They sure don't have one of those in my neighborhood! The movie just couldn't make me believe in its reality (or lack thereof).

Army of Darkness: 5

This was a filler movie. It had very little in the way of plot and a lot in the way of gunfire. It was meant to be an adrenaline movie, but I just didn't get that hyped.

Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery: 5

Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me: 1

     This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It was completely over the top in the most juvenile fashion imaginable. What I liked about Austin Powers was that it was spoof comedy without being gross. It didn't have to cater to preteens. Austin actually had a little depth, and the plot made sense (so long as you could buy into the Bond formula). Austin Powers 2 undid the whole first movie in the first five minutes, and then proceeded for two hours to undo my anticipation. I was thoroughly sick of the movie by the time the credits ran. I will not be watching it again.

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