Movie Reviews 2003
A brilliant documentary about Robert McNamara (defense sec’ty for Kennedy & Johnson), who discusses (mostly) his involvement in the Vietnam War. McNamara’s insights are fascinating (no matter which side of the war you were or are on), although he pulls his punches when asked some of the more penetrating questions about American involvement in Indochina. Director Errol Morris does a fine job of weaving the McNamara interview with footage, photos and tape recordings. Nice musical score, too. Worth a look.
8½ stars
A solid movie about relationships between generations in a Maori island society. Keisha Castle-Hughes (nominated for a best actress Academy Award) did a fine job as a 12-yr old girl caught between her grandfather, her culture’s old ways and her own obvious talents. A fine performance, but an Academy nominee? Well, that might be a bit much.
8 stars
THE QUIET AMERICAN (2002):
Michael Caine does his usually fine job as a London Times correspondent stationed in Saigon in 1952 – and who has too much of a good thing going (a wife in London, and a Vietnamese girlfriend in VN). Brendan Fraser is stiff in the role of a medic/CIA operative – and the guy trying to steal Caine’s girl. Interesting perspective of early U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Another dvd worth renting.
7½ stars
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING :
Saw this just before the Oscar lists came out. It’s clearly the best of the three in the series and is worthy of its likely Oscar win as best picture of 2003.
10 stars
An excellent period piece with rising star Scarlett Johansson (as the maid/girl with earring) and Colin Firth (as the artist Vermeer); Tom Wilkinson, Vermeer’s patron, does a great job as a dirty old man. This won’t get much play, but it’s worth a look amid the epics Lord of the Rings and Cold Mountain.
8½ stars
Not a bad romantic comedy (starring Ben Stiller & Jennifer Aniston) that’s worth a place on your future dvd rental list, but no need to waste a perfectly good afternoon at the movies. This would have been a lot better if they had not flooded the airways with trailers, thus spoiling the funniest scenes. That, and it’s pretty predictable. By the time you see it on video, you should have forgotten the trailers.
6½ stars
It’s clear why the gorgeous Charlize Theron won a Golden Globe for her performance as the not-so-gorgeous Florida prostitute/killer in this true story. She nails this role and should be a shoo-in for the Oscar. Christina Ricci does well as the whiney girlfriend who pushes Charlize to support her as they set out on their own. Worth a look on the big screen. It’s quite a downer, however; be prepared for a pretty raw movie.
9 stars
And we have another winner! This is basically a light-hearted romp - with some serious side themes - through a small English town with a fun group of middle-aged and older ladies who decide that it might be a hoot if their annual organization’s calendar fundraiser (usually a flop) included nude (not naked!) shots of the ladies doing the domestic things that they do.
While much of the film is predictable (it was based on an actual event), you will laugh and cry…and then laugh and cry some more. Helen Mirren & Julie Walters are the ringleaders of a great British cast - and they find their project is more successful than they ever would have imagined. There are great laughs as the photographer (who at first was not going to be in the room when the ladies disrobed) takes the calendar shots, from Miss January to the group December photo. If you're worried, it's very tastefully done.
You won’t be disappointed with this one. Even better than The Full Monty.
9 stars
Oscar, Oscar! Outstanding casting; outstanding acting. A terrific love story, war story, human story.
Renee Zellweger stole the show, but Kidman, Kathy Baker, Jude Law, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Gammon, etc., were all terrific. Even the bad guys were good. My one complaint: Nicole Kidman, cold and hungry and working hard, looked like she was coming out of the lookin' good make-up tent. Oh, well. Guess that's what happens when you get the big bucks.
A must see on the big screen.
10 stars
Fine acting, not so great movie. Put it on your rental list (hold for a non-paid advertisement: “Put it on your Netflix.com list”) for a cold winter night.
William H Macy does a great job as the loser in the Vegas casino sent to cool off the hot gamblers. He works for Alec Baldwin (because Macy’s paying off an old debt), the ruthless casino manager who prefers the old ways of enforcement against debtors and cheaters (we’re hoping he means the 1940s, although the movie is set in the present) and who is trying to avoid the suggestions of the hotshot, young casino manger who is trying to move Baldwin into the 21st Century. Maria Bello plays a very believable cocktail waitress/loser who attaches herself to Macy – and thus turns Macy into a happy go lucky winner. Thus making Baldwin madder than usual; watch out for your knees.
Having said all of that, the movie is disappointing. It’s a stretch to believe that the losing personality of a stranger can turn your luck at the dice table (all the time) – and even a further stretch to believe that he has the instant Midas touch when he’s in love. And how does Baldwin get away with gangster-style enforcement in 2003? The movie is overblown at best.
6 stars
Again, good acting does not equate to a good movie.
The premise of this movie was believable, but then it got weird. Jennifer Connelly, depressed because of her father’s death, mopes around her house, not paying much attention to the bills that pile up in her entry way. You think that one or two might bring bad news?
It turns out she has been given a bill for an unpaid business tax (we later learn that the only thing she might have done since her dad’s death was to clear up the fact that she does not own a business), which causes the county to foreclose on her home. It’s clear that the county has made a mistake, but, of course, one thing quickly leads to another, and Kingsley’s family makes a killing on the house auction – and moves in. She, of course, is on the streets and wants it back.
If things aren’t going badly enough for her, she then gets involved with a young, eager, nurturing deputy sheriff who only seems to make things worse (for her and everything else he touches; not a good p.r. movie for deputy sheriffs). Things get weird – and contradictions abound – and the movie drags to an awkward and painful conclusion.
Another netflix.com rental nominee.
4 stars
Save your money. This movie had great intentions – a Berkeley-educated progressive, Julia Roberts, begins her art history teaching career at Wellesley College in 1953, trying to convince highly-educated co-eds that their intelligence should not just be reserved for serving their future husband – but it’s flat, uneven and full of contradictions (not the least of which is Julia herself).
This is not a time travel movie, although it appears as if Ms. Roberts appears from the future in her dress, manner and speech (in her next act of heroine-ism, Ms. Roberts will jet to the South and take on Jim Crow laws). She was either miscast or refused to play a period character. Even Roberts’ fans will have a tough time with this one.
Kirsten Dunst & Julia Stiles’ careers probably will survive this (and their) hiccup – although both Marcia Gay Harden (as a spinster) and Marian Seldes (as the unapologetic school president) were wonderful.
Save for dvd when the pickin’s are slim.
4 stars
MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING (2001):
Speaking of dvds, we settled on this low-budget (and Oscar winning) documentary suggested by a friend, and it is well worth the rental. A French film crew follows the murder case of a 15-year old black defendant who is accused of killing a German tourist at a motel in Jacksonville, Florida in 2000.
The police have an eyewitness (the husband of the deceased) and a written confession, so it does not look good for the youth, who is being defended by two career public defenders. Contradictory evidence and emotional testimony abound as this case heads to the mixed-race jury.
Make sure you watch the interviews with the attorneys on the dvd after the movie.
8½ stars
I frankly did not expect much from this film. I went with a (Japanese) friend who wanted to go (T did not want to) – she loved it; I thought it was pretty darn good.
I expected silliness (Tom Cruise as a Samurai warrior?), hokiness (Cruise as a Samurai warrior?) and maudlin entertainment (Cruise/Samurai warrior?). Instead, it was a touching movie about a drunk, stubborn, over-the-hill Civil War hero hired as a mercenary to train troops in Japan to battle the threat of the last Samurai warriors. And what he encounters surprises him.
Although it was confusing as to why the Samurai were battling the emperor at the same time they were expressing devotion to him, it was a sensitive film about an interesting time in Japanese history (1876-77).
It’s very violent (on the Saving Private Ryan level), with plenty of blood. Beautiful scenery, however – and well acted with authentic battle scenes and close-in fighting.
8 stars
This one dragged just a little bit – and you become so caught up enjoying the repartee between two delightful actors, Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, that you aren’t sure if you are going to be disappointed in the end. Which, of course, you come to realize is why Keaton battled a range of emotions throughout: She didn’t know either.
While the May-September romance between Nicholson and anyone under the age of 30 is what’s used to hype this film, it’s more a story of the Nicholson-Keaton relationship than the Nicholson-Amanda Peet (very weird!) relationship. Although Keanu Reeves does an unusually good job as a young doctor who develops a crush on the aging playwright Keaton.
Has Nicholson met his match with Keaton, or does he merely rekindle her dormant desires for love? Or both. This one is worth a trip to the theatre.
8½ stars
Billy Bob Thornton plays a real bad Santa. I mean real bad. He’s obscene, raunchy and slovenly. He’s a drunk; he’s profane and nasty. He’s a Santa like no other Santa before him – and I kept trying to figure out why I laughed so much during this flick. There certainly was no good cheer being spread.
Thornton plays a department store Santa who, with his sidekick elf (little person Tony Cox, who does a terrific job), is really in it to rip off the store’s vault before they head off for greener pastures for 11 months. But Billy Bob comes up against two people with unimaginable Santa envy: a naïve little overweight kid and a female bartender. Now, the little kid desperately needed a friend, and it’s easy to see why he glommed on to Billy Bob, but the cute bartender?
This was John Ritter’s last movie (he plays the store manager who starts – starts? – to get concerned that maybe Billy Bob isn’t the best Santa he could have hired, even if he did come with his own elf), and it’s too bad that this was his swan song. Bernie Mac plays the slimy store dick.
This movie is definitely NOT for everyone (and should not be viewed by anyone under 17), so be forewarned. If you can deal with a raw Santa with almost no redeeming values, then give it a try. I guarantee you’ll never see it on network tv!
7 stars
It’s good to see Robert Downey, Jr. back – although it’s too bad he used this movie as his comeback. Downey plays a patient with severe psoriasis who hallucinates about his book about a singing detective. We kept waiting for this to get good, but it never did. Unless you want to watch how Downey must have handled his own drug rehab (not a pretty sight, I’m sure), I would not even recommend seeing this on dvd when it comes out. Even Tracy, who adores Downey, agrees. Nice 1950s sound track, however.
3 stars
It took us a while to get around to this critically acclaimed movie, but the wait was worth it. This is a must-see at the theatre – a Clint Eastwood-directed film about the “reunion” of three childhood friends brought on by the senseless murder of one of their 19-yr old daughters.
Timothy Robbins (as the friend who was abducted and molested as a child), Sean Penn (who did time in prison for robbery; his daughter is the one murdered) and Kevin Bacon (the state cop on the case, along with Laurence Fishburne) are all at their acting peaks in this fairly slow-moving but suspenseful film. Marcia Gay Harden & Laura Linney add to a great cast. Penn does a particularly outstanding job as the grieving father looking for revenge.
8½ stars
THE HUMAN STAIN (or “The Stain on Movie Making”):
Ugh! This one was really bad. Unless, of course, your idea of movie jollies is to watch overweight, over-aged Anthony Hopkins in intimate love scenes with the gorgeous Nicole Kidman. Oh, did I mention that Kidman is playing trailer trash (see Halle Berry in Monster's Ball)?
The secret of the film (don’t worry; if you’re dumb enough to see this movie I really don’t care if I give away Hopkins’ secret): Hopkins is black. No, not Halle Berry black, but black as in being the son of two very black parents and a sibling of a very black sister and brother. And that, of course, defines his life. His first girl friend is (shock!) so surprised at being taken home to a black potential mother-in-law (in the late 40s) that she says goodbye – so Hopkins decides that it’s best to ignore the fact that he is black. (Did Jim Carrey write this stuff?)
Hopkins is a great actor, and Kidman plays a wonderful seductress. But not in the same film. Please.
1 star (for a Hopkins-Gary Sinese dance sequence)
On the other hand, I loved this romantic comedy. A half dozen or so different stories were going on here, and most are wrapped up kinda, but not perfectly, by movie’s end. And they all don’t turn out as you’d expect.
Sure, there are corny parts – and some trailers I’ve seen give away too many of the best lines – but this is a movie about love: not saying it, saying it, acting it, avoiding it…all of the above and more.
It’s about an aging rock star (Bill Nighy) making a comeback with a dopey Xmas song; it’s about a young, new prime minister (Hugh Grant) smitten by a 10 Downing Place gofer; it’s about Alan Rickman & Emma Thompson and a possible interloper; it’s about a recent widower (Liam Neeson) dealing with a bad case of his son’s puppy love; it’s about a rejected husband (Colin Firth) falling for a woman with whom he can’t even communicate. And more.
Wonderful acting from an all-star cast, laugh-out loud moments and a good time. A must see (unless, of course, you’re a Scrooge about romantic comedies).
9 stars
Except that this was about a gun jury trial, rather than tobacco, this was pretty true to the Grisham book. In other words, a pretty unbelievable plot (they should have stuck with tobacco) – but with great acting.
John Cusack was the insider on the jury and did a good job, but Gene Hackman stole the show as the SOB jury consultant for the gun companies. Dustin Hoffman & Rachel Weisz did well in supporting roles.
At least put this on your list for a rental when it comes out.
7 stars
I’m not going to tell you which of my macho friends said that he should have brought tissue with him – but he’s right. This might take a box for some of you. Plenty of times to tear up on this one.
Sure, this movie is, at times, corny, hokey, manipulative and cheesy – and somewhat unbelievable in a southern town in the mid-1970s. But it’s based on a true story, so if it IS true to the story, then what can I say?
Ed Harris did a fine job as the high school football coach who all but ignores his family (Debra Winger was a bit blasé in her role as Harris’ wife) to dote on a retarded black kid (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) who’s been hanging around town for years. Gooding gets the black Dustin Hoffman Rain Man award for believability and is likely to get some mention when award time comes around.
Stick around for the credits after the film for footage of Radio all grown up – and still leading the football team on to the field.
8 stars
Catherine Zeta-Jones & George Clooney are certainly eye candy for whichever sex you prefer, but this quirky Coen film (is that redundant?) falls short. Worth a look when it comes out on dvd.
6 stars
OK, it might be a platonic relationship between a 53-year old Bill Murray and 18-year old Scarlett Johansson (she plays a woman in her early 20s; she was the daughter in The Horse Whisperer), but 35 years??? Some tender moments and interesting scenes, but this one drags – and is certainly not the Murray you would expect in a movie. Note: The critics loved this movie; I didn’t.
5 stars
Never could figure out why they made this movie – nor why I thought it might be worth seeing. Johnny Depp is good, but Antonio Banderas was wasted in this flick.
5 stars
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL:
Depp was outstanding in this Disney ride – as was Geoffrey Rush – a fun, swashbuckler movie. I loved it.
9 stars
I so wanted this Costner-Duval-Bening film to work, but please! The Costner-Bening sidelight love story was as hokey as they come, and I still wonder why the bad guys can never shoot straight. It was very unbelievable, and, except for great cinematography, leave this one for a dvd rental (it’s probably already gone from most of the theatres anyway).
6 stars
Pixar has done it again, with an excellent cartoon on a massive scale. Great voices, great attention to detail, great cartoon cinematography.
Having said that, the plot – unlike Monsters Inc & Toy Story – was too predictable, too dull. A disabled fish feeling overly-protected by his father, lights out on his own, only to get caught by human meanies. The rest of the story is son trying to get home and father trying to find son. Yawn… But worth seeing on the big screen nonetheless.
Scary for kids too young (under 5?), but one that they will love – especially when they see it 25 times on dvd.
7½ stars
A Disney movie that has all of the elements of a classic Disney flick: wayward boys, not as bad as they are suppose to be, cruelly (and unfairly) treated, sadistic wardens, lessons in life – and some not-so-Disney offerings: murder, suicide, racial tensions.
A young boy – the victim of four generations of a bad luck curse – is unfairly imprisoned for stealing a pair of expensive tennis shoes and is forced to a boys work camp (the ironically-named Camp Green Leaf) in the desert, where the daily grind consists of digging a hole amidst the rattlesnakes, scorpions and lizards the width and depth of your shovel. The purpose, of course, is to build character. Or is it?
A well made, if slowly paced movie, with outstanding acting from Jon Voight, who steals the show as a crazed assistant warden at the boys’ camp. He’ll be a contender come Oscar time for a best supporting slot. Sigourney Weaver plays the evil warden with a secret quest; Tim Blake Nelson (the little guy from O Brother, Where Art Thou) is very good as the camp doctor. Even Henry Winkler gets in the act as the protaganist's cursed father, ever looking for the secret formula to combat foot odor!
Many clichés, but worth a look at the theatre – or definitely on dvd if you want to wait. OK for pre-teens (it's rated PG).
7½ stars
An odd, yet somewhat charming movie about an uptight couple that travels to Los Angeles to live in his mother’s vacant house (he’s beginning his medical residency; she’s working on her dissertation). But, lo and behold, when they show up, rock and roll record-producing mom (wonderfully played by Frances McDormond) has yet to finish recording the band’s latest album, so the couple finds itself on the edge of the Hollywood sex, drugs and partying scene.
Mom and her young musician-boyfriend take a liking to the son’s girl friend (the beautiful and charming Kate Beckinsale), and they attempt to initiate her into their work – and fun. She’s intrigued.
Some good acting (especially McDormond), some not-so-good acting, many embarrassing moments, a lot of silliness…and a rather abrupt conclusion. Not worth a trip to the big screen, but worth a rental when the time comes.
6 stars
THE PIANIST (2002):
Finally saw this on dvd – and am sorry I missed it when it first came out (during the baseball playoff season, which would explain it?).
This excellent Roman Polanski film about a Polish concert pianist (Adrien Brody) who gets caught up in the German occupation of Poland during World War II is all about survival – and is filled with many brutal scenes of sadistic German soldiers terrorizing a relatively passive Jewish population. Unlike most Holocaust films, this one stayed away from the concentration camps and, instead, focused on the Warsaw Ghetto and the conditions on the urban streets.
It’s easy to see why Polanski & Brody won Oscars. If, like me, you were dumb enough to have missed this in the theatre, grab it on dvd. One of the year's best
9 stars
A well-made adult thriller (in other words, no Scream III) that has a little bit of Ten Little Indians in it.
John Cusack & Ray Liotta are two who find themselves stranded at a desert motel in the middle of a huge downpour, when, one by one, they start to die, most violently. The movie flashes back and forth to a last minute hearing being conducted on the eve of a convicted murderer’s execution. The question at hand: With multi-personalities, did he know he committed any of the murderers of which he was convicted? And what’s the connection between the hearing and the murders at the rainy motel?
Don't go if you were born on May 10.
8 stars
My Best of 2003:
**Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (10) [Academy winner]
Cold Mountain (10)
Pirates of the Caribbean (9)
Calendar Girls (9)
Love, Actually (9)
Monster (9)
Fog of War (8½)
Girl With a Pearl Earring (8½)
Something's Gotta Give (8½)
*Mystic River (8½)
(*Academy Award nomination for Best Picture)
My Best of non-2003 films:
The Pianist (9) (2002)
Murder on a Sunday Morning (8½) (2001)
