Est. 1998
“It was the pants’ destiny to find us.” This ridiculous early bit of narration made me feel even more embarrassed than I already was. I’m clearly not the target audience for this movie, a fact brutally confirmed by how the only other people at the half-empty matinee I attended were three or four little groups of giggling schoolgirls who, in a bold act of defiance,…
This is one of those movies where the trailer tells the whole story. Not in the sense that all the twists were spoiled by the trailer; what I mean is that the story is so simple and told in such a straightforward A-to-B way that what you gather from the 2 minute promotional run-through is as complex as it’s gonna get. Successful boxer gets knocked…
“It’s sad, dark, and basically a tearjerker.” Is that really George Lucas talking? The creator of Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks? After seeing the film, allegedly the last in the series, it’s a less befuddling thing to hear. In fact, it perfectly describes “Revenge of the Sith”, which is in many ways the most dramatic of all six episodes. While still lacking the Original Trilogy’s more…
Movie Infos Title: Sleepy Hollow Year: 1999 Director: Tim Burton Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker, Washington Irving Starring: Johnny Depp Christina Ricci Miranda Richardson Michael Gambon Casper Van Dien … This is a loose adaptation of the classic Washington Irving tale about supernatural events in a gloomy little town. Johnny Depp stars as Ichabod Crane, a constable operating in New York. It’s the end of 1799,…
Movie Infos Title: One True Thing Year: 1998 Director: Carl Franklin Writer: Karen Croner Starring: Meryl Streep Renee Zelwegger William Hurt Tom Everett Scott Lauren Graham … Renee Zellweger is a New York magazine writer who has so much ambition that she doesn’t see1 to have time for her family. When she finally visits her folks, it’s to find that her father (William Hurt), a…
Movie Infos Title: Three Kings Year: 1999 Director: David O. Russell Writer: David O. Russell, John Ridley Starring: George Clooney Mark Wahlberg Ice Cube Spike Jonze Nora Dunn … This is one of these movies that quickly gather good buzz. I myself was fairly intrigued by this apparently impossible to describe Gulf War flick and figured it could either be a masterpiece or a mess,…
Disclaimer: I’m not familiar with Douglas Adams’ work. Never heard the original “Hitchiker’s Guide” radio show, never read any of the books, didn’t see the BBC miniseries, nothing. Hence, diehard Adams fans should not panic and take my review with some peanuts (you’re gonna need the salt). Arthur Dent (The Office’s Martin Freeman) is an ordinary English man who wakes up one morning feeling pretty wretched….
In the first Hellboy (and in Blade II before it), Guillermo del Toro, the visionary Mexican filmmaker behind such masterpieces as “The Devil’s Backbone” and Pan’s Labyrinth, took the backseat in the loud, fuel-burning Hummers that are big blockbuster action movies. While “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is still full of the over the top noisy mayhem you expect from a big budget Hollywood flick,…
Poor Sean Penn. Between his appearances as an angry puppet in Team America and as an angry presenter at Chris Rock’s Oscar show, he’s squandered almost all the sympathy and admiration he’d earned from me and, I’m sure, many others. How do you go from Spicoli to such self-righteousness? Did he lose his sense of humor in Iraq or something? In any case, Penn’s grumpy and humourless performance is…
Is it better to start strong or to finish with a bang? Obviously, achieving both and never letting go in between is best, but it’s not that common for a movie to maintain greatness consistently from beginning to end. The reason why I’m asking myself that question is that often times, an amazing last act will make you forgive a limp opening and other flaws…