[7] Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien) and William Hurt star in this dark, disturbing drama about a troubled young Navy officer (Bernal) who comes to Corpus Christi to find the father he’s never met (Hurt). Unfortunately, Hurt’s character is a devout preacher with a new family and wants nothing to do with his illegitimate son. But that doesn’t stop Bernal from starting an …
[7] Episode III is far and away the best of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Everything I don’t like about the previous two films remains true, namely that it’s over-produced and the characters aren’t very interesting or engaging. But at least George Lucas and co-screenwriter Jonathan Hale finally cash in on some of the story’s dramatic potential. As the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid in a starring …
[6] Part two of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy is still cluttered and over-produced like the previous installment, but it’s a modest improvement over part one, thanks in large part to a solid final act. But man, oh, man, do you have a long tedious slog to get to that third act. Lucas and co-screenwriter Jonathan Hale bank on cross-cutting story lines (ala Empire …
[7] Judy Irving chronicles the lives of an underemployed street musician, Mark Bittner, and a flock of wild cherry-headed parrots he observes and sometimes cares for in a hilly neighborhood of San Francisco. Bird lovers will enjoy getting to know some of the flock, including its lone blue-headed conure, Connor, who protects the weak and infirm in spite of being under-appreciated by all the red-heads …
[8] In a not-too-distant future Japan, the government cracks down on adolescent shenanigans by randomly selecting one 9th grade class per year to duke it out on a remote island until only one student is standing. Battle Royale starts off with a good dose of operatic, dark humor, but as the teenage body count rises, you actually get to know many of the embattled kids …
[3] One of the now-many thuds on M. Night Shyamalan’s fall from Hollywood grace was this apocalyptic tale of (drum roll) plants exacting revenge on humankind… because they’re mad… or something. It’s hard to believe that it never occurred to Night or Twentieth Century Fox that this would ultimately result in a movie where people do nothing but run from wind machines. Unfortunately, the core …
[6] Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects director and screenwriter, reunite for this true story of German officers conspiring from behind Nazi lines to kill Hitler. Tom Cruise doesn’t quite disappear into the role of real-life renegade Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, but the stellar supporting cast includes Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, and Eddie Izzard. The true story is a …
[7] Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Talented Mr. Ripley) adapts Charles Frazier’s book about a Civil War deserter trying to get back to his lover. The film goes back and forth between the soldier’s story and the sweetheart’s story. My main issue with Cold Mountain is that these two characters, played by Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, barely know each other at all before they …
[6] A British diplomat in Kenya tries to solve the mystery of his activist wife’s murder, only to get in over his head with the culprits — a pharmaceutical company that is intentionally poisoning and killing people. The first third of the film belongs to Rachel Weisz, who plays the deceased wife in a series of flashbacks. Weisz took home the Oscar for best supporting …
#12: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) [2] This is the worst of the Fridays. The subtitle is a misleading marketing gimmick, as Jason only arrives in Manhattan for the last twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes are okay, if only to see Jason put a few New Yorkers in their place. But the rest of the movie is interminably boring and the …
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