Punditries

Alphabetical Listing of Films Viewed (2000/2001)

13 Conversations About One Thing		A decent, intelligent little indy film with a lot of A-list actors (Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro). It's a talky contemplation about the consequences of the choices we make in life when s**t happens.
24-Hour Photo		Fairly routine thriller about a lonely photo clerk (Robin Williams) who invades the lives of a seemingly-happy model family he idolizes. Williams is OK - one of his serious films where he manages not to crack a smile or tell a joke.
The 40-year-old Virgin	(not previewed)
About A Boy	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Ali	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Amelie		(In French with subtitles) A young French woman, Amelie (Audrey Tautou), takes it upon herself to help make people's dreams come true. She goes to great lengths to orchestrate helping even complete strangers fulfill their greatest wish. But can she in the process get her own wish? A sweet fantasy with the bold styling of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose darker films include "Delicatessen" and "The City of Lost Children". Terrific film craftsmanship even if the story is a little fluffy. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Analyze That		Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro are back in the sequel to "Analyze This", in which Crystal plays mobster De Niro's psychotherapist. The original was a sloppy "mob movie" parody that went for cheap laughs first and ignored the story; the new movie is no different. The whole point really is the supposed chemistry between Crystal and De Niro - does it work for you? If it did in the first film, it probably will again. There are a few great laughs here and there, but this one seems like another instantly-forgettable braindead comedy.
Austin Powers In Goldmember		(See Review) Easily the weakest of the three Austin Powers films, despite some hilarious stuff here and there, especially in the beginning. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Auto Focus		Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) starred in the hit TV show "Hogan's Heros" for a few years, during which his addiction to sex and photographing women escalated along with his stardom. Stuck doing dinner theater on the road after his show went off the air, Crane was murdered in Arizona in the 70's. Did his long-time sleaze buddy John (Willem Dafoe) kill him out of revenge? The film tells us the story of Crane without giving us much insight into the man's life at all. It's like having the script read to you with good visuals. The film is often pretty flat, story is never compelling, and Kinnear's impression of Crane is good but shouldn't be confused with a great performance. Dafoe, however, is perfectly cast as Crane's creepy cohort.
The Aviator	(not previewed)
Bandits		Two bank robbers (Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton) break out of prison and go on a spree of new robberies, in a world where the cops are really, really dumb. The robbers pick up a disgruntled housewife (Cate Blanchett) who of course complicates their lives with her charms. The film is light, full of crowd-pleasing humor including the requisite back-handed slap at the modern media. Thornton's character, as usual, is a raving eccentric - this time, a hypochondriac, to an almost annoying degree. "Bandits" is mildly entertaining but cliched and unoriginal, destined to be forgotten after its big #1 opening weekend. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Batman Begins	(not previewed)
A Beautiful Mind		A sad but touching story (Directed by Ron Howard, "Apollo 13") based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Prize winner from Princeton, who is brilliant yet haunted by his own mind. Russell Crowe gives a complete performance - a brilliant job probably assuring him another Best Actor Oscar nomination. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Behind Enemy Lines		Another cut-and-paste action film with lots of explosions and shooting but not much real suspense - and no soul. Owen Wilson is a pilot who gets shot down over Bosnia; Gene Hackman plays the stern-but-grandfatherly admiral who insists on getting his "boy" back. Skip it and rent "Crimson Tide" again... [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Black Hawk Down		In the midst of the American hunger relief mission in Solalia in 1993, an American military mission went tragically wrong; a few weeks later the US withdrew. This is a blow-by-blow account (probably with a few cinematic liberties taken) of what happened. It's a brutal, graphic, disturbing film but also very intense. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Blood Work		Fairly standard crime film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, who doesn't hide his age in his movies and continues to make movies about aging in general. This time Clint plays an aging FBI agent who must "retire" after getting heart disease and a heart transplant. Of course, he can't stay retired for long when trouble looks him up. Beyond the themes about aging and a few semi-interesting twists, this film isn't much beyond entertaining and well-made. Clint Eastwood fans should enjoy.
Brotherhood Of The Wolf	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Catch Me If You Can		Inspired by a true story: in the mid-60's, a teenager (Leonardo Dicaprio) impersonates an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, passing bad checks all along the way. A dogged FBI agent (Tom Hanks) keeps chasing him. The real star is Steven Spielberg, who makes this breezy, entertaining film seem as effortless to make as to watch.
Changing Lanes	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The Civil War	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Clockstoppers	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Collateral Damage		Arnold Schwarzenegger's long-delayed terrorist film that was to come out just after September 11 would have been awful even then. He plays a fireman who loses his wife and daughter in a terrorist blast (though these terrorists are Columbian) and vows to go to Columbia to hunt down the mastermind. The film is full of shoot-outs and explosions - most of the cliche's we've seen dozens of times - but the story is almost choreographed without making complete sense. Worst of all is Arnold himself, who shows the worst of his wooden acting style in a role that might have been better with some sensitivity; perhaps he's unable to express it. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Count Of Monte Cristo	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Crossroads	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Death To Smoochy		Robin Williams and Edward Norton star as rival stars of kids' TV shows. This is a dark satire (from Danny DeVito) that doesn't come near to fulfilling its promising premise, but Norton is great as the innocent, new agey entertainer, and Williams is his usual manic bundle of comic energy as the displaced rival out to get him. Together, Norton and Williams more than make the film worth seeing. There are a few hilarious moments, but most of it is simply amusing.
The Deep End		A "soccer mom" (Tilda Swinton) goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her college-bound son (Jonathan Tucker) from being implicated in a crime, to the point where when you think, "What else could go wrong?",...guess what? Unfortunately, the story is full of implausibilities, to the point where you need a VERY sturdy "willing suspension of disbelief" to get through it. [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Dragonfly	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Empire		See this film if A) you hate Denise Richards and/or B) you like to see her get knocked around. In this film, she's a wall street swindler's girlfriend. But the main story concerns Vic (John Leguizamo), a likeable Puerto Rican gangster/drug dealer in New York City trying to figure out his life. He gets a chance to invest in a seemingly legitimate business deal with Jack (Peter Sarsgaard), who is not quite who he seems. The film was obviously put into production before the US economy faltered (well, at least it was shot before 9/11); Jack's too-good-to-be-true business deal would have seemed more plausible in 2000, but today it seems a little unlikely. Anyway, though nothing special, the film is entertaining and Leguizamo gives an engaging performance - so much so that when this drug-dealing murderer gets swindled, the audience cheers when he gets his revenge. So wall street swindlers are worse than drug dealers these days?
Enough	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Fahrenheit 9/11	(not previewed)
The Five Obstructions	(not previewed)
Frailty	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
From Hell		Johnny Depp plays the investigator on the trail of Jack the Ripper in the new Hughes Brothers' film about the infamous murder spree in 19th Century London. It's bloody (well, JACK THE RIPPER after all), and the first half is a bit murkey and unfocused. The second half picks up in intensity. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Garden State	(not previewed)
Ghost World		Enid (Thora Birch) graduates from high school to alienation as she finds she doesn't fit into modern society. She happens onto an unlikely friendship with the older, geeky Seymour (Steve Buscemi) who also seems to live in an earlier era. Terry Zwigoff ("Crumb") directed and co-wrote the script with Daniel Clowes, on whose comic series the film is based. Zwigoff's spare, documentary style will seems familiar to fans of "Crumb". Buscemi is terrific, but isn't he always? [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Gosford Park	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Harry Potter	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Hart's War	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Heist		Gene Hackman plays a veteran thief leading a team of sophisticated robbers toward one last robbery. Unfortunately, things go wrong at every turn. The latest from writer/director David Mamet. [Buy DVD at Amazon]
High Crimes	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Hunted		Filmed in and around Portland, Oregon: a renegade special ops soldier (Benicio Del Toro) slays some hunters in an Oregon forest. Man-of-the-wild Tommy Lee Jones (who trained the soldier to kill) is brought in to help track him down. The movie is flat in just about every respect: boring fight scenes, ho-hum car chase that have been better done hundreds of times, and - worst of all - dull characters who have zero chemistry together. The filmmakers must have realized this clunker wouldn't last long in theaters when they cut it to only 90 minutes - extremely short by action film standards. Very bloody, needlessly so.
I Am Sam	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Ice Age	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Igby Goes Down		What an amazingly powerful film! Although it seems like yet another teenager-comes-of-age story, this one is brilliantly acted and written. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is an upper-middle-class kid living near New York; he gets bored with school and his overbearing mother and ditches school for New York City, where he hangs out with an assortment of wacky characters. In the process, does he figure out some things about life? Perhaps. Culkin is great and so is the supporting cast that includes Jeff Goldblum, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, and Susan Surandon. The movie is not upbeat, sometimes intense and not always very pleasant to watch, but it's a knock-out. (Ignore comparisons to the film "Rushmore", another great film; "Igby" is really nothing like it.)
In The Bedroom	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Insomnia		A high school girl is beaten to death in a small Alaska town. A veteran LA detective (Al Pacino) and his partner are sent up to help the local cops (including Hilary Swank) figure it out. Unfortunately, Pacino's detective doesn't always play by the rules and it gets him in trouble. Will they catch the bad guy (Robin Williams)? This is a great suspense film with some nice twists - a remake of an equally terrific Norwegian film of the same name - from Chistopher Nolan, director of "Memento". [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The Italian Job		Mildly entertaining but completely unimaginative heist/revenge film (a remake) about a gold robbery and a betrayal - starring Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, and Charlize Theron. There's a lot of glitz and choreography of events (this is one of those movies where nothing ever seems to go wrong in the plan) but not much real excitement. Norton plays a completely forgettable bad guy.
Jarhead	(not previewed)
King of Kong	(not previewed)
Kinsey	(not previewed)
Kissing Jessica Stein		Jessica, a copy editor in New York City, can't seem to hook up with a guy she likes. On a whim she answers Helen's ad in the personals; should she "experiment" with women? How will Jessica's Jewish family accept this? This is a light, intelligent, but forgettable comedy, a crowd-pleaser that you will probably enjoy if you are hip on girl-girl relationships. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissouu	(not previewed)
Lord Of The Rings	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Maid In Manhattan		A slick, crowdpleasing Cinderella story with Jennifer Lopez as a lowly hotel maid and Ralph Fiennes as the rich politician who mistakes her for a society woman - and falls in love. It's a light, predictable, forgettable film with a simple story but it's entertaining and not too mushy. Not a whole lot of effort required for Lopez or Fiennes for their roles (not much chemistry between them either). My favorite part of the film is Lopez's character's little boy and his 70's obsession (and his fascination with Richard Nixon). Stanley Tucci has a nice little supporting role as the overprotective campaign manager/handler.
The Man Who Wasn't There		Joel and Ethan Coen's latest - a film noir (shot in black and white, too), set in 1949, about a small-town barber (Billy Bob Thornton) who tries to manipulate the man (James Gandolfini) who seems to be having an affair with his wife (Frances McDormand). Predictably, everything soon goes wrong for the droll barber and especially for those around him. The film is more subdued than recent Coen works, but as usual, it's speckled with humor throughout. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Manchurian Candidate	(not previewed)
Men In Black II		Unlike most people, I thought the original was merely "OK" - entertaining and cute but nothing special. The sequel is, by contrast, little more than a rehash of the original, with more cuteness (a talking dog stealing the movie is always a sign of trouble) and much less imagination. The story is a completely forgettable tale of a extraterrestrial witch (Lara Flynn Boyle) on earth searching for some sort of light source, which for some reason the retired Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) is privy to. Jay (Will Smith) is given a love interest (Rosario Dawson) and there's a predictable subplot about re-recruiting Kay back to Men in Black. But otherwise, it seems more like a sequel to the sequel to "Ghostbusters" than anything else. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
A Mighty Wind		An icon of folk music past has died, and his son decides to put on a concert in New York City reuniting some old folk acts - including The Folksmen and Mitch and Mickey. This is another "mockumentary" from Christopher Guest, in the same form as "Best in Show" and "Waiting For Guffman". Most of the cast look familiar from the previous two films. But the most fun is seeing the three principals from "Spinal Tap" (Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer) playing new music as The Folksman. The icing on the cake is Fred Willard, who pops up as always to provide belly laughs with his outlandish, assinine asides.
Monsoon Wedding	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Monster's Ball	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Monsters, Inc.	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Mothman Prophecies	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Mulholland Drive	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Munich	(not previewed)
Napoleon Dynamite	(not previewed)
National Lampoon's Van Wilder	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The New Guy	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Novocaine		A dentist (Steve Martin) engaged to his hygenist (Laura Dern) is tempted by a trampy pillpopping babe (Helena Bonham Carter). But is our dentist also a murderer? A clever idea for a film, but the characters aren't fleshed out (so to speak), and the ending is kind of cheesy. In a way this is kind of a parody of whodunnit mysteries with lots of twists. Part of the effect seems to be the over-the-top suspense music played through the film that, quite frankly, is annoying as hell. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
O		Tim Blake Nelson's timely - too timely? - updating of Shakespeare's "Othello" set in a high school. The film was put off due to all the high school shootings. Worth checking out. [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Ocean's 11		Ex-con Danny Ocean (George Clooney) assembles a team (including Brad Pitt) to rip off a Vegas casino. With so many odd characters and complications involved, can they pull it off? A terrific re-make of the old Rat Pack (Sinatra, Martin, Davis Jr., etc.) film of the same name. Steven Soderbergh is at the top of his game; this film is wonderfully directed, with careful attention to every detail. The film's balance of light tone and delicate robbery plot is perfect. What an amazing followup to "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich". [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Ocean's Twelve	(not previewed)
Orange County	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Panic Room		(See Review) Jodie Foster plays a determined woman hiding in a vault/shelter (panic room) in their home trying to keep away from bad guys. A tight suspense thriller directed by David Fincher ("Fight Club"). [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Phone Booth		A New York hot shot publicist (Colin Farrell) thinks he's on top of the world until a nut traps him in a phone booth with a rifle. Farrell is quite good considering he spends most of the film in a phone booth.
The Piano Teacher		(In French with English Subtitles) A lonely, self-hating woman piano teacher (Isabelle Huppert) with some nasty sexual hangups meets a young, handsome student (Benont Magimel) who forces her to confront some of her inner demons. Since it's not a Hollywood film, don't expect a Hollywood story - this is a somber, unsentimental, painfully honest portrayal of an empty woman, and it's certainly not a love story. The film is kinda slow at 130 minutes, but in a way, the pace of the story sort of fits the character. Beware of the graphic violent and sexual nature of this film - it would certainly be NC-17 if rated in the US.
Punch-Drunk Love		OK, I DON'T like Adam Sandler, I admit it! And this isn't a "serious" role for him - it's a quirky role in a weird art house experimental-type film from Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights", "Magnolia"). What's it about? Oh, yes: it's about a loser-type guy (Sandler) who gets in trouble after calling a phone-sex line, tries a scheme to cash in on frequent flyer miles by buying pudding, fights with his sisters, and improbably has a dream romance with his sister's beautiful friend (Emily Watson). It's a surreal-seeming movie, seen through the eyes of its neurotic loser/hero, and often isn't pleasant to watch. Sure, it's something different for Sandler, but simply walking through a movie with a straight face isn't the same as giving a good performance. It's the type of unpleasantly twisted movie that critics love but mainsteam audiences won't dig.
Queen Of The Damned	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Rat Race		Fun chase flick - in the tradition of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and the "Cannonball Run" films - about people sent off on a race to collect $2Million before the others. Lots of physical humor and some silly/gross-out stuff via director Jerry Zucker (co-director of "Airplane!" and co-creator of "The Naked Gun"). Unfortunately, the film starts to wane in the last third, losing the fun momentum it had in attempt to wrap it up in a nice, neat way. This is one of those films I would have like to have seen go on an EXTRA hour in favor of the hasty wrap-up. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Red Dragon		Remake of the book on which "Manhunter" was based - the first chapter in the Hannibal Lecter story. Anthony Hopkins is back of course, but the movie is pretty flat, even ho-hum, despite the appearance of a whole slew of great actors (Emily Watson, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, and Philip Seymour Hoffman). Mildly entertaining at best - worth a look only if you adore seeing Hopkins play Lecter one more time...
Return To Neverland	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Ring		Pretty decent horror flick. A video tape exists where, if you watch it the surrealistic short film on it, you die in exactly seven days. The movie starts off looking like a cheap teen horror romp but quickly shows it's much more than that. Rachel (Naomi Watts) is a reporter who starts nosing around into her niece's death. After she watches the tape, she has a week to unravel the mystery before she too dies. It's fairly conventional as a film but well-made and often - creepy. Don't leave the theater at the end til the credits start to roll.
Road To Perdition		An entertaining story of a mob hit man, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) working for the local boss (Paul Newman) who basically adopted him as another son. Michael, as seen through the eyes of his young son, gets in some kind of trouble with the boss's real son, a hapless thug, and this leads down a bloody path almost to ruin. Can Michael take care of his son? Can Michael escape another, quirky, hitman played suberbly by Jude Law? For all of this, there's nothing particular profound or original in the story - it's just a well-made, entertaining film. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The Rookie	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Royal Tenenbaums		From Wes Anderson (and Owen Wilson), creators of "Rushmore" and "Bottle Rocket", comes this star-studded story about a family of child prodigies (Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson) and their estranged father Royal's (Gene Hackman)'s attempt to reconcile with them before he dies. Royal is a likeable failure, and it's really his story. The film might be considered dryly funny and a little quirky, but it has its moments. Anderson uses a lot of "moving photograph" shots he used in "Rushmore" - clever or annoying? Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson also appear in smaller roles. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Scorpion King	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Seabiscuit		Polished, crowd-pleasing story of Seabiscuit, an underdog race horse who won (and lost) big in the 1930's. Actually the story is more about the people around the horse than about Seabiscuit himself. The book is better.
Secretary		A slightly disturbed young woman, Lee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) goes to work for a very quirky lawyer, Mr. Grey (James Spader) who might just have trouble keeping secretaries? In any case, Grey's unorthodox methods for, er, disciplining his secretaries turn out to be perfect for the directionless Lee, who quickly falls in love with her spanking boss. This is an odd type of love story, fairly light in tone but somehow refreshingly honest. Though there is little nudity or simulated on-screen sex, some may be offended by the otherwise graphic sexual scenes.
Sexy Beast		Gal (Ray Winstone) is a retired British thug living in Spain is put upon by a scary mob leader, Don (Ben Kingsley), to do one last job. Gal doesn't want to do it, but Don is really, really, really persistent. The film has some amusingly dark moments but too much slow-motion photography makes the film seem over-stylized. Though the robbery premise is clever, it's mostly postscript to what is really an acting vehicle for Kingsley, who is, of course, fun to watch. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Shallow Hal	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Shipping News	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Sideways	(not previewed)
Signs		A parable about a preacher (Mel Gibson) who has lost his faith after the death of his wife. Will the preacher regain his faith? Oh, yeah, and aliens from outerspace are invading the earth, too - but that's just the back story... [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Snow Dogs	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Spider-Man	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Spy Game		Nathan (Robert Redford) is a senior spy in the CIA, about to retire, when he learns that his young protege, Tom (Brad Pitt) is in trouble and the CIA won't help him. Much of the film is told from a conference room in flashback (from Nathan's point of view) to events in the past. Redford and Pitt have few scenes together, and there is pretty much no chemistry between them. This is an interesting story, never boring, but rarely is it very intense or involving. The flashback technique is a little clumsy - but the film is still entertaining. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Star Trek Nemesis		The Star Trek: Next Generation cast is back in a ridiculous story about a clone of Captain Picard who threatens to blow up earth with some dastardly new nuclear weapon. The movie is lifeless, devoid of all creativity, and full of the worst cliches from previous Star Trek movies and TV shows. If you love Star Trek, please stay away and pretend they never made another movie.
Star Wars II: Attack Of The Clones	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Super Troopers	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Syriana	(not previewed)
Team America: World Police	(not previewed)
The Time Machine	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
Training Day	(not previewed)	[Buy DVD at Amazon]
The Trials Of Henry Kissinger		Documentary: an exploration of the supposed "crimes" of Henry Kissinger while he was National Security Adviser and Secretary of State for Nixon and Ford. The "trial" consists of a bunch of interviews with supposed experts on Kissinger. Though it makes a weak attempt to seem "balanced" (Kissinger himself appears through clips that were not intended for the movie), the film is more of an indictment of Kissinger than a trial. Perhaps the filmmakers did not look harder than Alexander Haig for witnesses to defend Kissinger; Haig unwittingly scores more points for the prosecution than for Kissinger. Still, the film provides disturbing and damning evidence that Kissinger indeed quarterbacked US involvement in some horrible events in Cambodia, Chile, and Indonesia. Is Henry Kissinger, America's most famous foreign policy figure, no better than Slobodan Milosevic?
The Truth About Charlie		Regina (Thandie Newton) returns to Paris from vacation to find that Charlie, her husband, is dead, and an odd assortment of characters she's never met will do anything to recover some valuable property he hid away. Who are these people, and who can she trust? This remake of the Cary Grant/Audrie Hepburn classic "Charade" is an almost lighthearted romp through Paris, despite the occasional bloody fights and dead bodies, with fun twists. Mark Wahlberg is charming in the Cary Grant role, but Tim Robbins is terrific as one of the other players.
Undercover Brother		The plot is irrelevant: Imagine the "Austin Powers" formula recycled with an inept hero (Undercover Brother) from another time - from "Blaxploitation America" instead of from the "Swinging 60's" - awash in inane references to African-American culture and rapid-fire, stupid jokes about black stereotypes. There are some genuinely funny moments here, but it's low humor, surface level, and fairly predictable. Still, the movie is good as a guilty pleasure, a brain-dead escape for a few laughs at the bargain show. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Unfaithful	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Vanilla Sky		A wealthy playboy (Tom Cruise) see his whole life change abuptly after encounters with two women (Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz) and a nasty car accident ruins his face. Is he going mad, or is the board of directors trying to force him out of his father's company? This movie has a definite surreal element, but sadly it's spoiled by too much clarity and explanation near the end. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Waking Life		Richard Linklater's recent film - live action that was turned into animation - following a young man apparently stuck in a dream; in this dream, he meets and talks to countless people, who go on endlessly about the nature and meaning of life, right out of some Beatnick coffee house. Still, the monologues have some amusing turns, and the animation technique is unique and - well, amazing, though it's unclear whether it added much impact to the story. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
A Walk To Remember	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]
Walk the Line	(not previewed)
We Were Soldiers	(not previewed)	[Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
The Wedding Crashers	(not previewed)
White Noise	(not previewed)
Wicker Park	(not previewed)
Y Tu Mama Tambien		(Mexico - In Spanish with English Subtitles) Y Tu Mama Tambien ("And Your Mother, Too") is a road movie concerning two 17-year-old middle-class Mexican guys, Julio and Tenoch - best friends - who somehow go on a road trip with a beautiful "older" woman, Luisa, who teaches the immature, horny boys about life and sex. This film has a nice sweetness to it that is unfortunately nearly ruined by an intrusive narration, which chimes in from time to time with a heavy-handed (and often irrelevant) social commentary about Mexican life. The ending is a little jumbled as well. The sex in this film is fairly explicit, and there is some serious (mostly male) frontal nudity. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon]
Zoolander		Ben Stiller's new film, in which he plays a shallow, stupid male model (Derek Zoolander) brainwashed to kill a world leader at a fashion show. A few inspired moments of comedy can't save this overlong one-note parody of the fashion industry. [Buy Soundtrack at Amazon] [Buy DVD at Amazon]