December 2003

LOTR: Return of the King

Simply put, Return of the King is the best movie of the year. In fact, it may be the best movie I've ever seen. It hangs on a bit longer than it should at the end, but that is easily forgiven. The big battle in the middle with the elephants manages to top the fight from Two Towers, and the final showdown for the Ring is one of the best scenes I've ever seen on film. As a whole, the LOTR trilogy could well be the most remarkable achievment in movie history.

November 2003

Cat in the Hat

Cat in the Hat was not the disaster I thought it would be. Mike Myers managed to make me laugh from time to time, particularly when he'd break out of his bad cowardly lion impression and say something out of character. They basically throw joke after joke at the wall hoping that enough stick to make kids like it. The kids I saw in the theater loved it so I guess that's all that matters. I wasn't exactly their target audience.

Mystic River

Mystic River was a near flawless transofrmation of Dennis Lehane's book. Unfortunately, that turns out to be its only downfall. The acting was very good, but in the end, much like the book, the story left me a little unfulfilled. Great acting from Robbins, Bacon, and Penn. Clint Eastwood can always be counted on to make an interesting film, even when they don't quite work (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil).

The Matrix Revolutions

The conclusion to the Matrix series shows only a glimmer of it's former self, with 75% of the movie taking place in bad-acting, action-cliched, 2-dimensional character filled, cheesey giant robot driving, painful-dialogue filled Zion. There were some positives. I was content with how the story concluded. There were some good special effects moments as well. Overall though, I won't feel the need to pick this one up on DVD just to complete the trilogy.

October 2003

The Station Agent

The Station Agent was a very enjoyable movie going experience. One of best examples of a character driven movie I've seen in a long time. Deadpan funny when it needed to be and never over dramatic. Bobby Cannavale's "Joe" may be my favorite character I've seen all year. Highly recommended if you prefer scaled down movies about people to explosions and asteroids hurling toward the Earth.

Runaway Jury

Probably suffering from book to movie syndrome (I finished the book the night before I saw the movie) I couldn't really get into the 90% of the movie they changed. I found myself bored and frustrated throughout the entire thing. John Cusack, as usual, turns in a solid performance. Hackman and Hoffman were solid too. Unfortunately, the unnecessary chases and fights they added to the story just took away from the story.

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Definitely the coolest movie I've seen this year. Possibly the bloodiest movie I've seen all... ever. The soundtrack was great, the action was great. Could have used a bit more dialogue. There were no "Royale with Cheese" type of moments to speak of. QT movies are usually more quotable. The anime scene in the middle though was amazing. Worth the price of admission. Highly recommended. Can't wait to see Volume 2.

Lost in Translation

Lived up to my high expectations. Definitely the most unique film I've seen all year. The acting, the cinematography, and the soundtrack were all wonderful. The movie balanced the extremes of being sad and lonely with the fun of making a new connection with somebody perfectly. It also had 2 or 3 genuine laugh out loud moments and never fell into the sterotypical pot holes it easily could have.

September 2003

Matchstick Men

A pleasant surprise. Good story, good acting (Sam Rockwell is particular). Funny. Can't say too many negative things about it. Worth seeing at least on DVD if not in the theater. Good movie to end a long drought on (there was nothing worth seeing in August). Loses points for an epilogue at the end I could have done with out. A little over the top. It had a real tacked on because test audiences thought the ending was a downer feel to it.

July 2003

Terminator 3

A surprisingly good (and smart) ending helps bail out what was shaping up to be a disastrous sequel. Most of the movie, however, is spent enjoying cool chase scenes, but groaning at horrible dialogue. Half the time, it really looked like even Arnold wasn't buying into it. Listening to him tell someone to "Talk to the Hand" was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had in a movie theater. I have difficulty talking about it even now.

June 2003

Hulk

The Hulk is probably the worst movie I've seen this year. Unintentionally funny special effects just ruin what could have been an interesting movie. Ang Lee's unique visual take on the movie and tolerable acting get drowned out in laughable cheesey effects particularly a 15 minute fight scene between the hulk and three CGI dogs. You know it's a bad sign when you're actually dreading him becoming the Hulk because the effects are so embarassingly bad.

Finding Nemo

This movie is probably better than I give it credit for. Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks played off each other really well. I laughed a lot throughout the movie, but overall, I was never really into it. If you like the Pixar movies (Monsters Inc, Toy Story, A Bugs Life) you'll like this one too. Follows the same basic formula. It was also upstaged by the tailer for their next movie, The Incredibles.

The Italian Job

Despite having seen the entire movie in the trailer (including the ending), I still managed to enjoy it. Good side characters like Jason Statham and Seth Green kept the movie entertaining. Also managed to distract you from the fact that you were watching a Mark Whalberg movie and from thinking "What the heck is Ed Norton doing in this movie?!??" Recommended to anyone who didn't see the trailer.

May 2003

The Matrix Reloaded

The movie lived up to the hype as far as I'm concerned. Amazing action sequences, kept me not only interested but really into the movie. I really enjoyed learning more about how the Matrix worked and how programs running the Matrix were smart enough to have their own agendas. Had it's problems (as did the first one) but overcame them and turned out great by the end. Good summer flick and a definite DVD purchase.

Down With Love

Down With Love's "let's be as over the top as possible and not apologize for it" attitude works pretty well in the beginning, but wears thin with about 30 minutes left. Renee Zellwegger pulls it off very well. Ewan McGreggor tries his best, but there were times that I wanted to scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR GOD SAKES! YOU WERE IN TRAINSPOTTING! TRAINSPOTTING!!!" They frown on that at the theatre.

X2: X-men United

X2 is the rare sequel that surpasses the first film. The addition of Alan Cumming as Night Crawler took both the acting and the special effects to a new level. They also gave Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique) a lot more to do and she pulled it off surprisngly well. They did a nice job of setting it up for X3as well. It's very refreshing to go into a "summer" movie and not have it suck. X2 started things off the right way.

April 2003

Identity

John Cusack throws this movie on his back and carries it as far as he can. What could have been a cheesey movie in the hands of lesser actors is made watchable and actually pretty good thanks to Cusack and Ray Liotta. Once they go off screen however, all bets are off. Could've ended with one less twist and been better. The final 15 to 20 minutes sank the movie a few spots in my mind.

Phone Booth

Phone Booth was an interesting concept, and did a good job of keeping me interested through most of the film. Unfortunately, over acting, hokey dialogue, and a really really obvious twist doom the last 15 minutes of the movie. I also had a tough time buying the reasons given for why he was singled out by the sniper. Might be a decent rental if you have two hours to kill and want to see Colin Farrell spazz out.

March 2003

Bowling for Columbine

Bowling for Columbine is a movie that everybody should see. It's funny, touching, and above all else, very informative. His take on the news media (particularly local news) is something I still think about every time I watch it. The video footage from inside Columbine high school will also stay with you for a long time. It's one that I'll probably buy on DVD just to make everyone I know watch it.

February 2003

Old School

With Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and Luke Wilson, I really thought this had the potential to be a classic (Office Space or Swingers style). Unfortunately, it was directed by the guy who did Road Trip. Lot of laughs, but mostly cheap and dirty ones. Will Ferrell keeps it fun to watch though, and Vince Vaughn plays Trent from Swingers with a wife and kids. Watch for the parallels between this movie and Fight Club.

Gangs of New York

Daniel Day Lewis' incredible performance and a fantastic large-scale 30 minute long closing action sequence save what could have been a two and a half hour snooze fest. Sitting through the first hour and a half at times had me reaching for my watch. Most of the scenes with Cameron Diaz felt forced and the subplot with John C. Reilly as a constable felt out of place, but it was all made worthwhile by the finale.

Chicago

A musical? A musical with Richard Gere in it? Has there ever been a movie that sounded less like something I'd like? Good thing I wasn't in that pitch meeting. Suprisingly enough, it was good. Richard Gere was definitely the wrong choice to play Billy Flynn, but Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellwegger keep the movie going despite him. John C. Reilly is good as he continues his quest to be in every movie this year.

January 2003

Adaptation

I enjoyed Being John Malcovich as much as the next guy, but no matter how hard I tried, I could really get into this movie. Great performances by Nicolas Cage and particularly Chris Cooper helped make it watchable. Good cameo by Ron Livingston as Charlie's sleaze ball agent. Unfortunately, the idea to make the last half of the movie bad on purpose (to point out how bad most movies are) kind of backfires. Just because it's bad on purpose doesn't make it good.

25th Hour

Have you ever walked out of a movie and immediately said "I'm buying that on DVD?" Seems to happen more and more rarely for me these days, but 25th Hour is a must own. Great acting (Barry Pepper manages to upstage the great Ed Norton) a strong story and great directing by Spike Lee. Plus, Ravens DT Tony Siragusa as a Russian bodyguard! Highly recommend!