Reviews

I don't know what film some of the other reviewers have seen, but I've been to multiple IMAX theatres just to see "Into The Deep." The 3-D effects are excellent, as is the footage and the narration. You'd never think watching the short, happy lives of squid, waving kelp forests, or plankton floating by your eyes would be quite so mesmerising---but the filmmakers really pull it off. 9/10.

...who insisted we trade HBO (and "OZ," mind you) to get Showtime's "Queer As Folk." And at Christmastime, too.

What can I say? The best thing about this show are the credits (the end ones, not the beginning). The show is torpedoed by characters that are unlikeable and shallow, contrived, predictable plotlines, and dialogue that comes straight from the Pia Zadora Institute For Overly-Emotional And Trite Scriptwriting. There are many other enjoyable portrayals of gay life out there---starting with "The Broken Hearts Club." Go see one of them, and avoid this mess at all costs.

Overrated and formulaic, right down the tips of its credits and the cheesy "7" that is in the title...do I hear hisses from the peanut gallery? I realize a lot of people adore this movie, but I don't. Se7en has the characteristic (for me, anyway) that a lot of critics are saying plagues "Pay It Forward." It's too manufactured. There's something very artificial and contrived about the movie, and I just can't buy into it. As for the "surprise" ending...sorry, but I saw it coming from a mile away.

My God, it's my household at Christmas.

This movie is the perfect look at the "dysfunctional" family at its best/worst, which naturally happens during the holiday season. Everyone (all three of them) who managed to make it through childhood with the perfect set of parents, siblings and grandparents should be made to watch this over and over, to see what the rest of us had to endure.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and actually liked it. Boy, how the years will change an opinion. The one thing I couldn't get over while watching "Real Genius" on HBO the other night was how Val Kilmer was the ONLY attractive person in the entire movie. And apparently the only one who could act as well. And just once I would like to see William Atherton play something other than a jerk. If you want to see Val Kilmer in something truly funny, go rent "Top Secret" instead. Don't waste your bucks on this one.

What a disappointment. Although I'm sure that the handicapped kid in the front row with the speak and spell board who typed repeatedly throughout the movie "I need a hug" and "I want more" added somewhat to my lack of movie-going enjoyment--I did not like this movie at all. Now I understand what scriptwriting courses mean when they say to avoid "talking heads," and boy, this movie has exposition a-plenty. Long, draggy, incomprehensible exposition---anytime there isn't a fight onscreen. Plus, all of that exposition is done by predictable, cliched characters possessing as much depth as a sheet of paper. Not that the acting is bad---it wasn't. But if you've seen any entry in the "they-killed-the-family-of-the-noble-hero-and-now-it's-payback-time" genre, then you've already seen this movie. What's sad is that Russell Crowe is a fantastic actor, and "Gladiator" would have benefitted greatly from having a flawed anti-hero like his role in "L.A. Confidential." And while this $100 million movie IS pretty (if a bit vertigo-inducing with rapid-fire jump cuts and camera angles), it seems to possess a lot more style than substance. Wait for the video.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best motion pictures I have ever seen. Simply amazing. "American Beauty" is like a horrible dream that is so bad, yet so fascinating you don't want to wake from it because you have to see just what nastiness could possibly happen next. I loved the characters in this movie--all of them. So multi-dimensional, so real. I've read some of the other comments from people who say the movie was too dark, or too depressing, or even too predictable. Well, I've never seen any movie that could turn a flying plastic bag into a work of visual poetry. My only regret after having watched "American Beauty" (apart from not having known people like these in real life) is that there are too many good zingers in the dialogue to even try to remember them all. I simply must get the video when it comes out.

This movie was extremely disappointing, considering the star power that was in it. I never connected to any of the characters or their problems, nor could I buy into the inevitable attraction between Julia Roberts (whom I adore) and Richard Gere, or the attractions between anyone for that matter. Usually Julia is like a best friend in any of her romantic comedies, but in "Runaway Bride," neither she nor any of the other characters or situations seemed even remotely realistic or three-dimensional... By the end I wanted them all to die in a nuclear holocaust, if only to liven things up. Rent "Notting Hill" instead---fabulous movie.

This movie has stayed with me for several days now, and I can't seem to get it out of my head. Granted, it's a technical marvel and all, as well as being witty, intelligent, and hugely funny. But there's one scene in "Toy Story 2" that is as touching and poignant as anything I've seen onscreen in quite some time---and I see LOTS of movies. The upshot? I know I'll think twice before leaving one of my toys behind.