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Identity (2003)
Identifiable by how amazing it is
Identity is a film that returns to the style that old thrillers had. Starting off with a basic premise, we're able to go into the movie knowing fullheartedly what to expect. Ten strangers get stuck at a motel on a rainy night. After they begin to know more about eachother... they start to get killed off. One by one. John Cusack (High Fidelity, Serendipity) and Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Narc) lead this amazing ensemble cast. Also starring are Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards, Changing Lanes), John C. McGinley (Any Given Sunday, The Animal), Clea Duvall (Girl, Interrupted, The Faculty), Rebecca De Mornay (The Con, Feds) and Alfred Molina (Frida, Magnolia).
The coolest thing about this flick is the eerie atmosphere that is created at the motel... during the storm... with these characters. The trailer does a perfect job of catching the mood of the movie, and that alone should attract most moviegoers. The motel in the film, often noted as an obvious reference to The Bates Motel, plays a larger character than any single player in the film. It's the phone booth to Phone Booth, or the panic room to Panic Room. Now, back to the atmosphere. Some movies just know how to suck you into the story. You know, how you often find yourself on the edge of your seat just waiting and waiting for the huge, shocking finale to hit? Identity is the first movie that put me in that position.
I've always been able to piece together clues in movies to predict the ending. Well, not for every movie I see (like The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects), but most. The pieces in Identity start to slowly come together, just as they do in any other suspense film, until the final clue is given... and bang! Not everybody will appreciate the ending of the film. Some might argue that it was, for some reason, a cheap way to end the movie. I thought the complete opposite. As the credits began to roll I remember telling myself that, without a doubt, it worked for me. Everything worked for me (besides the often bitchy Amanda Peet).
Other films where the cast is killed off one at a time end up being cheesy-teen-horror-flicks (Final Destination), or horror-flicks-that-are-trying-to-stay-away-from being-teen-horror-flicks (Darkness Falls). Identity does a great job to totally set itself apart from those two genres by setting itself up with a well-crafted plot, exceptional acting and an ending that can't be missed. People who are fans of the old mysteries and thrillers must be sure not to miss this one.
Seven and a half stars / of ten stars. (******* ½ / **********)
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
"Stitch" brings the mouse back to life!
Disney brings back watercolor backgrounds, not since 1941's Dumbo, in this stunningly-awesome looking animated movie. Even with that to boot, Dean Deblois and Chris Sanders managed to come up with a respectable plot that wasn't a complete rip off of E.T. (1982) or even, well, Mac and Me (1988). It's funny to see that the average person who doesn't enjoy any type of Disney production has been favoring this movie more than others, as I feel, it's a pretty nice step for the company. Disney goes flat-out to create a funny character put into a situation where only large laughs are going to occur. The Emperor's New Groove (2000) tried so hard to accomplish that, but fell just short of a home run. `Stitch' gets that extra foot or two.
After being created by a mad scientist named Jumba (David Ogden Stiers), Stitch (Chris Sanders) is immediately set aside as a misfit and ordered to spend his life on a remote asteroid. After finding his way to a spacecraft, Stitch outruns the galactic police and crash lands in Hawaii, where is wounded and treated in an animal shelter as a dog. The following day, Lilo (Daveigh Chase), a lonely and misunderstood young girl, arrives at the shelter to adopt a dog after her sister Nani (Tia Carrere) allows her to.
Along with the frustrating social worker Mr. Bubbles (Ving Rhames), Stitch proves to be too much for the sisterly duo. Their own relationship, scarred by the death of their parents, starts to fall apart. Lilo feels that Stitch is the only one who understands her, her sister just doesn't respect her anymore, and her peers don't seem to be accepting her at all. Two relationships in this movie are key, with Lilo & Stitch and Lilo & Nani. Acting as the stronger point, Lilo helps transform Stitch and Nani into different people with different priorities, the main one being family.
`Ohana,' which means `family,' seems to be one of the largest elements in this film. Being referenced numerous times by Lilo throughout the film, it eventually starts to grow onto Nani and Stitch, until they use it themselves by the end of the film to
well, you'll have to see it for yourselves. Reading some user comments on the film, it seems that most Hawaiians are glad that the message of `ohana' is being used, and the meaning is becoming known a little better. It's almost like if people in Japan made a movie and had the main character say `Yeah baby, yeah!' dozens upon dozens of times. It represents our great culture, so it feels good to let others know about it.
The comic character is there, the sappy child-left-behind character is there, the setting is there. Everything seems to be `there' for this really un-sappy (besides a few short moments) cartoon. Oh, and did I mention that this one is awesome enough to contain no please-cry-because-I'm-lonely songs sung by the characters? Just some good ole' fashioned Elvis playing. Even without the tunes, this movie would still be rock n' rollin'.
***1/2 out of ****
Minority Report (2002)
The report is in ... this movie is amazing!
Philip K. Dick's short story comes to a remarkable life in this extraordinary epic that Steven Spielberg just happened to direct. Being his second futuristic, sci-fi thriller in less than a year, `Minority Report' shattered most everyone's opinions, unlike last year's `A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.' Going places he couldn't go with `A.I.,' Spielberg really gives `Minority Report' it's own perfect setting, believably set in the year 2054. Everything seems to be more open, and useful, as in `A.I.' where it seemed most of the outside settings where bright lights when indoors. `Minority Report,' as mentioned above, is set in an amazingly realistic Washington, D.C., fifty odd years in the future. One of the highest-ranked and well respected cops in the new Pre-Crime Police Force, John Anterton (Tom Cruise), gets a wakeup call when the pre-cogs, three select people who can see future murders, accuse Anderton of murder.
Running from authority, which seems to be the movie's main premise, Anderton runs into a collage of outlandish characters and places, including a mysterious man who removes peoples' eyes so they cannot be identified, and a loner caretaker in charge of all the current pre-crime prisoners. Without a doubt, the action scenes in the film are top-notch, never outdoing their selves in pride or length. Two of the scenes that stick out in my mind would have to be Anderton's pursuit among the highway, where he must jump from vehicle-to-vehicle to escape his capture
and a scene in an apartment complex where a group of Police-controlled electronic spiders are sent to identify all living persons inside.
Professionalism aside (heh), this movie just kicks some major ass. From the moment you see him, you know Anderton is a hard-ass, and won't quit being one the whole movie. That's Tom for you, folks. Another actor who really caught my eye was Colin Farrell (Hart's War), who played an FBI rookie to inspect the whole Pre-Crime process. I've never seen anybody transform their voice as much as him, starting with a deep Irish accent
smoothly going into a perfect American one.
The actors, the settings, the plot. Everything seems to be intact. And it is. `Minority Report' succeeds in keeping the audience thrilled, yet intrigued with the plot at the same moment. Twist and turns seem to be two of the biggest ingredients in this thrill ride's list, enough to make the ending unpredictable to even the most intelligent of moviegoers. Even if you manage to see one or two bad reviews of `Minority Report,' don't let them fool you. Those people are probably still aching over their oddly terrible `A.I.' experiences.
**** out of ****
Collateral Damage (2002)
He's back!
Finally we get treated to an enjoyable Arnie flick. Not being a fan of last few works (The 6th Day, End of Days), I'm glad to see that he's back in the movies just to plain kick ass. Not the best plot in the world . . . some stiff acting . . . no classic one-liners delivered by Arnold . . . but, hey, it's what a popcorn flick is supposed to be. Let's pray that `I Am Legend' gets made.
The Blue Planet (2001)
A Documentary Gem
Words can hardly describe what Blue Planet brought to life in all of its hours of runtime. Matching up with Walking With Dinosaurs, this documentary stands as one of the best. We can only pray that the BBC and Discovery Channel come up with even more outstanding ideas that could possibly even level with this one.
Black Knight (2001)
The Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen
I don't have much to say about this movie, because of the fact that it was pure garbage. I've never felt the urge to bash a film more than this one. The plot is terrible. Martin Laurence tries to be funny, but fails miserably.
I laughed a total of two times in this movie. One at the "Your daughter is a freak" part, and then after the credits were over. I was laughing at myself for actually paying money to see this "film". I don't even think that this "movie" deserves to be called a "film".
Why didn't this go right to video?
ZERO STARS OF FOUR (X/****)
Shallow Hal (2001)
A movie that will tickle your funny bone, and enlarge your heart
SHALLOW HAL (2001)
**SPOILERS**
The Farrelly Brothers have shocked audiences before with the movies `There's Something About Mary' and `Me, Myself, and Irene.' It seems like they've grown up a little bit. `Shallow Hal' is a hilarious story that has a serious meaning to it.
As I expected, the movie started off with loads of humor. Hal's (Jack Black) Dad tells him that he should always aim for the highest in life, and never settle for less. This makes Hal, as it says in the title, very shallow. All he cares about are looks, and it's not working for him. One day at work, he gets stuck in an elevator with motivational speaker Anthony Robbins. He removes Hal's one-track perspective on women. He enables Hal to see the inner beauty of women.
This changes everything. Hal's friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander) doesn't know what has happened to him. He witnesses Hal dancing with not-so-attractive women at a dance club, and then dating a plus-sized woman named Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow).
By the end of the movie, after a turn of events, Hal realizes that he is truly in love with Rosemary. He loves her for her personality, her heart, her sense of humor. The audience witnesses a man discovering what love is all about.
This movie touched me, and made me respect others a lot more than I did before. It made me look on the other side of things. It'll do this to alot of people. This movie has a lot of heart, humor, and deep meaning. A perfect date movie that could leave both you and your partner in tears.
**** 4 STARS (OF FIVE)
Bass Guitar Master Class (1997)
A great lesson to be learned
BASS GUITAR MASTER CLASS (1997)
John Entwistle does an amazing job making this a great lesson-to-learn video! I mastered bass guitar skills in less than three days with his help. He does a great job narrorating this masterpiece, and puts it all together with great humor.
A must-see for any bass player that needs some help! I recommend this video to all. Though it's not as good as John Masters' tape, it's still a good one!
*** THREE STARS (OF FIVE)