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Reviews
The Anniversary Party (2001)
Much Ado About Nothing
I had heard all of the great reviews and some quirky ads for this independent movie as some sort of modern "Big Chill". This movie even had Big Chill alumnus Kevin Kline and his wife the best part about "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Phoebe Cates. Yes, I agree that there are a good group of actors in this movie, but the more I watched it, the more depressed I became over the hedonistic behavior of these characters. The Big Chill was a hit because the characters overcame their problems with each other and drew closer in the end. In this rather horrifying movie the characters grew apart more and more as the plot dragged on, and you pitied these characters rather than felt any empathy for them. And how can you actually believe that Alan Cumming has any heterosexual tendencies? Not that there is anything wrong with that, but he is totally unbelievable.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Visually Stunning, but Left an Empty Feeling
This movie had all of the makings of a typical Kubrick movie: slow development, great camera angles, developed characters, the ability to surprise and shock. I felt that the movie had some elements in it that rank among Kubrick's best, but also some of the worst. Among the the best was the feeling that I watched an hour and a half movie that was actually more than an hour longer. However, on the negative side, Tom Cruise was one of his worst casting choices. He has so little range, and brought so little to what could have been a classic part. It pained me to see the interaction between Cruise and his real life wife, Nicole Kidman. She was wonderful.