b22bandit Reviews

Minority Report (2002)

So much smarter than most

[9/10 · 22 June 2002]

This is film is so much smarter and more intense than 99% of the films Hollywood cranks out, particularly at this time of year, that I was more than willing to forgive the few flaws along the way. But why does Spielberg feel compelled to slap a pallatable ending on even his dark films? This premise killed A.I. but it manages to only slow down Minority Report from Warp Speed to merely Supersonic.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Horrible.

[2/10 · 18 May 2002]

This movie was some of the most horrible crap I have ever seen. Apart from the fetching Natalie Portman and a 5 minute light saber fight involving Yoda, this movie was simply unwatchable. Needless to say, I will still see episode 3 but I really hope that Lucas hires a screen writer for that one. The dialogue here was so flat that it makes Phantom Menace seem like a Hollywood classic.

The Cat's Meow (2001)

Dissapointing, but with some good performances

[5/10 · 11 May 2002]

Great potential for a real barn burner here, but the director never quite keeps it together. Eddie Izzard is wonderful as Chaplin and Kirsten Dunst is light years ahead of anything else I've seen her in as well, "Rosebud". There are some clever jokes about Chaplin's boot eating gag and a really nice performance by Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous. But the story is uneven and the third act is very rushed. I came away unsatisfied. Oh, and Jennifer Tilly overdoes it-more so than usual.

Two Family House (2000)

A great watched it on HBO Kind of movie

[8/10 · 8 April 2002]

Late afternoon on a monday, flipping through my 8 chanels of HBO, I found this little number and feel all the richer for it. Good acting and genuine make a shoestring budget feel and slightly implausible plot fade into the recesses of your disbelief. A warm, poignant story about the kind of guy that we can all relate to.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Very cool.

[9/10 · 28 October 2001]

This is a very cool movie that manages the always difficult balance between a Fantastic premise and strong chracacter development. Some really great performance by Donnie and the young love interest really raise this movie a notch above most films of this ilk.

I also appreciated the way they managed to make the movie look authentically 1988. (Was Blockbuster around then? That's the only problem I sniffed). I'm sure there are a few nitpicking slips but the clothing and slang were authentic without being obvious sources of Era-comedy.

Rushmore (1998)

A great movie about the strength of friendship.

[9/10 · 25 December 2000]

Rushmore is a terrific look at why people stay "together" in the sense of being a part of someone's life even if romance is out of the question and the differences between each other seem huge. And it features Bill Murray and a kid who dresses like Ray Davies. What's not to like?

Jerry Maguire (1996)

dreadful

[2/10 · 25 December 2000]

I remember leaving the theatre feeling badly for Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise (not that either of them particularly need my pity). My girlfriend surprised me by saying she liked it. Then over the ensuing months I was continually shocked by positive comments, great box office and ultimately Oscar Consideration for this film.

This movie is simplistic, vapid, humourless and at times offensive. I wouldn't think it possible to make a movie with significant amounts of Football in it, this bad.

At least "Almost Famous" flopped.

A Christmas Story (1983)

The Best Profanity-free Movie of All Time.

[10/10 · 25 December 2000]

No movie has ever captured that subtle balance between childish innocence and greed so well. This is a real American family, not the saints of Yesteryear's hollywood or the dysfunctional fools of most of today's popular entertainment.

How can you not rejoice when he opens that Rifle?

I think the most salient aspect is the way Ralphie speaks of his father. He knows all his idiosyncrasies (An Oldsmobilseman, an artist who works in profanity, the only human being that the blood hounds pay attention to, his flat tire times, his fuse changing, his contest entering). It's the kind of things that men learn to appreciate about their Dad's. When I was a kid my dad used to write letters to every newspaper on the planet to make sure they listed Frankie Laine's birthday. Seemed such a strange thing for a grown man to do. Now I post my movie commentary on web sites that no one will ever read. It's comforting to know there's an origin to this kind of behavior. I wonder what Papa did back in Vilnius?

The Godfather (1972)

20th Century Shakespeare at its finest.

[10/10 · 25 December 2000]

I am one of those dorks who knows virtually every line to this movie? Why? Because the characters move with that timeless, understated intensity that no other director gets quite right. Coppola manages to give these brutal men a razor thin layer of humanity, and we're hooked along for the ride. We despise Tattaglia, Brazzini, Carlo-everyone who threatens the dynasty.

And of course it ends with sublimely just revenge. Who can ever forget Carlo kicking at the windshield while Michael looks out from his window?

Duck Soup (1933)

Hail, Hail Freedonia

[10/10 · 25 December 2000]

When I was a Social Studies teacher, I used to show this right before Easter break to show the kids what movies used to be like and to give them some sense of what the Marx Brothers madness was all about. The first time I showed it, I was more than a little surprised to see just how many of them laughed. I just thought it would be a little too dated for them, or not spicey enough. But there's something about Groucho's delievery. The insults are one thing but I think it's the fact that he's always taking upward swipes at some icon or person of priviledge that even now a teenager can get what he's all about.