havana-2

I feel bad for Ari Gold- he lost his Mother in a helicopter accident. But why make a film that relies on that as the only emotional piece. This is not a bad film, its just not a great film and the fact that it relies on the gimmick of the helicopter and its autobiographical association, make it difficult for me to see Ari Gold getting much work from this film.

i see hundreds of student films- this is tops. james cox is a fantastic director- he moves the camera, tells the story and uses music in a way that is far advanced for his years. no wonder he got a feature from this film.

This film has fantastic dialogue and terrific performances. The best of which are demonstrated by Amanda Peet and Kieran Culkin. Jeff Goldblum and Susan Sarandon are strong and each characterization is tailor made to fit the actors that embody them. This is a strong debut performance from new and up and coming director and writer Burr Steers.

I was lucky enough to see an early screening, and I encourage others to support this film.

Joseph Cedar's directing debut garnered the Israeli Academy Award and early Academy Foriegn Film recognition for a good reason. It is a good film. Unlike recent Israeli exports, Haesder or Time of Favor as it is titled in English is technically superb and fluid in how it delivers its story line. The very talented Aki Avni plays Menachem, a religious soldier. He is a disciple of his local rabbi who believes in settling areas in Jerusalem that are in conflict. The rabbi is played by Israeli actor/director and son of war hero Moshe Dayan- Asi Dayan. The rabbi promises his daughter to another of his disciples and a friend of Menachem's- a religious scholar named Pini. Meanwhile a love triangle develops. Inrtigue and action come into play and the end culminates with brilliant rhythmn and suspense. The film is shot superbly considering its relative low budget and the production value is high. Many of the military sequencesand scenes are reminiscent of THREE KINGS, and the score is Yanni-esque and adds a middle eastern flavor to this politically significant and turbulent movie. I reccomend this movie highly without reservations. It should be seen, I saw it in a large movie theatre and was moved as was the rest of the audience.

This French film is wonderfully scripted. Human and endearing. Two love stories are mirrored in this delightful movie. The boss of a manufacturing plant is wealthy but uncultured. He falls for an English teacher and a stage actress who thinks he is shallow and stupid. Meanwhile his bodyguard who is a former policeman has a love affair that must fail because the woman he is with is also a drug dealer. The script is serious and funny, the performances are tight and the direction, editing, music and cinematography all perfectly complimentary.

Sweden's 2000 entry into the Oscars foreign film category is long, tedious, confusing, symbolic and most of all stunning. It leaves the viewer with a confusion on the state of things and the only unifying thread is the lack of hope over life. Bergman might have been more confusing than this, but to American eyes this was refreshing and riveting. Long and confusing, intelligent and scary in its depiction of life in the most subtly horrifying way. Worth a watch if your into films with no clear plot or resolution or a connesuier of Bergman or Arthouse.

Most artists offer their self-portrait as an introspective look into themselves. Cameron Crowe is an artist, and this film not only proves it, it screams it aloud. He showed what a marvelous observer he was of high schools- Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Say Anything, of Being Twentysomething - Singles, and of Sport Agenting- Jerry Macguire. Now, he goes back- instead of forward and shows us what it is like to be the observer. He offers an introspective view on what it is like to be 15 years old and tour with bands like Black Sabbath and Lynrd Skynrd and Led Zeppelin. He was there when Rock and Roll was at its full glory. When drugs and sex and rock and roll were not only synonomyous, but prolific. And as a teen, he didn't succumb to any of it, he abided by his role and observed and worked as a journalist and his view, the view that will last- because of this movie and his work for magazines like Rolling Stone- is as "unmerciful" as the work he did as a journalist. It is honest and it is brilliant. Additionally, Kate Hudson, Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Billy Crudup and Patrick Fulgit offer excellent performances. The soundtrack is inspiring and the score by Crowe's wife Nancy Wilson of Heart is perfect as well. This is my vote for the 2000 Oscar, I know it is early, but I predict this will take the cake. I truly enjoyed this film, before it, I was a Cameron Crowe fan, now I worship the guy. He is my "Golden God".

This is such a bad movie. A career ender for Nic Cage, Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall (he's old anyhow, so it doesn't matter too much for him.) This is Jerry Bruckheimer's worst movie since Days of Thunder (another car movie). I never saw the original, but it must have been good to have gotten this cast to sign up for this picture. However, the magic that may have existed in the previous version- does not exist here. Everything fails. The story (there isn't any, thats why I am not writing a synopsis) The directing, the acting, and the car chases are not as phenomenal as I would have anticipated (does not match Ronin's car chase scene or come close). This movie was a big disappointment (I knew it would be bad, but it was worse than I even thought it would be) It was laughable. The jokes were corny, the writing was awful. If you see this movie- be prepared to hate it. Cause it sucks!

Toback's backbone of a script is great- it sets up the finest young actor of my generation (debatable- but worth saying) Downey Jr. is masterful in adlibbing and improvising. He accomplishes what Brando failed to do in Last Tango in Paris. Downey is real. His problems, his inner angst, his troubles all surface. This is like being with him. His magic and charm are entrancing and enchanting. Pretty cool. Worth a watch late at night- intense though.

I had seen this movie before, but I forgot all about it. I don't know how this is possible, but when I saw it the other night on TV (about 5 AM) I couldn't peel my eyes from the screen, and I was getting very scared. The script, the direction, the editing and the performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Annette Benning are top notch. This is a great movie. It explores the psychology of schizophrenia, mental health, and does it all in a way that is not kitschy. Movies like The Sixth Sense seem kitschy, but Jordan's direction of In Dreams, makes this movie, watchable, believable and grabbing. It might scare you silly, cause the pain hits close to home. The killer attacks a woman and her family. Some of the scenes kept me awake for a few nights afterwards. Definitely worth it though.

Brett Easton Ellis attended the Buckley School in the early 80's in Los Angeles California. It is a very posh and expensive school and many of the students were children of actors and other noted celebrities. While he was there, Laura Dern was a student, Matthew Perry, Sydney Poitier, Jackson kids...etc. During the 80's these kids were really into drugs. Really into the crazy lifestyle, and one summer, when Ellis came back from the expensive liberal arts college Bennington he experienced a summer situation on which the book is based. The movie uses the book in a great way. The performance by Robert Downey Jr. is masterful and memorable. Definitely worth a look- a Great movie and an even better book- The pre-cursor and symbol of Generation X.

Tom Cruise has now proven that he can do what Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee have done. That is, star in a movie made by a Hong-Kong film-maker. Clearly, the plot is not so relevant in MI-2. Rather, what is important is the action and pace. In this addition (in my opinion better than De Palma's Mission Impossible) Woo wows us with motorcycle and car chases. Gun fights, and the inevitable kung-fu showdown on a cliff. Most of the action in the film takes place in Australia, and what the distributors are indicating with this edition, is that the films will end up being very James Bondish. In other words, they will feature the cars, the gadgets and the hot girls. This edition's hot girl is Thandie Newton (Flirting, Beloved, Besieged) She is hot. She is a great actress, but I don't buy her as a cat-burglar. (I didn't buy Catherine Zeta Jones as a cat-burglar in Entrapment either) But she's good to look at, now that her afro is gone, and her accent is normal (she is Australian, but has played Africans and American slaves recently) The main weakness in MI-2 is the villain. He is unconvincing, and not scary. He is too similar to Tom Cruise which makes the whole mask thing work. (They use lots of masks, fooling people into thinking they are someone else ... ie. Face-Off) But, it doesn't make the story work. Anthony Hopkins is terrible. He shows up to the set to get his paycheck, but he didn't add anything to this film, except for his knighthood. The score is better than the first, it features a cool guitar lick by Limp Bizkit, some cool trancy stuff by BT and the usual genius score by Hans Zimmer. Check this movie out on the big-screen, but don't expect T-2 or Titanic, just a good laugh, and some cool action sequences. 2 fishies out of 5.

Written and Directed by Todd Phillips (Frathouse, Screwed) this film rocks. Clearly this is not an Academy Award contender by all means. But for a summer movie, which it clearly is, Road Trip wins all awards. It does the zany and the stupid better than Something About Mary or Keeping the Faith. And in the vain of Meatballs and American Pie, is just plain old funny. Breckin Meyer is Josh Porter a mediocre college student with a long-distance girlfriend. He is pursued by Beth (Amy Smart) who is much too good looking for him. After succumbing to her seductive techniques and producing a video that evidences their love-making session. Barry, the seventh year moron and narrator of this story (played perfectly by MTV's Tom Green) sends the wrong tape to his long-time and long-distance girlfriend Tiffany in Austin, Texas. There is nothing that can be done to remedy the situation, unless Josh is able to recover the cassette before Tiffany can see it. ROAD TRIP!!! Josh is accompanied by the stoner/genius Paul Costanzo, the guy who played Stickler in American Pie and the very freaky looking DJ Qualls (the best actor in the movie by far). They get up to the usual stuff on the way there, and without spoling the ending, they reach Austin in time to stop Tiffany from viewing the tape. Silly things happen, including a house-party at an All Black Fraternity house in Tennessee, some scenes at a Sperm Bank, and a car jumping like you haven't seen since the Dukes of Hazzard. Check this movie out. Top Recommendation- 4 fishies out of 5.

They got it right. Edward Norton directs his first film, and does he great job of it. Stiller and Elfman along with Norton as the Priest do a great job. Anne Bancroft is great as the Jewish mom. Eli Wallach and Milos Forman also join the clergy/cast. This film will make you laugh, and think. It is superbly done, in great taste. My Mother loved it. What more can I say. THe only thing I'd say negative is that it drags 5 or 10 minutes too long towards the end. But I guess its shorter than any other movie I've seen recently, so that is good. SEE THIS MOVIE

Basically Angelina Jolie is the cool sociopath. She has a lot of hurt inside of her and stuff and instead of dealing with it, she turns the women in Claymore's mental ward into a cool clique of girls. The film portrays Winona Ryder's character sympathetically. She is borderline, thus she has casual sex and is depressed. Everyone is trying to commit suicide in the film, and there are some scenes that are hard to watch. What is brilliant about the film is how it shows a mental asylum from the point of view of the patients. Winona Ryder's eyes see the place as a College or University for the messed up. But towards the end, she realizes she has problems and deals with them. There are many good performances, even Whoopi is good. This film should pick up some Oscar nominations, but no wins.

See this film if you're not in the mood for something too heavy. Pauly Shore is his usual comical self, not doing anything that requires major mental work. Tia Carrere is hot and juicy... and Stanley Tucci does his thing once again to critical acclaim. The film came out when the OJ Simpson saga was transpiring on all of our television sets, so it is worth seeing to just remind you of that time in our recent history.

Joe Huff (Brian the "Boz" Bosworth) is a cool, hard, and built officer. He is sent undercover to infiltrate a motorcycle gang in Mississippi. These guys are badder and tougher than the Hells Angels, and it takes a while for the Boz to get in with them. The gang is led by the wonderful Lance Henriksen and it's resident bad a** is William Forsythe, both great actors. There is sufficient nudity and action, and this is a no-miss movie for any red-blooded American man or woman who likes to watch movies with an adrenaline kick. And although it is mentioned in another review, this movie was not ever associated with Brian Bosworth's other movie "Back in Business"

This film is visually spectacular. The locations in Africa are really amazing, and so are the scenes with the animals. I don't think that I have seen anything like this before. I must say that this is mostly a children's film. Although Sheena (Tanya Roberts) is sexy and scantily clad, the film is about a young girl, brought up by native Africans, who has special kinetic powers and can communicate with animals.

I don't feel that this film has ever really been seen on a wide scale, and although it isn't perfect, it is worth a watch. The music and cinematography definitely make up for the holes in the story and the direction.

Chuck Norris was clean shaven until this role, and since it he hasn't shaved his beard. From this movie, Norris' hit t.v. show Walker Texas Ranger is based.

JJ McQuade (Chuck Norris) is a Lone Wold renegade Texas Ranger. He is unstoppable, using karate kicks and uzi's to hose down the enemy. He is a divorced father, who takes care of his daughter, yet has enough time for a love affair with the stunning Barbara Carrera.

This is also the first movie where Robert Beltran of Star Trek fame is featured. Also in this movie are David Carradine and Leon Isaac Kennedy. So the cast is great, the story is tight, the music by Francesco De Masi is amazing, and the action is constant.

This is a must see for any action fan, it also makes good viewing at home with a beer and a date, because there is a lot of romance in it as well.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

See this film if you're not in the mood for something too heavy. Pauly Shore is his usual comical self, not doing anything that requires major mental work. Tia Carrere is hot and juicy... and Stanley Tucci does his thing once again to critical acclaim. The film came out when the OJ Simpson saga was transpiring on all of our television sets, so it is worth seeing to just remind you of that time in our recent history.