The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The final chapter of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” adaptation is also the best, standing not only as its own movie, but also as an exhilarating end to one of the finest trilogies ever put on film. American Splendor The trials of comic book […]
Adaptation Writer and evil genius Charlie Kaufman teams up again with director Spike Jonze for this brilliant, self-referential ode to writer’s block and worthy successor to ‘Being John Malkovich’. About Schmidt Who would have thought that Jack Nicholson could surprise us again? As Alexander Payne’s title character, Nicholson drops everything that makes him ‘Jack’ and […]
Memento Writer-director Christopher Nolan’s brilliantly crafted thriller which follows (in reverse) a man with no short-term memory on the trail of his wife’s killer. In the Bedroom The subtle, moving examination of the effect on two New England parents of the tragic murder of their 21-year-old son features some of the finest performances of the […]
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The martial arts genre is finally given its due thanks to Director Ang Lee’s beautiful, breathtaking epic. Traffic A challenging and thoroughly engrossing film from director Steven Soderbergh which masterfully weaves a complicated tale about the war on drugs both at home and abroad. You Can Count On Me A small […]
Topsy-Turvy God bless Mike Leigh for restoring faith in both Gilbert and Sullivan and the film biopic. This is everything “Man on the Moon” is not. Magnolia Writer-director P.T. (formerly Paul Thomas) Anderson’s last film “Boogie Nights” seemed like the work of a filmmaker that had spent a lot of time studying “Scorcese For Dummies”. […]
Shakespeare in Love I want to say that “Shakespeare in Love” is a near-perfect romantic comedy, but I can’t find a flaw to make it near-perfect. Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni has been blessed with a joyous expression that is reminiscent of Harpo Marx. Saving Private Ryan Happiness From the opening scene of “Happiness”, Todd […]
Newcomer Shane Carruth’s intricately plotted indie is that rare thing: an ultra-low budget time travel story. Surprisingly intelligent and involving until it gets wrapped up too tightly in its own paradoxes.
Jet Li still packs a punch. The preposterous plot does not.
Sort of ‘The Incredibles’ meets ‘Spy Kids,’ director/star Stephen Fung’s playful take on a family of martial arts experts does nothing new for the genre, but has a little fun going through the motions.
A fine, lived-in performance from Jeff Bridges (looking more and more like his dad everyday) anchors this well-written John Irving adaptation from writer-director Tod Williams.
