gi jane

having never watched the whole thing, i found gi jane to be inspirational, touching, and it left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. think about demi's career trajectory, from teen queen to striptease to gi jane, how astounding. and to watch viggo before he became strider, fascinating. while gi jane isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination, it sure caught my uninterrupted attention on cable.

jfk

my love for jfk made me sit very attentively through all 3 hours of this movie. i agree with the conspiracy theory so watching the movie was fascinating and cinematically pleasing. sure, kevin costner can't keep an accent to save his life but who cares? "jfk, blown away, what else do i have to say?"

miracle

somehow i was duped into thinking that miracle was a great movie. it's decent and interesting because the events depicted are routinely described as "the best moment in american sports," but the movie isn't cheery enough to be inspiring or gritty enough to be deep. oh well, just another sports movie -- albeit slightly better than most.

the making of documentary was interesting because it shows how the producers went to such great lengths to capture the accuracy of the hockey scenes.

trust the man

the romantic comedy genre keeps on cranking out the same shit over and over again. all you can really expect is a few funny lines that can be used during your own romantic comedy moments. judging by that standard, "trust the man" isn't that bad. there's nothing particularly new or revelationary (and not nearly as purely enjoyable as "the break-up") but it's a solid effort with enough funny moments to make it up for the cheesy romance parts.

world trade center

much more gripping than "flight 93," oliver stone's take on 9/11 was excellent in the first hour. of course, i left just as people were getting crushed by the towers collapsing so maybe the movie took a slightly different tone after the set-up -- i guess i'll never know. it's interesting to watch the movie and think about what the thought process behind "dramatizing" this movie for maximum emotional impact would be like and how fucked up that kind of is. "do we show people jumping off the building? should we zoom in?...."

the illusionist

what the hell has happened to edward norton? what was his last great (or even good) movie? maybe "25th hour?" but that was in 2002. sure he took a few years off but since his amazing high of primal fear, rounders, american history x, and fight club, what has he done? he's gone from must-see to slightly overrated. his latest movie is somewhat clever and entertaining but ultimately, not quite entrancing enough. will the real ed norton please stand up?

while we're at it, paul giamatti's being overused. he's great but now that he's everywhere, he's no longer fun to watch. he's this decade's version of kevin spacey.

step up

want every (dance) cliche in the book? here we go. combine some plot points from all the dancing/cheering/gymnastics movies of the past few years and toss in some almost acceptable leads and you get "step up." the dancing isn't bad but it's not "you got served." the plot is so generic (and devoid of wit) that its only function is to get you to the climatic dance scene ending.

the only reason to watch here is to get an eyeful of jenna dewan's (who? exactly.) toned bod and quite interesting dance outfits. but really, she's a poor man's denise richards / yasmine bleeth, so is it worth it?

rushmore

i knew there was a reason i liked wes anderson; and here's why. i'd never watched royal tenenbaums or bottle rocket but really enjoyed the life aquatic (despite other people hating it). rushmore was a treat and i couldn't stop laughing even as i was trying to fall asleep. the whole inane-ness and concept of the main character is just hilarious. i finally understand why jason schwartz has a career.

miami vice

already hugely wary of michael mann (last of the mohicans, heat, the insider) due to "collateral," i was willing to give this (once-)gifted director another chance. we walked out of miami vice within the first hour. just terrible. all the faults exhibited in collateral plus horrific dialogue, pacing, acting, and pretty much everything you'd look for in a movie. it's laugh out loud bad.

talladega nights

two terrible movies in a row? why not? we followed up miami vice with talladega nights. i only watched it because i had no other choice. i should have chosen suicide. while talladega nights is entertaining in the crudest sense of the word (and rather well acted), it's senseless drivel for the easily amused masses. "if you're not first, you're last." i'd rather have been dead.