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.