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Reviews
All the Queen's Men (2001)
Don't be fooled by first impressions
At first glance, this looks like a light hearted farce in the vein of "The Night We Dropped A Clanger." But underneath this (surprisingly, based on true events) movie is a more complex creature which talks about love (the great love story here is not O'Rourke and Romy but Parker and Franz), sexuality, the ordinary lives of German's during the war, courage, hope and humor. Izzard is terrific, and LeBlanc plays it well, while managing not to remind you of his 10 seasons as Joey on Friends. All of the cast members are given moments to expand beyond what initially look like 2-d caricatures, and the result is a clever and underrated movie. (WWII and cryptology history buffs may raise an eyebrow at the premise, but all is explained.)
Stranded (2001)
Better than the first 20 minutes would have you think
Once you get past the first 20 minutes, which contains the worst of the acting and the expository dialogue that invariably that starts with "As you know, Mars/the spaceship/our oxygen supply...," this is an enjoyable and intelligent movie. Actually, with the proviso that this is indeed science fiction with regard to the more fantastic elements, they made a better fist of the science and technology than any of the Hollywood blockbusters about Mars. The production values are surprisingly high, although real space nerds will notice that the interior of the mars landing spaceship bears more than a passing resemblance to a shuttle mock up and Blake's 7 fans will notice the wandering-down-the-same-corridor-with-different-lighting trick.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
McGregor, Yoda carry movie to level of Empire Strikes Back
Although marred by a lack of screen chemistry (and clumsy direction of romantic scenes) between Amidala and Annikan (although Annikan's fixation on Amidala is understandable, why Amidala would fall for Annikan is never established and comes across as just a deus ex machina), the film is saved by the solid individual performances of these two characters. Annikan's adolescent petulance is well-played but further deepens the mystery of why a successful adult woman would fall in love with him. The groundwork for Annikan's transition to the dark side is well laid down. But McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi is the star of this movie, and the film flows best through his scenes as McGregor fills out his role to a T, and is believable as a younger version of the Kenobi we meet in Episode IV. Jackson gives a strong supporting performance and Yoda steals the show near the end. Christopher Lee does well in refraining from overplaying his villain; Star Wars was never a place for the cartoonish bad guys with the clever quips a la a James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. The movie is tightly paced as the main characters split up and jumps back and forth whenever things look in danger of slowing down. Well choreographed light saber, spaceship and battle scenes gives a visceral punch to the beautifully created worlds which felt so empty in The Phantom Menace. In every respect (including the mercifully limited presence of Jar Jar Binks) this is a much better movie than Episode I and is on a par with Empire Strikes Back.
George Lucas in Love (1999)
Short, sweet, to the point, and very funny
A lot of film makers would have tried to milk this great idea for all it was worth, stretching the idea past breaking point. Instead, you get a series of sharp, on the nose jokes, tied together with a script that flows well without dwelling over much on any one piece of cleverness. There is no sense of the self-indulgence here which so many short film efforts, especially parodies, suffer from.
Return to Me (2000)
Engaging and well observed
This movie is something of a surprise; I expected an attempt at a breakout vehicle for Fox Mulder. Instead I found an utterly charming and well observed comedy with a terrific cast - including Duchovny's performance. He and Driver have a terrific on-screen chemistry and are utterly believable. What's also excellent is the older cast which will remind anyone with a drop of Irish or Italian blood of their own families. The characters are drawn sympathetically but the movie never descends into treacly sentimentality; for example, showing the raw pain of loss without wallowing in pity. Definitely worth seeing.
October Sky (1999)
Marvelous
Terrific and inspiring movie. In their own way the Rocket Boys of October Sky captured the same wonderful impulse to soar that landed Apollo on the moon and sent Voyager to explore the far reaches of this solar system. For me, one of my favorite touches was Hickham's correspondence with Wernher von Braun, a visionary who took the time to recognize a familiar spirit. I also liked the character of Hickham's father, who set high standards for his sons, but I don't think any hiugher than the standards he set for himself. Funny and inspiring, but without drifting into sentimentality or ersatz fifties schmaltz, this is definitely worth checking out.
Stigmata (1999)
Favorable
The terrible divine in a modern setting.
Good movie to think about What-If, even if you're, like me, an atheist (albeit raised a Catholic). What If, it's all for real? Even for many people who attend church, the clergy are often seen as a group of relatively harmless people. What if they're dealing with Real Power, the true terrible raw power - for good or ill - of the Divine? What if what you choose to believe as your religion (or lack thereof) is irrelevant before that power?
Gabriel Byrne does a great job of playing the priest, mainly because of what he *doesn't* do. He doesn't follow the usual movie role of the angst ridden priest, torn by doubt/lust/anger/inner demons etc. He's a rational, compassionate and dedicated man. He may question his faith or its practice but he doesn't reject it. Rather it's part of his search for deeper understanding. This was refreshing and helped a lot in making the movie worth watching.
All in all, builds the suspense well and provokes more thought than the usual Exorcist style rip-off.
Event Horizon (1997)
Uses the plotline of the "Doom" games series, to worse effect
This movie feels like a random collection of images and plot fragments: 2010: Odyssey II and Aliens (Boarding mysteriously deserted spaceship), The "Doom" and "Quake" video games: (Experimental warp technology linking spaceship to hell), Large baffling sphere (Crichton's novel "Sphere"), and numerous other betrayals point to a lack of original imagination. The suspense meter barely lifts off the zero mark throughout the movie.