Films I Recommend - Showing for the 1st Time in St. Louis in 2001 or late 2000

Below are the films I'd recommend and how I rated'em when I saw them. They are grouped by rating in the order that I saw them in. Once again two Foreign Language films garnered ****, and I can't recommend them enough. Harry Potter ended up there probably more a function of being completely smitten by the story than it being superior film making. As usual I didn't include pictures I'd recommend that are several years old or that I've seen before. I also excluded stuff that didn't show in St. Louis on the big screen. My spin on each film follows afterwards. I hope you enjoy the spelling and grammar gaffes, as I haven't gotten any better (though generally I'm less verbose this year):

****

01/26/2001 Together (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

05/08/2001 Memento (2001)

11/16/2001 Amélie (2001)

11/23/2001 Harry Potter and the Soccer's Stone (2001)

***+

01/13/2001 Cast Away (2000)

01/25/2001 Things Behind the Sun (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

01/27/2001 The Dish (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

01/28/2001 Divided We Fall (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

03/02/2001 Traffic (2001)

03/26/2001 Dinner Rush (2000)

3/30/2001 Enemy at the Gates (2001)

06/03/2001 Shrek (2001)

06/23/2001 The Anniversary Party (2001)

10/23/2001 Happy Accidents (2001)

12/21/2001 The Fellowship of the Rings - The Lord of the Rings (2001)

12/16/2001 The Endurance: Shakelton's Legendary Expedition to the Antarctic (2001)

12/28/2001 A Beautiful Mind (2001)

***

01/13/2001 State and Main (2000)

01/16/2001 Thirteen Days (2000)

01/21/2001 Oh Brother Where Art Thou (2000)

01/23/2001 Barking Dogs Never Bite -feature- Slamdance Film Festival

01/29/2001 Chocolat (2000)

02/06/2001 One Day in September (1999)

03/13/2001 Before Night Falls (2000)

03/24/2001 Almost Famous (200)

04/14/2001 Bridget Jones Diary (2001)

04/26/2001 Dark Days (2001)

05/05/2001 The Widow of Saint Pierre (2001)

05/11/2001 The Mummy Returns (2001)

05/26/2001 The Golden Bowl (2001)

06/12/2001 The Claim (2001)

07/14/2001 The Closet (2001)

08/03/2001 The Family Man (2001)

08/11/2001 Jump Tomorrow (2001)

8/31/2001 Rat Race (2001)

11/30/2001 Life As A House (2001)

12/19/2001 The Shipping News (2001)

Best Romantic Comedy of the Year

Happy Accidents - I'm a sucker for this genre but the pickings were rather poor this year except for this one. Between Marisa Tomei's role in this and In the Bedroom, it proves that her Oscar for My Cousin Vinny was no fluke.

01/01/2001 Anna and the King (1999)

*** The location shots are terrific but just about everything else about The King and I is better: the Rodger's and Hammerstein music, Yule Bryner and Deborah Kerr (not that Chow Yun Fat or Jodie Foster aren't bad, just not any better). Thankfully, this film did away with the emphasis on Uncle Tom's Cabin. This version has Anna having a great deal of influence over the king, which seems a little revisionist for a more modern emancipated audiences ($0.00, Kennedy video, Bethany).

01/05/2001 Autumn in New York (2000)

*+ A one idea script, what if a shameless womanizer hooks up with a beautiful young woman doomed to die from a heart condition? Since she's going to die, she's not thinking long term either. Does he find salvation? Richard Gere and Winnona Ryder star and for the most part you don't care to find out (I fell asleep about 2/3 of the way through it). It's a shame that the look of the film (sets, location shots around NYC) and other high grade production values are wasted on such a flimsy piece of writing, though they are used to good manipulative effect along with the scoring ($0.00, DVD rental, Bethany).

01/13/2001 Cast Away (2000)

***+ Tom Hanks is sure to get an Oscar nomination for his depiction of a FED EX agent castaway on a south Pacific Island. The scenes on the island are gripping and although there's little dialogue, you don't really notice. The deliberately slow pacing is necessary to for the picture to work, which it does in this respect. I was less fond of the obvious product placements besides the glowing tribute to Federal Express; very annoying. Parts of it were a little cliché too ($11.00, Creve Coeur, Bethany)

01/13/2001 State and Main (2000)

*** A very funny movie about making movies as a film crew descends on the town of Waterford, VT and moderate amounts of mayhem ensue. It's filled with quirky characters both locals and the film crew. William H. Macy is terrific as always, as the chameleon director using varying persuasive techniques and conversational tones in the same breath depending on circumstances. There are some very funny lines ("It's not a lie. It's a gift for fiction." or "everybody has to make their own fun, otherwise it's entertainment.") and the whole thing works well. Another David Mamet triumph and I do like Rebecca Pigeon ($12.00, Hi-Pointe, Bethany).

01/16/2001 Thirteen Days (2000)

*** A fairly good drama about the Cuban missile crisis that really brings it home. The Kevin Costner role as the political advisor is almost certainly overstated but than again it is based on his account of the happenings. I learned a lot about the pacing of the crisis ($0.00-passes, Crestwood, Bethany).

01/21/2001 Oh Brother Where Art Thou (2000)

*** The Coen Brothers have made a beautiful film staring the always likeable George Clooney as a escape convict in the Depression who is dim, but not nearly as dim as his fellow escapes or other folks he meets along the way ("he's bonafided). The art direction is superior but the script is a few steps down from their best work. Reportedly it was based on The Odyssey, but that's mostly just a joke. There is little there beyond a going home story. The sirens, one-eyed guy, blind prophet and wife with a suitor references are just there for fun ($5.00, Tivoli, Bethany).

01/23/2001 Bean Cake-short and American Chai -feature- Slamdance Film Festival

**+ Second generation immigrant son hides his dream of a career in music from his restrictive parents, finds love, ya-da, ya-da, ya-da. Although the story has been done a number of times (like the first talkie picture) and the plot was somewhat clichéd, the film got a vibrant freshness by it being Indian transplants and that the sincerity of the actors and the script which while not always the best, you could tell they lived much of was shown. It also helped being shot in New Jersey ($6.00, Brewvies Cinema Pub-SLC).

01/23/2001 Old Man and the Goblins-short and Barking Dogs Never Bite -feature- Slamdance Film Festival

*** This Korean neo-realistic film is an excellent look at human behaviors (or at least a half dozen folks) in a large crowded apartment complex. A barking dog sets of a series of events that brings out the worse in some people and the best in others. On the whole, the world little notices the difference. Not for all tastes (and though I can't read Korean, I do not believe the Humane Society put their approval on this one ($6.00, Brewvies Cinema Pub-SLC).

01/24/2001 Titanic: The True Story-short and Wendigo -feature- Slamdance Film Festival

**+ Better than average thriller about a family of three spending a weekend in rural upstate New York. They meet up with some creepy locals and the sprits of the area come alive ($6.00, Brewvies Cinema Pub-SLC)

01/25/2001 Things Behind the Sun (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

***+ Very moving and disturbing auto-biographical tale by the writer/director who was rapped as a teenager and of the number of troubled lives that resulted. Not a real upper but a well-told tale ($10.00, Egyptian, Jake, Tamra and others).

01/25/2001 Green Dragon (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

** Vietnamese refugees in at Camp Pendleton adjust to life in the states as they seek to stay here after the fall of Hanoi. Patrick Swayce stars as the Marine overseeing the camp in a fairly good but not spectacular story ($8.00, Park City Public Library, Jake, Tamra and others)

01/25/2001 Some Body (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

**+ Completely improvisational script works better than might be expected, there are wonderful moments of truth and insight that can be very funny and painful to watch. The overall effect is hurt in that there really isn't any moral or overall theme present ($8.00, Park City Public Library, Jake, and others).

01/25/2001 Donnie Darko (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

** Sci-fi thriller about a troubled teen who is haunted in his sleep by visions of "Frank". The film is successful in creating a spooky theme and the characters are fairly interesting however the script is a bit of a mess. Dozens of loose ends everywhere, which when given any thought don't make any sense. The less slick and costly Wendigo seen the night before is better (even though Wendigo and Frank tend to look a lot alike). It's also notable that years have gone by where I haven't seen Patrick Swayce in a film (he plays a bit part in this one) and then BANG, two in less than 12 hours ($8.00, Park City Public Library, Jake, Tamra and others)

01/26/2001 Together (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

**** Touching and very funny Swedish film of a commune in 1975. The arrival of a member's sister and her two children begin a chain of changes in relationships that are heartwarming, funny, enlightening and sincere. It's depiction of the left wingers, which range from mere socialist to hard core Marxist, is generally fair in my opinion, showing them at their best and worst. Although there are numerous characters, we see them all grow and change from their experiences and sexual relations. I particularly enjoyed the script's look at a number of liberal attitudes that run counter to human nature (e.g. open relationships, differences between sexes). All this and a soundtrack with ABBA, but than what else would you expect ($8.00, Yarrow Hotel, Jake, Jenny, Brian).

01/26/2001 Christmas in the Clouds (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

**+ Part of the Native American program, the plot of this film is a fairly standard romantic comedy. After 15 minutes you've met all the characters and know who's going to end up with whom, and how most of the plot will unfold. Still the quirky characters are charming, particularly Graham Greene, and the leads are very good together (though they don't look very ethnic) ($8.00, Yarrow Hotel, Jake, Jenny and others).

01/27/2001 The Dish (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

***+ Charming comedy of the handful of men who main the radio telescope in Parkes, Australia, which gets their 15 minutes of fame during the Apollo 11 moon mission, as they will be responsible for receiving the television signals and transmitting them to the world. This plot too is also predictable but it does so in such a gentle and warm manner, and the characters are so lovable that you can't help but like it. It doesn't hurt that the plot is intrinsically tied to the first landing of man; one of the most moving experiences of what man can do collectively in a positive manner ($8.00, Eccles Community Center, Jake, Jenny, Paul, Mike, Steve and others).

01/27/2001 Shorts Program V (2001) - Sundance Film Festival

**+ ($8.00, Park City Public Library, Jake and others)

01/28/2001 Divided We Fall (2001) - feature Sundance Film Festival

***+ Although you might feel that you've seen enough tales of survival through the holocaust, this one should be added to the pantheon of the best. The story centers around a husband and his wife living in the Czech republic just before the Nazi's rise to power and follow them, their employers, friends, family and relations through the events of the war that intricately tie their survival almost farcically together in the face of much death and tragedy. I didn't write anything about this picture at the time of viewing but as a tribute most of it remained fresh in my mind ($8.00, Holiday Village Cinema II, Jake, Jenny, Robb, and Katie)

01/29/2001 Chocolat (2000)

*** Julliet Binoche leads a strong cast in this pleasant tale of a choclatier who arrives in a quaint French county village and knows just what chocolate treat each needs. Well done but very straightforward and predictable ($7.00, Broadway Cineplex-Salt Lake City).

02/01/2001 Tom Sawyer (1973)

** Sherman Brother's musical version of the classic Twain tale stars Johnny Whittaker and Jodie Foster. It looks fairly good (Arrow Rock substitutes for Hannibal) and the score has its highlights (I remember several songs from when I saw it when I was 10) but is on the whole uneven ($0.00, Laurel's video).

02/01/2001 Rhythm of the River (1940)

*+ Light romantic comedy about Bing Crosby and Mary Martin ghost writing songs for famous has been Basil Rathbone. Predictable with utterly forgettable score, but the banter between Crosby and the jazz band and Oscar Levant sparkles ($0.00, Laurel's video).

02/02/2001 28 Days (1999)

**+ Sandra Bullock is an alcoholic and pill popper living life in the fast lane. After trashing her sister's wedding, she is sentenced to rehab or jail time. It seems like a fairly good depiction of a rehab clinic, though fortunately I don't have first hand knowledge. The supporting cast if filled with typical characters but Steve Buschimi as her counselor is very good ($4.06, Hollywood Video, Bethany).

02/02/2001 My Dog Skip (2000)

**+ Heartwarming boy and a dog tale based on author's recollection of WWII era Yazoo, MS. Cute but fairly predictable. The politically correct updates for today's audience seemed somewhat ingenuine ($4.06, Hollywood Video, Bethany)

02/03/2001 Woman of the Year (1941)

***+ Spencer Tracey is a sports columnist and Katherine Hepburn is a world and issue columnist for the same paper. Sparks fly in their first pairing together, which is a fine comedy, with a slow visual humor and pacing rarely seen anymore. ($0.00, PBS, Bethany)

02/03/2001 Bringing Up Baby (1939?)

**** Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in one of the best screwball comedies ever. Non-stop fun. ($0.00, PBS, Bethany)

02/06/2001 One Day in September (1999)

*** Documentary of the Israeli hostage crisis during the 1972 Munich Olympic games was good but I didn't quite see it as Oscar worthy. An important story that was well told (perhaps a little long). The Germans came off looking really inept and possibly evil with the follow-up transfer of the captured Palestinians for some hijacked civilians several weeks later ($0.00-passes, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany).

02/09/2001 Return to Me (2000)

** Gimmicky romantic comedy about David Dicovony unknowingly falling in love with the recipient (Minnie Driver) of his dead wife's heart. It has its moments (e.g. Carroll O'Connor and his cronies playing poker and matching making) but takes too long to have the leads meet and that pacing is uneven ($14.21, Hollywood video, Bethany).

02/10/2001 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1963)

***+ Wonderful Michael Le Grand/Jacques Demy musical about young lovers who discover that the first loves of 17-20 year olds while passionate is not maintained over time is moving and touching. The entire film is sung and the few moments without scoring (typically at the scene transitions) are disconcerting in their quietness. Several of the haunting musical themes became popular songs in translation in the US and should seem familiar (i.e. I Will Wait for You and Watch What Happens), and will play in your mind after the film is over. A very young Catherine Denuve stars as the young lover whose world seems to revolve around her handsome mechanic bow, who is called away to serve two years in the Army. Her pledge to wait forever and always love him becomes decidedly shorter as events unfold. Although it might seem a tragedy, it all works out for both of them in the long run. The plot easily parallels the lives of many young lovers who separation seems like an eternity (e.g. going away to college) and pledge that theirs is the only true love and that it will last forever and that there will never be another. All too quickly the separation makes the heart wonder and find another. I've been there, as most of us have been, and can now relate all too well to the experience and realism of the mother in regards to her daughters tears. Less upbeat than the teaming's later outing The Young Girls of Rochefort but still a joy in nearly all respects ($0.00, Hollywood Video, Bethany)

02/16/2001 Fistful of Dollars (1964)

**+ The first of Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns" starring Clint Eastwood may be high on style but leaves a lot to be desired in the script, plot and production values (e.g. the sound is horrible) ($7.75, Egyptian Theatre-Seattle Capital Hill).

02/20/2001 Pay It Forward (2000)

**+ Well meaning tale of how a pyramid scheme of acts of altruism might change the world is OK but stumbles at the end, even though the cast of Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osmond are as competent as always ($10.00, TWA from Seattle, Bethany).

03/02/2001 Traffic (2001)

***+ Steven Soderbergh's triumphant look at the mess of the US's so called War on Drug through three parallel stories all of which dispel the simple answers about the solution, causes dispersed by politicians and the general media. Very effective ($0.00, Chase Park Plaza Cinema, Bethany).

03/05/2001 Eyes Wide Shut (2000)

**+ Titillating look at affluent NYC couple who are tempted/lust after others over the course of a couple days. There's lots of female nudity but the plot, is rather absurd once you strip the film of the moody-arty filters and sets. The overall effort is disappointing, especially the ending. When the end finally comes, you're wondering why you spent 2 ½ hours for an attractive couple to realize that they could cheat on each other and that it would affect their relationship in a negative way. Duh! I guess the title says it all ($0.00, HBO-DC).

03/09/2001 Company Man (2001)

** Mildly amusing farcical tale of a nitwit who joins the CIA and ends up eventually starting the Bay of Pig invasion. The story is shallow and the laughs completely forgettable in retrospect ($12.00, Hi Pointe w/Bethany).

03/13/2001 Before Night Falls (2000)

*** Excellent performances and beautiful and gritty art direction and locations mark this true story about a gay poet trapped in Castro Cuba before being mistakenly? released to the US in the mid 1970s. The sound was somewhat muffled making understanding the dialogue even more difficult but turning on the subtitles with the DVD version would negate that issue ($15.00, Tivoli, Bethany and Tuesday Talkies).

03/21/2001 Angels and Insects (1995)

***+ Very well done period piece set at a Victorian mansion that looks at love and the matches that we choose and those that are selected for us. It was disappointing that the director Phillip Hass couldn't make it because I liked it quite a bit, as I did his other film Up at the Villa ($24.00, Webster University, Bethany).

03/23/2001 Heartbreakers (2001)

** Good actors but generally unlikable characters mark this mother and daughter con game wedding thing. Forgettable ($0.00, Crestwood, Bethany)

03/24/2001 Almost Famous (200)

*** Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of being a teenage rock critic for Rolling Stone is good and interesting but not as interesting as I hoped it might (probably a function of my uptight musical tastes and square-ish 1970s background totally sympathizing with Crowe's story ($0.00, Schnucks DVD, Bethany).

03/25/2001 South Pacific (2001)

**+ OK remake suffers from miscasting, particularly Glenn Close as the naive, indecisive and cock-eyed optimist Nellie Forbush-NOT! Thankfully it doesn't have the 1958's version's super annoying color tinting and they dropped Happy Talk but other than that, give me Mitzi Gaynor, Ray Walston etc. ($0.00, ABC, Bethany).

03/26/2001 Dinner Rush (2000)

***+ Best restaurant movie since Big Night, particularly strong cast, well written and directed ($15.00, Hi-Pointe, Bethany)

3/30/2001 Enemy at the Gates (2001)

***+ Fine tale of Ural sheep herder Vasile (?) Ziatov (?) (Jude Law) who becomes a famed sniper during the siege of Stalingrad in 1942. Ed Harris has a fine turn as the German major sent to hunt him down. The scenes of war torn Stalingrad look like hell on earth ($6.50, Kenrick).

3/31/2001 When Brendon Met Trudy (2001)

**+ Fun Irish romantic comedy for film buffs about two opposites who come together. Not for all tastes but I really enjoyed it ($0.00, Tivoli, Bethany).

04/05/2001 Along Came a Spider (2001)

**+ Fairly standard thriller of a kidnapping and a DC cop profiler is elevated by the standard great performance of Morgan Freeman, who brings class to every project he's associated with. His Sandra Bullock/Julia Roberts look-alike co-star is wooden and a forgettable screen presence ($0.00-passes, Esquire, Bethany)

04/14/2001 Bridget Jones Diary (2001)

*** Funny comedy of a year in the life of a British 33 year-old single whose concern for spinsterhood leads to questionable romantic entanglements and several comical events that border on farce. Parallels to Pride and Prejudice are not coincidental. Very funny and generally touchy (though the snow scenes in England were definitely overdone) ($13.00, Kennrick, Bethany).

04/20/2001 Runaway Bride (2000)

** Predictable romantic comedy of Richard Gere as a columnist who satirizes a woman in small town America (this time it's Maryland) who has left three men at the altar and is set to try again with a 4th. ($0.00, Sage satellite, Bethany, Amy, Alvin, Van, Lisa, Rosemary, Justin, Jenny and Katie)

04/26/2001 Dark Days (2001)

*** Excellent B&W documentary about a group of homeless people living a tunnel beneath Penn Station in NYC in the mid-1990s. The whole thing was shot, lighted, gripped etc. by the subjects. More important for it's realism and subject matter than it's cinematic skills, though on the whole it's very well done by people who had no experience what so ever in making films prior to this, including the director. I missed it at this year's Sundance, where it won several awards, including best documentary but it's just as well. The best part of the experience was the hour+ Q&A afterwards with the director Marc Singer, much longer than would have been possible at the festival. It's refreshing to hear that it was the subject matter that inspired him to do the film, as he is a very reluctant filmmaker and has little desire to continue doing so, even in light of all his success. He came across as a sincere advocate for the less fortunate and had much criticism for the money interests that drive film completion, screening and distribution. I wonder if his candid comments about the politics of film festival selection boards would have played well at Sundance ($0.00-pass #3 of 5, Webster University)

05/05/2001 The Widow of Saint Pierre (2001)

*** Good period piece set on an island off the coast of Canada under the 2nd French Republic in the 1850s, which examines the meaning of justice, retribution and punishment. Reportedly based on a true events. ($0.00-passes 4&5, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany)

05/08/2001 Memento (2001)

**** Excellent film noir told in reverse of a man who has lost his ability to make memories for more than a few minutes and is trying to avenge his wife's rape and murder. Works on several different levels and is sure to be considered a classic of the genre ($0.00, Tivoli, Bethany and Tuesday Talkies).

$50.00 Friends of St. Louis International Film Festival #2123

05/11/2001 The Mummy Returns (2001)

*** Well done adventure film, low on plot and depth but high on fun and action. Enjoyable as long as you're not expecting anything too intellectual ($13.50, Kenrick, Bethany).

0523/2001 The King is Alive (2001)

** Dogme 95 film take of King Lear tale of busload of people in Sahara. It might be others cup of tea but I didn't enjoy it ($0.00, Tivoli).

05/26/2001 The Golden Bowl (2001)

*** Merchant-Ivory film adaptation of Henry James novel of a - watch out I'm going to give away the entire plot - friend (Uma Thurman) who marries her best friend's (Kate "I'm in everything lately" Beckinspeal) father (Nick Nolte) to be closer to her true love, whose married to the friend. As expected the costumes and sets are wonderful, so is the acting and it's rather long in time for a rather common plot ($15.50, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany).

05/28/2001 Pearl Harbor (2001)

**+ Speaking of long films, simple plots and Kate "I'm in everything lately" Beckinspeal, there's this film. It got mixed reviews because it wasn't a new and better Tora! Tora! Tora! but that's not fair because it didn't set out to be so. It's a fairly common story of two guys in love with the same woman that if it were sixty years earlier would star Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey as the pals and Myrna Loy as the object of their affection. It has a healthy amount of patriotism and Rah! Rah! America, as you would expect from a early 1940s film, it's just now you really get the benefit of the state of the art special effects for the Pearl Harbor attack. Sure they over simplified and distorted the facts but what were you expecting. This isn't aimed at the American Experience or History Channel audience but the Titanic audience, in which case it succeeds fairly well. ($15.50, Creve Coeur, Bethany, Amy, Alvan, Rosemary, and Micah).

06/03/2001 Shrek (2001)

***+ Good fairly tale lampooning other ones but not as funny or clever as it thinks it is. ($10.50, Kenrick, Bethany)

06/09/2001 The Circle (2001)

**+ Good story of current conditions in Iran for women is shocking. The depiction of desperation and hopelessness that haunts so many women there is disturbing. However, the film moves a little slow and isn't as much great film making as an important story ($15.50, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany).

06/12/2001 The Claim (2001)

*** Beautiful retelling of Thomas Harding's The Mayor of Casterbridge set in a mining town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California when the Central Pacific Railroad surveyors are selecting a route. The great scenery, costumes, cinematography, sets etc. are a bit squandered with a script and direction that doesn't ever quite connect emotionally with the audience, even though there's a skilled cast. It's a pity but I enjoyed it very much none-the-less but I'm a sucker for a Western ($0.00-pass, Tivoli, Tuesday Talkies).

06/23/2001 The Anniversary Party (2001)

***+ Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cummings star, wrote and directed this wonderful funny, biting look at a 6 year wedding anniversary party is a wonderful piece of storytelling ($15.50, Tivoli, Bethany)

6/29/2001 Only You ()

** Unengaging romantic comedy with Maresi Tomei, Robert Downey Jr. and Bonnie Hunt. Wonderful location sets in Italy are wasted on a mediocre plot and very flat performance by Tomei. ($0.00, Bethany video, Bethany)

6/30/2001 Under The Sand (2001)

** Exceptionally slow paced French film about a woman who has some serious troubles dealing with reality. I can't recommend but might be of interest from a psychological standpoint for people with lots of patience ($15.50, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany).

07/04/2001 The House of Mirth (2000)

** Depressing and unengaging Edith Warton drama of turn of 19 Century upper society manners and morals that is slow paced and never really connects. X files Gillian Anderson stars but doesn't shine as the heroine who gets herself on the wrong side of public opinion on her husband hunt. This isn't Jane Austin and it doesn't end well ($0.00, Hollywood DVD, Bethany).

07/14/2001 The Closet (2001)

*** Charming French film about a nebbish accountant who comes out in order not to loose his job at a prophylactic plant, even though he's not. Well done but fairly predictable ($15.50, Plaza Frontenac, Bethany).

07/16/2001 America's Sweetheart's (2001)

** Billy Crystal co-wrote and produced this funny film about two formerly married screen stars/sweethearts (Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack) going on a screening junket in the dessert. Julia Roberts plays the doting sister/Girl Friday to the bitchy CZJ and, well you can figure it out. The plot is sometimes sacrificed for a fast moving funny script but it works unless you give it too much thought but then that's not the point. If you like Crystal, even when he's not at his best, you'll like it ($0.00-STL Film Festival free passes, Des Peres, Bethany).

07/23/2001 Big Eden (2001)

**+ The basic love story has been done a thousand times before but the heart of this film surrounds the matching of two shy gay men. There all a little too guardedly respectful of each other and if anyone actually would talk candidly to one another, happiness would have occurred months (or years earlier) ($0.00, Tivoli, B).

07/21/2001 Bring it On (2000)

**+ Better than average cheerleading film starring Kirsten Dunst. No surprises in the plot but the female characters and role models are all very strong. It may be eye candy for the guys but the women are the ones running the show ($0.00, Hollywood DVD, Bethany).

07/29/2001 The Score (2001)

**+ Slightly better than average heist thriller starring DeNiro going for one last be score with young unknown Norton at the urging of Brando. Competent but nothing special. It made me long to see the much better 1950s French film Rififi released last year again ($0.00, Chase Park Plaza, Bethany).

08/02/2001 Planet of the Apes (2001)

*+ Great ape costumes and makeup can't make up for a lame script brimming with bad science and poor logic. The best actors are covered up (Helen Bonham Carter and Tim Roth), while Mark Whalberg sleepwalks through a role that doesn't ask much. At least the original made more effort to play up the race, class and species allegories, at least as I recall (or maybe it was just more applicable than). It's amazing that it took 2 hours to tell so little story. One of Tim Burton's most forgettable outings. As a clue to how little I was getting from the story, I got up to go to the restroom in the middle of the flick, something I next to never do ($13.00, Crestwood, B).

08/03/2001 The Family Man (2001)

*** Nicolas Cage is a highly successful single, Wall Streeter who gets a chance to see what his life would have been like had he gotten married and raised a family as opposed to going for the success. The story treatment is handled much better than expected and Tea Leon is excellent as the woman/wife he let get away. ($0.00, Blockbuster-Olive, B and Rosemary)

08/04/2001 Sliding Doors (1998)

As I said in 1998

***+ "Cheer up...you know what the Monty Python boys always say"...Unexpected, terrific, and truly original twist on the standard romantic comedy with a multiple universe/what if twist. Its completely charming and British. Gwenyth Paltrow is becoming one of my favorite actresses, even if she's frightenly skinny. Helped along by the charming Scottish actor John Hannah (Four Wedding and a Funeral). Writer/Director Peter Howitt is one to watch. Best romantic comedy in the last year

($0.00, Bethany's video collection, B)

08/11/2001 Jump Tomorrow (2001)

*** Fresh film (actors, script, direction, locals) around fairly standard themes of a road movie and love at first sight. Gets much from it cast of unknowns who really breathe life into their characters. ($15.50, Plaza Frontenac, B)

08/14/2001 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)

**** Excellent skit comedy stitched together around a theme. Individually some of the funniest bits of non-sense to be put on the screen. The overall effect isn't as strong but always a joy ($0.00-passes, Tivoli, Tuesday Talkies w/B).

08/17/2001 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (2000)

**+ Fairly good thriller but mostly enjoyable for its use of place (Savannah, GA) and music (Savannah's own Johnny Mercer tunes). ($0.00, Sage DVD, B)

08/25/2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back (2001)

**+ for Kevin Smith fans but only * for non-fans. Expanded plot for least likable characters of earlier Smith films is a series of jokes dependent on one's knowledge of his earlier work and the slew of cameos. ($7.50, Broadway Cinema-Eureka, CA, Alix Borrok)

8/30/2001 Curse of the Jade Spider (2001)

*+ Woody Allen turns in another sub-par performance, which is becoming the expected norm of late. He plays an insurance investigator in the 1940s who is hypnotized to steal jewels and bickers with a new supervisor (Helen Hunt) with the expected results. I suppose it can be argued that the vaudevillian hypnosis devise is fitting for a 1940s period piece, as it was done a number of times during that period (more successfully) by Abbot and Costello, Three Stooges, etc. In two hours the funniest laugh is him scattering a stack of letters when startled. A few of the lines have the glimpses of his previous heights but on the whole it's a shame. ($0.00, AMC-Van Ness-SF, Pooky, Jake, Alix)

8/31/2001 Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

*+ This movie didn't need to be made. Essentially an exercise to get rental dollars from folks hopping to have some of the magic of the first one and an excuse to have a jam session with the best blues players and get paid for it. The obvious marketing to the demographics of the 10 year old boy character was particularly annoying. It's essentially a remake without any of the humor but the musical numbers are generally pretty good except when completely uninspired like Aretha Franklin singing Respect this time. ($0.00, DVD-Netflicks, Pooky)

8/31/2001 Sexy Beast (2001)

** Ben Kingsley's performance as a menacing London gangster sent to convince a former associate happily living in Spain to come back for another heist is fantastic. The more appropriate world for his performance is demonic as the terror he imparts to others is otherworldly in this many-layered film. The overall effect of the film is not completely successful. The thick accents are difficult to understand and the many allusions do not provide a clear intent of the overall meaning or intent of the film (though admittedly I was sleepy when we saw this). On the up side, it did give us lots of discussion fodder with the expected polarization of viewpoints ($9.00, Embarcadero-SF, Pooky, Jake).

8/31/2001 Rat Race (2001)

*** Very funny and silly movie about an odd collection chosen from a casino in Vegas to compete in a free fall race for $2M in New Mexico. The comparison to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World are obvious though without the weight of that somewhat overblown comic epic. The gags run at a good clip after the initial setup and it is overall a solid lark. ($9.00, AMC-Van Ness-SF, Pooky, Jake)

09/15/2001 American Pie 2 (2001)

*+ Sequel to sophomoric romp without the freshness or humor of the original ($0.00, West Olive, B and Rosemary).

10/3/2001 Urbania (2000)

** Gimmicky weaving of urban legends into life a traumatizes is confusing more than compelling. A "Twilight Zone" episode without as much substance. ($0.00, DVD-Matt Martinez, Tippy and B)

10/09/200 Corky Romano (2001)

* Unfocused, disorganized mess of a film that is sporadically funny based on the over the top antics of Chris Kattan. Avoid watching even in rental ($0.00-STLFF passes, Kenrick, B).

10/11/2001 Funny Girl (1968)

***+ A young Barbara Striesand sparkles as Fanny Brice, the comic star of the Ziegfield follies who loves gambler Omar Shariff with unhappy results ($0.00-passes, Plaza Frontenac, B).

10/16/2001 Together (2000)

**** see 1/26/2001 comments ($27.00-pass, Tivoli, B)

10/23/2001 Happy Accidents (2001)

***+ Well directed and scripted film about a NYC woman (Marisa Tomei) whose questioning her relationship with a rather odd boyfriend from Dubuque, Iowa who's afraid of small dogs among other quirks. One of the best put together films of the year. ($0.00, Plaza Frontenac, B)

10/26/2001 Bread and Tulips (2001)

** Italian film about a housewife who gets separated from her self absorbed family and she decides to go to Venice for a visit instead of finding them again. It's a pleasant film with lots of well-crafted moments but the script is rather light and depends on characters for its sweetness. A nice desert but not filling. Filmed completely on location but interestingly I can't recall a less flattering portrayal of Venice. ($0.00, Plaza Frontenac, B)

11/04/2001 Serendipity (2001)

** Generally well-made romantic comedy with John Cussack and Kate Beckensale (the new Andie McDowell?) is hampered by a plot reliant on destiny to make it work. Frankly, it is against my entire worldview and in my opinion harmful to the general public that starts to accept such claptrap. If you except the premise, you can't help but feel dissatisfaction that you're aren't with your soul mate because you aren't happy every moment. Hollywood doesn't do society or us any good but I imagine the divorce lawyers don't mind it ($0.00-passes, Chase Park Plaza, Bethany).

11/16/2001 Amélie (2001)

**** A joy to watch. Audrey Tautou stars as Amélie Poulain, a shy, young French woman whose whimsical, loving vision of the world and most of its players is charming and touching. The script is fresh and frequently laugh out loud funny. It is a visually enchanting film and one of the few movies I knew I wanted to see again afterwards. More correctly, it is one of the very few I knew this after 5 minutes. One of the few others that comes to mind is The City of Lost Children, which was also directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. A shoe-in for Best Foreign Film but never discount a film on the holocaust - Divided We Fall ($0.00, Plaza Frontenac, B).

11/23/2001 Harry Potter and the Soccer's Stone (2001)

**** Wonderful film of a story that touches the right senses for heroes and villains. An instant children's classic that was terribly enjoyable for adults as well. The actor who played Harry was possibly cast from the Mark Hamil cloth but it was only noticeable when thinking about things to pick at ($0.00-passes, Chase Park Plaza, Bethany).

11/23/2001 Spy Game (2001)

**+ Brad Pitt and Robert Redford star in a well made CIA thriller that is generally OK but failed to engage me in retrospect ($13.50, Kenrick, Bethany).

1/24/2001 Pillow Talk (1961?)

** The basic plot of Rock Hudson and Doris Day antagonizing over a shared party line and then falling in love won an Oscar for screenplay but the sensibilities of this story are extremely sexist and dated. Parts are funny based on the Rock's real life sexual preferences but I wasn't in the mood and have a difficult time understanding why modern women want to watch such drivel ($0.00, Bethany's video collection, B).

11/24/2001 The Tailor of Panama (2000)

** Uninspiring adaptation of a best-selling John LeCarre novel about a tailor whose tales to a 2nd rate MI6 agent nearly start an international incident left me cold. Geoffrey Rush was good as the tailor but the humor of casting Pierce Bronson as the seamy and more realistic vision of the Bond image wore thin quickly. Probably better on the big screen where the locations shots would be more impressive ($0.00, Hollywood Video, B).

11/25/2001 Phantom Menace-Star Wars I (2000)

*** Not as bad the second time around when my expectations were decidedly lower but Jar Jar must die ($0.00, TV)

11/29/2001 Monsters, Inc (2001)

**+ Despite some excellent computer graphics and good character voices from John Goodman and Billy Crystal, the storyline was rather unengaging and generally free of laugh out loud humor. A disappointment but not offensive ($7.00, AMC-Greenbelt, MD).

11/30/2001 Life As A House (2001)

*** Kevin Kline turns in a superior performance as middle age man who has a few events convince him to begin construction of his long dream home and enlist the support of his troubled, estranged 16-year-old son. The supporting cast is fairly good but the script's attempt to develop so many characters doesn't completely succeed and the film would have been better dropping a few and concentrating on the most important ones. Obviously based on a novel that "is better than the film" but by trying to stay too close to the book, it was less of a film. The father relationship theme had somewhat amusing overtones with the casting of Hayden Christensen (the future Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) as the son. I wanted to like it more than I did ($0.00-passes, Chase Park Plaza, Bethany).

12/08/2001 Ocean's Eleven (2001)

**+ Competent heist picture with a large cast of characters including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia has low key humor and a pleasant stylistic elements. Better than the original by a long shot cinematically in most ways but the overall effect is hollow. While the original was all character driven (based on the Rat Pack's larger than life stage persona's, this one's low key approach didn't work. Almost all the characters are flat. With the exception of perhaps Carl Reiner's and Elliot Gould's, most are immediately forgettable and most interchangeable. Perhaps most telling is that the biggest laugh for me was a joke at the end credits. Although appreciated, it was a little too late. I expected more from Soderbergh ($13.50, Kenrick, Bethany).

12/16/2001 The Endurance: Shakelton's Legendary Expedition to the Antarctic (2001)

***+ Incredible story of survival, leadership, grit and the importance of optimism in the face of incredible odds. All personal "hardships" normal people face pale by comparison to what these men went through in not getting to the South Pole. Their tale of surviving is a much grander one than had they survived ($5.50, Plaza Frontenac).

12/18/2001 The Majestic (2001)

**+ Jim Carey stars as a Hollywood screen writer about to hit the "A" list before rumors of a communist past threaten to ruin his career. His case of amnesia and being mistaken for dead WWII war hero by a town, his father and ex-fiancée is a bit too hard to swallow upon any reflection. This attempt to recapture the liberal patriotism of the 1930-40s Capra films works only sporadically and is often times strained, particularly the very forced attempts at taping into nostalgia (i.e. Martin Landu's listing of the actors and actresses that used to grace the screen, the pictures playing on the marquee). Carey underplays the role but the film can't get past it's weaknesses in the script ($0.00-STLFF passes, Esquire, Bethany).

12/19/2001 The Shipping News (2001)

*** Tough tale of dysfunctional families in New Foundland has its moments but doesn't live up to it's goals. Ambitious attempt to turn a multi-layered novel into a brilliant film is flawed by trying to achieve too many things in two hours with threats of further cuts mentioned prior to the screening (similar to My Life as a House in this regard) ($0.00-STLFF passes, Hi-Pointe, Bethany).

12/21/2001 The Fellowship of the Rings - The Lord of the Rings (2001)

***+ The film looks great and is about as good as one could hope for given the difficulties trying to translate it to screen. I can't place my finger on why I didn't connect more with it or was more enthused. It could be that as in the book, the characters are a bit two dimensional ($10.00, Kennrick, Bethany).

12/22/2001 Waking Life (2001)

?? Though well regarded by others as thought provoking, this animated examination of dreaming, philosophy, consciousness, etc was completely lost on me (I did like the accordion music and guy in the car that looked like a boat). I guess it had so little resemblance to my dreams, that it never clicked ($5.50, Tivoli).

12/26/2001 Kate and Leopold (2001)

*+ Meg Ryan stars in this formulatic romantic comedy with a "time travel" twist but the substandard and unbelievable script and sloppy direction hold back this picture from being more than forgettable. The film open up with a historically impossible image of Washington Roebling in front of the nearly completed towers of the Brooklyn Bridge even though he was bed ridden by that point from the bends. The purpose for this you ask? A joke about his using the term "erection" to describe the construction project. Actually its uttered about 5 times, in case we didn't get it the first time. More sloppy production, implausible plot elements and dialogue fill in the next two hours. Far more annoying in retrospect but given the amount of money spent, they should have started with a better foundation ($10.00, HI-Pointe, Bethany)

12/28/2001 A Beautiful Mind (2001)

***+ Russell Crowe stars in this fictionalized account of the life of Nobel winning Mathematician/Economist John Nash. It's a much a story of schizophrenia and a love story as anything as Nash falls into delusions after publishing his theories developed at Princeton in the late 1940s. Excellent direction and script helps give the most moving, haunting and believable (if it's correct) vision of the delusions that plague the schizophrenic. It seems likely that Howard and Crowe will be nominated for Oscars for their work. It seems a little slow while watching it but in retrospect it is so noticeable and the after taste is very agreeable. ($0.00-Alvan treat, AMC-West Olive, Bethany, Rosemary, Justin, Jenny, Amy and Alvan)

12/30/2001 Harry Potter and the Soccer's Stone (2001)

***+ Not quite as exciting the second viewing but still a good translation to screen of a wonderful story. I'm a converted died in the wool fan ($14.00-passes, Creve Coeur, Bethany, Amy and Alvan).

Total Number of Movies Not Seen Before: 84 plus 5 shorts at Sundance et al

Total Number of Movies Seen again: 09

Total Money Spent: $584.08