Reviews

The Usual Suspects is a hard movie to describe. It's about a bunch of criminals and a job that they try to pull off together. The viewer attempts to follow the police investigation through a twisted web of fairy tales and crossed paths to wind up at an intricate conclusion that will keep you guessing the whole way. Masterful acting by Spacey earned him an Oscar for his role. Maybe you should just take my word for it and see this movie if you haven't already.

Heavenly Creatures was one of Peter Jackson's earlier movies. Now famous for Lord of the Rings, I was curious to see what his earlier stuff was like. The story is about two high school girls who fall in love, become obsessed with a fantasy world about which they're writing a book and end up killing one of their mothers. The weird thing is that this is based on a true story and the script is taken from one of the girl's diary. While a good job is done portraying the slow slip into the fantasy world, the clay figurines and such are just a bit over the top. A fair attempt, but something was definitely lost in it.

Miyazaki's true masterpiece, Spirited Away is perhaps the most compelling movie I have ever seen. "Compelling" is really the only word that I can use to describe this movie. The story is charming, mind-blowing, and touching. The animation is masterful and Miyazaki's attention to detail is indescribeable. Long story short, see this movie. See it many times.

This is the somewhat twisted story of a famous TV host's allegation that he worked as a CIA hit man during the 1960's and 1970's. Chuck Barris, in his autobiography of the same name, claimed to have killed about 15 people over the years. The cool thing about this movie is that it's based completely on a true story (or as much as is known). People who knew him would say, "He could have been a CIA hit man. It would explain a few things". Of course, the CIA won't confirm or deny his story which makes it all the more interesting. Good acting and well directed, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a fun movie.

The biographical story of Mahatma Gandhi, this movie is not to be missed. Ben Kingsley gives one of the most convincing performances you will ever see in this touching tribute to one of the greatest humans who ever lived.

This heartwarming story (in French with English subtitles) is one that you will want to see over and over again. Amelie is a dreamer who finally meets another dreamer but is afraid to actually find love. Funny, moving, and just a good movie, Amelie should not be missed.

Goodfellas seemed to me to be searching for a niche. It was trying to avoid being a remake of The Godfather, but it wasn't defined enough to really be it's own movie. I just wasn't that impressed with it. The acting was pretty good, but the story didn't capture me. Most times I couldn't tell whether stuff was supposed to be funny or sad or something else. Also, Scorsese tries really hard to get you to a point where you're feeling sorry for these guys, but I just couldn't help thinking, "Good, these are horrible people and they arere getting what they deserve". If you want a movie where you catch yourself pitying a despicaple person, try Blow. Note that I'm writing this review long after seeing the movie, but I just don't remember it as having captured me like it did so many other people.

Spike Jonze does it again. With a very simliar stylistic feel to Being John Malkovich, Adaptation is another winner. Superb acting (especially from Chris Cooper), great writing and dialog, and good directing all come together in this weird movie-within-a-movie (which I always tend to enjoy). Just trust me and see this one, you won't regret it.