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Reviews
Adaptation. (2002)
The best film of 2002...HORRIBLE trailers!
The best film of 2002... even though it didn't reach us here in the boonies until 2003 :( The trailers for this film BLOW, because they try to make the film into something it's not - which is a normal, single-genre film. This film goes places I never thought possible, and uses non-chronology better than any film I've seen. Cage is BRILLIANT! He is so raw and believable as both Charlie and Donald. I think that Spike Jonze is on a mission to pull a great performance from everyone who was in Con-Air. Hopefully he'll work with Steve Buscemi next! The writing is simply amazing in Adaptation, and I only hope that Kaufman doesn't EVER get sucked into mainstream Hollywood Hell. Meryl Streep, who is normally the epitome of drama queen, is really great in this film. Chris Cooper is superb as Laroche, finally digging into a character and delivering a believable performance. If there were a dozen more films of this caliber every year, the world (at least, MY world) would be a better place. Thanks!
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (2002)
Keep in mind that I'm a HUGE fan of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot...
Keep in mind that I'm a HUGE fan of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot... I just loved this documentary! The music was, of course, incredible, and the depth of this story made it worthy of being put onto film. It's possible that it's biased against Jay Bennett, but that makes the film even more interesting. I hope this comes out on DVD faster than most documentaries tend to. A+. 10 out of 10. Thumbs Up. 5 out of 5 Stars.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Amazing adventure, with a bit of cheese...
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is to Episode I what Episode V is to Episode IV. It's darker. It's deeper. It's the movie I was expecting Episode I to be.
Despite Lucas' assertions that he isn't influenced by fan opinion, he answered many of my own criticisms in Episode II. The acting is looser and more believable. The effects have advanced to near-perfection. The story is presented without the force-feeding of plot and detail. It's just a great, and extremely entertaining movie.
I'd like to see an edit without the half-dozen tongue-in-cheek moments that mostly occur within a 2-minute period during the big battle scene. My least favorite of these occurs earlier (SPOILER WARNING: I am about to ruin the worst joke, and worst piece of dialog in the movie), when Obi-Wan says to Anakin, "You're going to be the death of me someday." COME ON! Self-referential jokes are boring and too basic for such a grand movie. It ranks right up there with the animal farts in Episode I!
So, go see this movie at the theater, if you can. Check to see if it's playing digitally or on IMAX in your area, as any enhancement of the amazing special effects should definitely be worth it!
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
3 hours of pure bliss!
Peter Jackson has done it! I wish the other two movies were ready and in theaters! I'm a really harsh critic of computer-generated effects - every time I notice how bad they are, it pulls me right out of the movie - but they were imperceptible for 98% of this film, and nearly so for the other 2%. The novel was fresh in my mind when I trekked to the theater this morning, and the film did it justice!
Evolution (2001)
What a horrible waste of time!
Ivan Reitman has made (produced and/or directed) a handful of what I would consider GOOD movies. "Evolution" isn't one of them. Duchovny is just playing a shelled out version of Mulder, and the humor is half-hearted, both in concept and delivery. "Ghostbusters" flew because of the VERY funny people involved, not necessarily because it was better written - which it was. The only MILDLY interesting aspect of "Evolution" are the Sci-Fi elements. They really start to go somewhere, but fall apart about half-way through. Don't waste your time on this one.