Movie Summaries
15 Minutes
Actors: Robert DeNiro
This movie explores the interaction of crime investigation and media and fame.
Despite being an action movie, it manages to very effectively show how the
detective and the criminal use fame, and how they can get caught up in it. The
media is not painted in a good light. Good acting and quite powerful story.
Not a movie one walks away from with a good feeling though.
28 Days Later
Director: Danny Boyle
Very interesting apocalyptic movie set in England ravaged by a virus that
turns people into rage possessed monsters. Filmed in a very interesting
way and gripping throughout. Despite the horror theme a very good human story
is told.
Adaptation
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Tilda Swinton, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper
A very interesting story of a script writer who's writing the script we're
watching. Very well acted by all involved, Nicolas Cage shows us he has more
than one face! A story about people faced with changes and how they handle
them...
Aeon Flux
Actors: Charlize Theron
Visually quite something now doubt about that. The plot is mediocre though,
and the dialog is downright attrocious. The story is this: Aeon Flux is
chosen to kill the supreme leader of the last few humans left after a virus
has wiped out 99% of us. She discovers that there is much more to the story
than she thought, and he may not be the evil she imagined after all. Lots
of good action.
AI
Actors: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law Director: Steven Spielberg
A robot boy's struggle to become human, and be loved by his parents. Quite
slow moving and a little disappointing given the potential. The last 1/2 hour
should have been cut.
Along Came a Spider
Actors: Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter
Good mystery movie with a twist. Morgan Freeman puts in a solid performance.
Bandits
Actors: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett
Two inmates who escape prison become America's most wanted by robbing a number
of banks by "staying over" at the bank director's place. Mexico is their goal,
but will a woman break the team apart? Quite good. Some funny human stories.
A Beautiful Mind
Actors: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly
A very good movie about the schizophrenic mathematician John Nash. Very well
acted, especially by Russell Crowe. The movie illustrates both the gift and
the failures of a very interesting person.
Big Fish
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Steve Buscem
Director: Tim Burton
Very interesting movie of a son who is trying to discover the truth behind his fathers
colourful stories. The story goes back and forth between the conflict of the son with his
dying father, and the fantastical world of the stories. The movie is made with care and
passion, and explores the question of whether the facts of a story really tells the
whole truth, or is there something more?
Blade II
Actors: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristoffersen
More vampire butt kicking fun! This one was not quite as good as the original,
but still lots of corny lines, cool fights and vampires. The original had a
better story and the special effects weren't quite so over the top. Good action
though.
The Bourne Identity
Actors: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper
A bit disappointing. I expected an action movie, and got something rather slow
to fit that genre. The female lead is annoying (the character not the
actress), and doesn't seem to add much, except for a token female lead...
In my mind there was a lot more potential in this, but maybe it's just a
case of adapting a good book for a movie, which (as all to often) doesn't
work too well.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz
A look at what happened on a small Greek island during the Italian occupation
in WWII. Cage plays the Italian captain who falls in love with the local
doctor's daughter (Cruz). Very nicely done. Serious and touching yet humorous
overall.
Cats and Dogs
Actors: Lou, Mr. Tinkles, Butch, ...
A funny animated movie about how the dogs have protected humans from cats for
thousands of years. - But the world is in danger as the evil cat Mr. Tinkles
has a plan for getting rid of dogs once and for all. Lou, who's just a puppy,
has to save the day... Quite funny, but I felt more could have been done with
the idea.
Collateral Damage
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Too much plot to be a great action flick, too little plot to make it a good
thriller. A typical problem with recent Schwarzenegger flicks unfortunately.
Still quite entertaining though.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Actors: James Caviezel, Guy Pierce, Richard Harris
The movie was great fun. Good swash-buckling action, with some high drama and
nice elaborate scenes and costumes. A good interpretation of the book overall.
The Chronicles of Riddick
Actors: Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newtonj, Judi Dench
A good sequel to Pitch Black. The style of the movie is completely different from the original,
but Riddick is still himself. Riddick is caught in the fight to save a planet from the
Necromongers. Along the way he has to escape from a high security prison.
The Day After Tomorrow
Actors: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum
Due to a runaway weather pattern related to global warming, much of the world is destroyed in
huge storms over the span of a few weeks. This movie follows a dad trying to reach his son
who's stranded in NY. The plot is a bit weak. There wasn't as much action as I expected, but
the acting was well done. Good special effects for what it's worth. Did it raise awareness
for our environmental problems? Maybe, but I doubt it...
Die Another Day
Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry
A pretty good bond flick. Pierce Brosnan has definitely carved out his own
niche as 007, portraying a more gritty James Bond with lots of focus on
action. So while the plot wasn't exactly overwhelming, it was true to the
bond theme and very entertaining. The best bond girls in recent memory!
The Dish
Actors: Sam Neill
Australian movie about the Parkes radio telescope and its place in history as
a receiver station for the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Nice human stories.
Quite touching.
Doom
Actors: The Rock
Definitely some good monster blowing up action. Overall I was a bit
disappointed though. The pacing is slow, and I wanted to see more of the
original monsters. I was expecting a few "levels" with some cool stuff like
Arachnatrons etc. but it was more in the style of Doom 3 - lots of dark
corridors with the occational monster jumping out. Not too bad though. The
atmosphere of the game was nicely captured.
Fahrenheit 9/11
A very interesting documentary about 9/11, G.W. Bush, the saudis and how everything is connected
to big oil money. Definitely shows you one side of the story, but its the one that
has been ignored by the media (and even democrats). It just becomes clear again that
we are not winning, and not even really fighting, the war on terror (in Iraq). An interesting
aspect I had never thought much about before is the fact that many US soldiers come from
very poor families and are dying to fight a phony war.
Fifty First Dates
Actors: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider
Fun movie with lots of heart!
Gangs of New York
Actors:Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent,
John C. Reilly, Liam Neeson
Daniel Day-Lewis puts in a stellar performance! One of the best acting jobs
I've seen in a long while. The story is surprisingly captivating, due largely
to strength of the characters.
Gosford Park
Actors:?
A very interesting movie with great acting and an intriguing plot. Did the
butler do it?
Harry Potter
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman,
John Cleese
The story of the book: Harry gets a letter inviting him to Hogwarts. When he
gets there he and his friends are faced with the possible return of the evil
Voldemort and a mysterious package that is somehow linked to it...
Well done, very close to the book. The movie doesn't add anything to the book
however, and is frankly just not needed.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman,
John Cleese
Better than the first movie. Didn't try as much to be faithful to the book,
and in so doing I think is actually more true to the spirit. Too much
emphasis on action rather than characters though. Nevertheless - worth seeing.
Heist
Actors: Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell
Who gets the gold? In this movie a team of thieves are working for a suspicious
man (DeVito) to try and steal a whole bunch of gold. As the plot unfolds each
character tries to get the gold for himself. Quite funny and well acted.
The Italian Job
Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Ed Norton, Seth Green,
Donald Sutherland
Good movie! Lots of fun. After stealing a safe full of gold in italy, one
of the thieves (Norton) turns on the others. Leaving them for dead
in a cold mountain lake is his mistake... The team comes back to get the
gold, and they've enlisted the beautiful, lock-picking, daughter
(Theron) of their dead leader (Sutherland)!
The Importance of Being Ernest
Actors: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon,
Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson
A very good adaption of the play. An excellent date movie, with lots of
heart.
I Robot
Actors: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan
A good action flick, eventhough I have no idea how close to the original story it is (I imagine
not very close at all). Smith plays a cop who slowly uncovers a very dark truth about a new
line of robots about to be launched worldwide. It's really more of a murder mystery than an
action movie.
K-19: The Widowmaker
Actors: Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson
Deserved more credit than it got. The story is surprisingly gripping, and the
acting is very strong. I enjoyed watching a historical movie that stayed
pretty close to the true story. Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford play well
together! Too bad we couldn't see Han-Solo alongside Qui-Gon...
Kiss of the Dragon
Actors: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tcheky Karyo
Jet Li, kicking ass in Paris. A bad cop has kidnaped the daughter of a hooker
that Li befriends... overall nothing spectacular. Fight scenes are not bad.
Kill Bill, Volume 2
This movie wraps up the plot... ie everyone that wasn't killed in the first movie must now
face the truth in the second one. Just as surprisingly good, eventhough the movie is quite a bit
slower. At times the talk gets in the way of good action a bit I feel. But I think that's what
the intention was... more focus on the "philosophy". Uma Thurman is again spectacular.
A Knight's Tale
Actors: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany
A fun jousting story about a squire who disguised as a knight, wins tournaments
and women's hearts. Lots of laughs and action. Interesting mix of music for a
"period" piece, as some of the sound track is rock music (we will rock you etc).
The Last Samurai
Actors: Tom Cruise
A disillusioned and drunk former "hero of the west" is hired by the Japanese empire
to bring "modernity" to its army (around the 1880's). He is captured by the samurai
however, who restist this change. The movie explores very beautifully how a person can
rediscover the beauty in life and rise to fight for something. It is also a sad but
powerful story about the end of the samurai warriors. Very well acted, and good action
to boot!
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Actors: Sean Connery
Well, from what I've heard "Gigli" is this year's worst movie, but LXG is not
that far behind! Not good. Very disapointing indeed. After seeing the preview
I had high hopes, but they were dashed by a dumb plot, and little originality
with the great characters. Connery couldn't save this one... oh here's the
idea: A bunch of "extraordinary" gentlemen (and a woman) have to stop the
mad "phantom" from a) destroying Venice and b) taking over the world.
The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship
Actors: Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Sean Bean
The movie wasn't bad, but the book was just better. Great special effects, but
really the story kind of drags in places. It is clear watching the movie that
they are trying to retell a book. Maybe too faithfully to make it a good movie,
and not faithfully enough to really do the book justice.
The Lord of the Rings - Two Towers
Actors: Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen
Why such a low rating? Well, the movie wasn't bad, but doesn't capture the
book as well as the first movie. Some scenes are drawn out, while others,
in my view important ones, are left out. The story was changed to absolutely
no end, and Faramir (or should I say Boromir II) must be the biggest
disappointment. Still, the battles are very well done, and the spirit of the
book is captured almost as well as one could expect.
The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Actors: Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen
By far the best out of the three movies. The important features of the plot are all there
and nicely told! Nothing seems to have been changed without purpose. The mix between
action and story is about right, and the flow of the book is very well preserved.
The Man who wasn't There
Actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini
A strange (Coen Brothers) movie. Tells the story of a barber who gets involved
in things to big for him as he blackmails his wife's boss, whom he then kills
in a fight. His wife gets blamed for it, and events unfold from there. Very
interesting. Shot in black and white, with very black humour.
Memento
Actors: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
A backward chronology of a guy who tries to find his wife's killer, but has
very bad short term memory loss. He keeps track of facts by tatooing them onto
himself and taking pictures. Very well done. Interesting and engaging...
Minority Report
Actors: Tom Cruise, Colin Farell, Samantha Morton
Director: Steven Spielberg
A good story, and in general good acting. While there is nothing I can really
critisize, the movie is rather forgettable.
Moulin Rouge
Actors: Ewen McGregor, Nicole Kidman
The tragic loves tory of a young man who falls in love with the star girl at the
infamous Moulin Rouge in Paris. Starts out very loudly and fast, but becomes
more serious as it progresses. Nice singing and visually appealing.
The Musketeer
Actors: Mena Suvari
The classic tale retold. This one is in the style of Hong-Kong martial arts
movies. Quite well done.
The Mummy Returns
Actors: Brendan Fraser, The Rock
Awesome special effects, and quite interesting for an action movie. Lots of
corny lines. Not a great cinematographic effort, but then this is really not
what this is about right?
Ocean's Eleven
Actors: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia,
Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan
A group of men decide to rob the vault of three Las Vegas casinos. The actors
play together very well. George Clooney has surprising charisma and is well
supported in particular by Pitt and Garcia (who plays the man to be robbed).
Quite entertaining!
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Actors: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke
Very interesting film about the corrupt politics of mexico, the revenge
of a guitar playing gunslinger (Banderas) on a band of gangsters and a CIA
agent connecting these two themes (Depp). Good acting, interesting story,
and excellent music! This is the sequel to Desperado...
Pirates of the Caribbean
Actors: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
Great show! Lots of fun, and very well acted. Depp shows again that he is a
great actor, but he is supported on all sides by solid performances. I expect
to see more of Keira in the coming years!
A pirate who lost his ship (the cursed "Black Pearl") teams up with a young
smith to find his ship and save a girl that has been kidnapped by it's crew.
A good old pirate story. Reminded me of my days of playing "Monkey Island".
Plant of the Apes
Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan
Dir: Tim Burton
A pilot lands on a planet ruled by apes. He has to figure out how to get away
and how his own actions tie into the picture. Very good costumes and special
effects. Not as monumental as I expected it, and not as classy as the original.
Paycheck
Actors:Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman
Director: John Woo
Well, I guess one crappy movie in 2003 wasn't enough for Ben Affleck, closely following
Gigli, here is "Paycheck". The premise of this movie is very intriguing - a man finds
himself without any memories about the last three years of his life, with assasins on
his trail, and only an envelope of odd items to piece together what he must do to
save himself and the world from what he was working on (a machine that can tell the
future). Unfortunately John Woo then makes this story nothing but a bunch of bad action
sequences, leaving the story for the footnotes. Especially disappointing is the potenially
very interesting reunification of Affleck's character with his fiance whom he can't
remember.
Raising Victor Vargas
Nicely told story of a the conflicting world of a young man. Victor is a poor, hispanic with a crush on
the local hot girl and a family in transition as the kids grow up.
Rat Race
Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Seth Green, Whoopi Goldberg, John Cleese
A bunch of "lucky winners" are involved in a race to get to 1 million dollars
the fastest. Quite funny.
The Rundown
Actors: The Rock, Seann William Scott (Stiffler)
Fun action movie with lots of bad lines and overdone action sequences.
The Rock and Seann William Scott have great chemistry :)! The story is
simple: The rock has to go to Columbia to retrieve the missbehaving son
of his boss. Once in Columbia a ruthless goldmining honcho, a treasure
and a beautiful girl get into the way of a quick and clean ending...
Rush Hour 2
Actors: Chackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Chris Penn, Don Cheadle, Ziyi Zhang
A good, funny follow-up to the original! Some very good fight sequences and
lots of fun! This time the duo is in Hong Kong and has to track down a
terrorist who has his fingers in fake money. Very entertaining.
The Score
Actors: Robert DeNiro, Ed Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett
To complete a very tricky heist of a sceptre an old thief has to work together
with a young startup. Neither of them really trust each other and things get
tricky... Quite all right for an action movie. DeNiro is fun to watch, and Norton
is a good match.
The Scorpion King
Actors: The Rock, Michael Clarke Duncan
The rise of the scorpion king. With lots of oily muscles, scantily clad women
and very bad lines. Lots of fun though, but not quite as good as the Mummy
movies, on which it is based. I see a bright future ahead for "The Rock". :)
Showtime
Actors: Robert DeNiro, Eddy Murphy, Rene Russo
Fun action. The movie was too short though.
Shrek
Actors: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddy Murphy
A very funny and witty anti-fairy tale. Shrek is an ogre who has to save a
princess for the evil Lord Farquaad. But things get complicated as they get
to know each other better... Eddy Murphy plays a very funny side kick (the
donkey).
Spider-Man
Actors: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
Director: Sam Raimi
A good action movie with lots of character development, and a strong effort
by Tobey Maguire. I didn't like it as much as X-Men, but maybe it's just not
as much my style.
Spy Game
Actors: Brad Pitt, Robert Redford
Not bad, but really not quite enough of a story. Good acting by all parties.
Starsky & Hutch
Actors: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg
A fun movie. There are quite a few very funny jokes. Stiller and Wilson work
well off of each other! I am not sure how it compares to the TV show, as I have
never seen it...
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Actors: Ewen McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hyden Christensen, Christopher Lee,
Samuel L. Jackson
Director: George Lucas
Quite all right. But George is not building what he did with the first three
movies. There is little character development, and way too much computer
animation (which one can clearly identify as such). George should leave the
directors chair to someone else... The action is good though, and seeing
Joda swing a light saber is definitely worth something.
Swordfish
Actors: John Travolta, Halle Berry
Another run off the mill action flick. A little bit of a twist and some good
lines, but overall nothing special.
The Tailor of Panama
Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush
A disgraced British spy is given one last chance. His task: To find out who
controls the panama canal, which has just been given back to Panama by the US.
His local contact is a tailor. Very good chemistry between Brosnan and Rush.
Lots of dialogue between the two. Quite interesting and funny.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken
Better than what I expected. The story actually stays quite true to the
original duo. This time a "terminatrix" is sent to kill John Connor and his
lieutenants right before "D-Day". Arnie shows that he's still got the stuff
as the obsolete model "T-100" terminator! Too bad the original soundtrack is
relagated to the credits! ... also, I somehow expected the story (not just
the ending) to be a bit darker - but good effort overall.
Traffic
Actors: Michael Douglas, Benitio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta Jones
A very well made movie about the drug trade. The movie tells three almost
independent stories of how different people are involved in the drug
business/war. Very good acting. Interesting cinematography. Good.
Training Day
Actors: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke
It's the rookie's first day with the LAPD drug investigation unit. As he
quickly discovers the unit goes by "street rules" and the whole unit is corrupt
to the bone. Will he become one of them, or will his ethical sense prevail?
A gritty movie with some very good acting and quite brutal action.
Transporter 2
Forgettable. I've already forgotten most of what happens. The action was good,
but otherwise there's not much here. The orignial was... well... more original.
Troy
Actors: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom
The story of the fall of Troy. Overall it's well done, with good fight scenes, and
surprisingly good acting by Eric Bana as Hector. The music seems to be borrowed from
Gladiator, but does not have the same effect. It's too bad the film doesn't show how
long the battle for Troy supposedly lasted (10 years), but in general the story was
fairly well captured.
Van Helsing
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh
A fun vampire hunting movie. Quite a few "historical" characters are brought into play
(Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), but their stories are not really true
to the books they are based on. Van Helsing is on a mission to stop Dracula from killing
the last surviving member of a family (Anna Valerious - Kate B.) and releasing some
nasty bat like creatures into the world. Along to help is Frankenstein's Monster.
Hugh Jackman plays is character well, and there's nothing
wrong with Kate Beckinsale :). Good music, good action and fun, plotline a bit mediocre.
Walking Tall
Actors: The Rock, Ashley Scott
This is a solid action movie. The story is actually suprisingly dark without the
humour that past movies with The Rock have had. Once you get over that it's an
entertaining film though, with quite a bit of action and some drama.
Wedding Crashers
Actors: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn
Not bad. I enjoyed this comedy. Two guys are crashing weddings to get layed.
Until love crashes their plans. A bit raunchy but not dirty.
We Were Soldiers
Actors: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear
A great war movie about the first big battle in Vietnam. Very well acted and
some great action. The harshness of war both on the battlefield and for the
families waiting for news at home is very nicely demonstrated. Good music too.
What's the Worst that Could Happen?
Actors: Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito
When a thief loses is lucky ring to the millionaire he is trying to rob,
things start to go wrong for both of them. Very funny in places! Better than
what I expected, and definitely up there with the funniest pure silly
comedies.
X2: X-Men United
Actors: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden,
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming
Director: Bryan Singer
The sequel to X-Men. Just as good as the original (which means something)! This time the X-Men have to
prevent fanatics from abusing Professor Xavier's powers for their own ends. Nightcrawler is one great
new character, and none of the orignial players are disappointing. The story is decent, and builds on
the previous movie.
XXX
Actors: Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Asia Argento, Martin Csokas
Director: Rob Cohen
Cool action flick! Delivers what you expect. Lots of good stunts, corny lines,
and a pretty good plot (for an action movie). The music is very interesting,
ranging from opera to Rammstein. Vin Diesel is ultra-cool.
The Legend of Zorro
Actors: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Well, the first one was quite funny, but this sequel is mostly dumb. The plot
is rather weak and just a bit too much slap-stick for me maybe.
Fun swashbuckling action - if you can leave the brain behind.
Simon Strasser
Last modified: Tue May 6 09:50:04 CDT 2003