hurryg


REVIEWS IN A HURRY for 2004 - G Previous (2004 - F) More Movies that begin with G. Back to First Page & Alphabetical Index

	Gangs of New York (2002, 166 min, R) *1/2 – Directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Specifically it’s about a young Irish hood (DiCaprio) out to avenge the death of his father by infiltrating his killer’s (Day-Lewis) gang, but really Scorsese’s operatic look at the clash between immigrants and natives in 1860s New York is no less than the puberty of America. It’s all here: poverty, graft, religion, hypocrisy, and street warfare, all amidst deliciously hellish art direction. Day-Lewis is superb as the reprehensible Bill the Butcher, upstaging not just DiCaprio but everyone else in the film. 10 Oscar nominations, including Picture, Director, and Actor, no wins. Gattaca (1997, 101 min, PG13) 1/2 – Directed & written by Andrew Niccol, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. Intriguing and surprisingly moving sci-fi mystery that uses cloning as the ultimate step in mankind’s attempts to completely control his environment and dominate his future. A young man with natural genes (Hawke) fakes his way into a space program reserved for superhumans; a murder at his research center threatens to expose him. Superb art direction and costumes combines a cold, clinical future and the 1940s. George Washington* (2000, 89 min, NR) *1/2 – Directed & written by David Gordon Green, starring Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, and Paul Schneider. Delightfully rambling, free-form, and beautifully shot movie about a group of preteen friends during the lazy and inexplicably sad days of summer. Instead of a story, writer-director Green introduces us to a group of characters and then lets them go their various ways, sometimes with the loose grit of a documentary, sometimes with the surreal poetry of a dream. Ghostbusters (1984, 107 min, PG) ** - Directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Sigourney Weaver, and Harold Ramis. Modern classic that takes about six great ideas and then rolls them into one: scientists capture ghosts for a living, they end up treating their job more like pest control than science, and then let’s make it a comedy. The cast is superb and funny because they don’t act like stand-up comedians, and the unique but not-very-convincing special effects have a peculiar charm to them.
		Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003, 95 min, PG13) * - Directed by Peter Webber, starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. Painting, forbidden love, and housework collide when the Dutch master Vermeer (Firth) begins eyeing a servant (Johansson), despite the strong hand of his mother-in-law and the suspicions of his pregnant wife. A deliberately paced drama, with Oscar-nominated art direction, costumes, and cinematography intended to look like one of the master’s paintings. Gladiator (2000, 155 min, R) * - Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Glossy and professional but vastly over-rated Roman era revenge fantasy pits a disgraced general-turned-gladiator (Crowe) against an evil emperor (Phoenix). Director Scott tells the simple, shallow story on a large and impressive scale, with grand sword battles, although a lot of us are starting to getting tired of computer-generated everything. Oscars inexplicably for Picture, Actor, Visual Effects, etc. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, 100 min, R) ***1/2 – Directed by James Foley & written by David Mamet, starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, and Kevin Spacey. Middle-aged men swear and get seriously stressed in Mamet’s searing portrayal of the world of real estate. An office full of real estate agents, in constant dread of being fired, sink deeper and deeper into desperation and considers serious and illegal measures. A terrific cast, including Pacino’s Oscar-nominated performance and the beginning of Lemmon’s final Renaissance.