Hey, what's up!! So the other day I saw 1998's war drama flick, THE THIN RED LINE, starring a whole bunch of people. It's about World War II, specifically the battle in Guadalcanal. I'm not going to go into too much detail about this movie. I will say few action parts of the film were good, but otherwise I would not see this movie. It has no real point, I thought. In the beginning of the film I didn't even know who was talking. Skip It. I went the the movie theaters yesterday and I saw the new comedy, AUSTIN POWERS in GOLDMEMBER, starring the untouchable Mike Myers. Mr. Powers & Foxy Cleopatra continue to fight Dr. Evil & Fat Bastard and a new enemy, Goldmember, after Austin Powers's father is kidnapped. Add a little twist at the end and what can I say? It was hilarious. Very funny, I think this was the best of all three Ausin Powers films. See It! I also saw 1997's comedy, FOR RICHER OR POORER, starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley. It's about a real estate dealer and his wife who life like royalty, but have to hide from the IRS when their accountant messes things up. Where do they hide? Among the Amish. It's a cute story and all, but it just wasn't all that and a bag of chips, know what I mean? Skip It.
I saw 1942's classic CASABLANCA, a romance starring Humphrey Borgart and Ingrid Bergman. Set during WWII, club-owner Rick Blaine is reunited with an old girlfriend, Ilsa, who is fleeing the Nazis with her husband. Only Rick can help them, but he refuses, until Ilsa shines a new light on him. It's definitly a movie for the romantics, extremely well done and patriotic. See it! I caught 1953's ROMAN HOLIDAY, also a romance with a touch of comedy starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Young Princess Ann, overwhelmed with her royal duties, runs away. She befriends a man, Joe Bradley, who unbeknownst to her is a reporter out to get a story on her. But what was supposed to be just a story turns into romance. Stylishly directed & enjoyable, also for the romantics. See it!
What's up? I went to Six Flags this weekend! Whew! But I did find time to watch the 2001 crime movie, OCEAN'S ELEVEN. In this remake of the 1960 original, eleven criminal associates plan to rob three casinos in Las Vegas. Besides having an all-star cast consisting of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, & Julia Roberts among others, I didn't really enjoy the movie. It all seemed to easy and it had an extremely slow start. I admit the plan to steal the money was pretty amazing and the twist at the end was okay, but otherwise I'm glad I waited for the movie to come out on video. Skip It. (see the original instead). I also saw 1993's family comedy COOL RUNNINGS starring Leon, Doug E. Doug, & John Candy. It's the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team who were determined to make it to the Olympics in Calgary, But they were not accepted by the other bobsleders, but with Jamaican spirit and confidence, it leads to a few surprises. It's a funny & entertaining movie. See it!
I saw the 1999 thriller, THE SIXTH SENSE, yesterday. starring Bruce Willis & Haley Joel Osment. It's an excitingly suspenseful movie with a surprise twist. It was carefully and skillfully crafted and caught me by surprise. It's about a boy, Cole, who sees the dead, only they don't know they're dead. A child psychologist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe, is the boy's only hope in figuring out how to make the spirts go away. See it! Today I saw a 1998 animated movie, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT. It's an inspiring family movie. It's the biblical story of Moses, the boy who grows up believing he is an Egpytian prince along with his big brother, Rameses. But destiny intervenes when Moses finds out he is a Hebrew and not the biological son of Pharoah. God has chosen Moses to deliver his people, but Moses must confront the new Pharoah . . . Rameses. Val Kilmer does Moses's voice. See it!
The 2001 action/adventure BEHIND ENEMY LINES starring Owen Wilson is packed with action. Wilson plays a Navy pilot, Burnett, whose plane is shot down in enemy territory. In what inevitably becomes a game of cat-and-mouse, this movie is very cool. See it! Another action/adventure, 1992’s PATRIOT GAMES, stars Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. When Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination attempt, a splinter group comes after Ryan and his family. A good film. See it. The 1999 movie, THE BACHELOR, a romantic comedy, starring Chris O’Donnell and Renee Zellweger is a charming chick flick. O’Donnell plays Jimmie Shannon, a commitment-phobic bachelor, who inherits $100 million from his grandfather, but there’s one catch: he’s has to get married. See it! 1997’s CONTACT, is a sci-fi adventure starring Jodie Foster & Matthew McConaughey. I have to tell you, the best part of this movie was probably Matthew McConaughey’s smile. Foster plays Dr. Ellie Arroway who searches for years of intelligent life. Finally she receives radio evidence through which the aliens send plans for a mystifying machine. Although, I didn’t particularly enjoy this movie, I do complement the acting. Skip it.
This seems to be a “sequel year”, sort of like last year. There’s going to be a SANTA CLAUSE 2, Tim Allen’s back. There were a whole bunch of sequels last year. There were sequels to THE MUMMY, JURASSIC PARK, DR.DOLITTLE, AMERICAN PIE, and others. This year the sequels out are MEN IN BLACK 2, SPY KIDS 2, BLADE 2, X-MEN 2 (X2), HANNIBAL has a new prequel. Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal are going to be in ANALYZE THAT a sequel to ANALYZE THIS. Jackie Chan & Owen Wilson are going to be in a sequel to SHANGHAI NOON that was originally going to be called SHANGHAI 12:30 (just kidding!). Actually it’s going to be called SHANGHAI KNIGHTS. Mike Myers is coming out with his 3rd AUSTIN POWRS movie: GOLDMEMBER. I know STAR TREK is coming out with it’s 10th film STAR TREK: NEMISIS. Now for the big three. STAR WARS came out with it’s 2nd prequel in May, ATTACK OF THE CLOMES, one of the most anticipated films. HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS is coming in November and LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS comes out in December. All of the originals for the “big three’ were excellent might I add.
I just came from the movies. I saw ROAD TO PERDITION starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. An excellent movie, one of the best I’ve seen yet, definitely Oscar worthy. It’s about the relationship between father and son when the son finds out his father’s a gangster. (sort of a “take your son to work” thing). It’s a story of trust, loyalty, and vengeance. See it!! I also caught the 2000 romantic comedy, RETURN TO ME starring Minnie Driver and David Duchovny. It’s a sweet story, but definitely a chick flick. It’s a about a widow, Bob Rueland, who falls in love with a woman, Grace Briggs. But the only problem is she received Bob’s deceased wife’s heart. See it! Last week I saw the new sci-fi adventure MEN IN BLACK II starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. It has more of the same from the original. Although not as good as the first, I would still recommend it. See it!
