Reviews

Set in gritty, ethnic, crumbling inner city Chicago , The Third Miracle is an excellent vehicle for the manly and talented Ed Harris. His portrayal of a priest struggling with his identity and spiritual beliefs is compelling. His assignment to determine whether a kind and loving woman who worked with the poor is actually qualified for sainthood or not leads him to emotional territory he would have preferred not delve into. This movie is thoughtful and insightful and may be a bit insolent and lusty for some fundamentalist religious people, but I loved it and rated it a 9.

I find most teen flicks to be silly and sophmoric. An example would be "American Pie", which has a plot and dialogue that appears to be conceived by adolescent boys. "Election" has much to say about the foibles of human nature....it just happens to be set in a high school. If you liked "Rushmore" you will like this one. I give it a 6.

An atmospheric film that is a love story, a mystery, a courtroom drama, a tale of social injustice, and a moral dilemma. The story unfolds gradually and subtly, perhaps too slowly for some, but I enjoyed delving into the character's histories with each layer revealing them as complex human beings driven by conflicting emotions and shaped by the time in which they lived. As a history lesson, it shows a period in the not too distant past when the US treated its own citizens in a disgraceful and humiliating way (re: the disgraceful incarceration of people of Japanese descent in American concentration camps). I recommend this film to anyone who appreciates intelligent movies with a social conscience. The acting, directing and camera work are superb.I rated this an 8.

John Irving is one of my favorite contemporary novelists and this is the 4'th book he wrote to make it to the big screen. (others are: The World According to Garp, The Hotel New Hampshire, and Simon Birch- which was loosely based on A Prayer for Owen Meany). I was very excited to learn that Mr. Irving himself had written the screenplay for this version and was not disappointed. Even though it has been well over 10 years since I read the novel, it was one that left a lasting impression and the movie is very true to the book. John Irving is a master of character development and tells a good tale filled with social and moral implications. Another favorite of mine, Michael Caine, does his usual fine job, as do all the other actors, including all of the child actors portraying orphans. A bit of trivia...John Irving has a walk on role as the Stationmaster and one of his sons has a small speaking role, as well. This is an intelligent and poignant film that I rated as an 8.

Why is this called the THREE kings? FOUR insensitive and greedy soldiers,

led by a disgruntled Special Forces officer, break the peace agreement and ceasefire after Desert Storm to steal Saddam's plundered gold for themselves. They blunder about, causing many innocent people to be killed, including one mother....right in front of her young child and husband. After causing a lot of unnecessary death and mayhem, their testosterone poisoned leader, George Clooney, changes the plan to returning part of the gold to Kuwait and escorts some refugees to safety. Are we supposed to think they are heroes? If it weren't for all the blood and brutality, they were more like The 3 Stooges Meet Gomer Pyle than 3 Kings...except Gomer Pyle had integrity. Pretty bad...I gave it a rating of 3. The only reason I didn't rate lower is that there was some interesting and creative cinematography.

I rented this video because of the impressive casting, thinking it might be an amusing gem. Ha! As I watched, I thought....this movie must have been made a long time ago- like before these guys ever had acting lessons. Boy was I surprised to find out that this movie was made in 97, well after most of the actors had good reputations and choice roles. I guess this proves that bad directing can make even the best actors look pretty terrible. I rated this movie a 3. It did have a little bit of witty dialogue and it was kind of fun to watch famous, well known actors be so awful, in a perverse kind of way.

Brilliantly creative and unusual with some superb performances. I especially liked the way music was used to tie the many threads of the movie together. Sometimes the dialogue was merely a muffled background with the lyrics taking precedence. There was surprising humor in the treatment of some gloomy and disturbing subject matter. I find it interesting that the director and writer's father was a longtime television announcer. This is a film that people will love or just won't understand. I give it a 9 for originality.

This film is not about an idealized, bucolic, peaceful country life. Rather it portrays the harsh reality of the feudal system that continued n Europe until well into the 20'th century. Peasants were considered "uppity" if they dared to believe they could be the equal of Farmers, and women were so victimized that a woman reporting her violent rape could be sent to prison for having the audacity to accuse her employer of a crime. In fact, European peasants were in many ways as ill treated as the slaves of the Deep South. I enjoyed this film for its cultural realism and historical value, but the story is quite depressing. I rate it a 7.

Both my grandsons (ages 4 & 7) gave this movie a 2 thumbs up. The film has a storybook quality to it a la "Babe", but lacks the depth of its predecessor. It is, however, miles above last year's mouse movie "Mousehunt".Stuart Little came from the same director as "The Lion King", which is destined to be a classic. Although I thought this was a pleasant film, it didn't really capture the imagination, so I rated it a 6.

The main problem I have with this movie is that it is presented as a factual representation based on the "true" memoirs of Anna Leonowens. The truth is that her books were largely fabricated and her own role in Siamese politics ridiculously enhanced. You will read that this movie is banned in Thailand, which is true....as ALL versions of this story are banned in Thailand as "politically incorrect" Western culture ethno-centricity. However, if you take the story as a legend (which is what it really is) it makes a fairly interesting movie that is visually quite interesting. If you like "exotic location" films, you will probably enjoy this one......just don't go home thinking you know anything at all about the history of Thailand. I rate this a 6.

What a disappointment. Kidman and Cruise must have had stars in their eyes when they agreed to star in Kubrick's last film. I'm kind of glad Kubrick didn't have to see the reviews for this movie....it is sad to see an icon flop. The whole idea of the movie, that a well educated contemporary man would have some kind of breakdown when he discovered that his wife had a sexual fantasy about another man is ludicrous. Kidman's (over)acting in her "stoned" scene was like a scene from "Reefer Madness". I expected to see a sophisticated erotic film that delved into sexual obsession. What I saw was a movie from a director who seemed to have a silly, old fashioned hooded cloak fetish. I gave this movie a 1 and hope that Cruise and Kidman do better in choosing scripts in the future and forget about making "art" films.

The writer and director had a big job on his hands...trying to give De Niro and Pacino both sympathetic and powerful roles. The movie was overlong in trying to establish a bond between the protagonists. Too bad a movie with two such great actors failed to deliver. I watched this on video and found myself fast forwarding through a lot of "filler". I gave it a 5......not a memorable film.

The premise was good, but didn't deliver. Was this a real documentary or a fake one? There were a few flashes of insight into the difficulties of being single, but the main character was so dull, I didn't really care if he got a date or not.

Wonderfully acted and directed. I didn't realize it was 3 hours long until it was over..... I was so engrossed. If I had realized how gruesome some of the scenes would be I probably wouldn't have gone to see it, but it was one of the best dramas I've seen in a while. Take a hanky and be prepared to cover your eyes at the sickening electrocution scenes (of which there are many).