screeninglog

Gerry
Director: Gus Van Sant
Van Sant should have learned from the whole "Psycho" remake fiasco that cinematic experiments
just aren't his forte. An experiment like "Russian Ark" worked because Alex Sokurov was able to
carry off a momentous, arduous feat while keeping a story intact; ditto for Richard Linklater's
"Waking Life," which had even less of a story but retained an underpining theme accented by the
brave visuals. In "Gerry," most of the visuals are stunning, but since they come attached to a
plotless collection of dialogue-free scenes, they lose most of their emotional weight. I understood
what Van Sant was trying to do; I even enjoyed the five-minute sequence where Casey Affleck
and Matt Damon are walking rhythmically and musically alongside each other, falling slightly out
of concert and then gradually rejoining each other's step. But movies are entertainment, and you
simply cannot be entertained by watching two men get lost in the desert for 100 minutes without
a single thing happening to them. Oh wait, Affleck got stuck atop a rock and couldn't get down.
How the hell did he get there in the first palce, then?
  My grade: B-
  Screened: February 23
  Oscar potential: None

The Recruit
Director: Roger Donaldson
Al Pacino has nicely settled into his own genre of haggled mentor suspense flicks. This one
satisfies on most levels, and is about as entertaining and "realistic" as a big-budget CIA thriller is
gonna be. Of course, there are about three or four twist endings too many -- and one really,
really, really long and unnecessary "that's why I did it" speech at the end -- but I suspected that
coming in, and wasn't disappointed.
  My grade: B
  Screened: January 31
  Oscar potential: None

Biker Boyz
Director: Reggie Rock Bythewood
I didn't see "The Fast and the Furious" (thank God) but I imagine that this motorcycle adventure
was about ten times better. On it's side were commanding performances by Derek Luke and
Laurence Fishburne, who give the popcorn flick the gravitas it needs to avoid being something
that Vin Diesel would star in. But every time "Biker Boyz" gets serious, something in the film
takes you back into the real world and makes you realize that, yes, you're watching a teen genre
movie and nothing more. Kid Rock simply has no place in the film, for instance, and is probably
there only to get white kids into a movie that the marketing department thought only black kids
would see.
  My grade: B-
  Screened: January 23
  Oscar potential: None

View From the Top
Director: Bruno Barreto
This is what went on in an agent's office sometime last year... Imagine Gwyneth Paltrow -- make
that Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow -- is deciding on her next role. She and her agent
discuss "Chicago," specifically the Roxie Hart part that ultimately went to the miscast Renee
Zellweger. Gwyn decides against it, fearing she doesn't have the singing chops required. Fair
enough. The next script that comes through is "The Hours," and before Julianne Moore gets the
chance to transcend it, Gwyn is offered Moore'e eventual role of suicidal '50s housewife Laura
Brown. Again, the Academy Award-winning actress balks and goes with "View From the Top"
instead. The single-biggest career mistake she may ever make, and the single-worst movie I have
ever seen. (Well, maybe "Dude, Where's My Car?" comes before it.) The script is so slipshod it
literally looks like an amalgam of five or six other (worse) movies. Only Mike Myers livens things
up in his brief scenes, but let the horrible outcome serve as a warning to his agent as well.
  My grade: F
  Screened: January 11
  Oscar potential: None

Irreversible
Director: Gaspar Noe
In what I'd say was a literal cross between "Requiem for a Dream" and "Memento," Monica
Bellucci gives a brave performance as a rape victim whose boyfriend attempts a lethal attack on
her molester. But brave does not do justice to the work she does; the nine-minute sequence of
her horrible encounter is so brutal and unnerving that an unsuspecting viewer might mistake the
footage for actual snuff. In fact, much of the film -- told in reverse from her boyfriend's final
vengeful act to the days preceding it -- is so realistic (and at times, hard to stomach) that the end
product certainly approaches the line of shock for shock's sake. But the artistic touches in the
movie -- the swirling cinematography, Thomas Bangalter's pulsating score, the long uninterrupted
takes -- indicates that Noe was in control of every frame in the film. If only more substance had
been pumped into this adrenaline rush to elevate it to the levels of...well..."Requiem for a Dream"
and "Memento."
  My grade: B+
  Screened: March 9
  Oscar potential: None

Bringing Down the House
Director: Adam Shankman
Watching this cliche-filled snooze makes one wish for the days when Steve Martin didn't have to
rely on gimmicks to get laughs. The culture clash between him and Queen Latifah was so forced
and contrived that I got tired watching the actors try to work around the lame-brained plot
mechanics. Plus, the film fails in trying to establish some sort of anti-racist statement. I mean,
why is every single person that Martin's character associates with a raving bigot? There are
better -- and more entertaining -- ways to point out the differences between black and white
cultures besides having Betty White scream on her front lawn, "I thought I saw you talking to a
Negro!" The only redeeming quality of this mess was the endearing performance of Queen
Latifah, who tries admirably to elevate herself above the stereotypes and show depth that the fim
utterly lacks.
  My grade: C-
  Screened: March 20
  Oscar potential: None

Bend it Like Beckham
Director: Gurinder Chadha
While some complained about the ethnic stereotyping on display in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding,"
this British soccer flick went the opposite route and composed highly articulated and developed
characters who just happened to be of Indian ethnicity. But for all of its cultural realism,
"Beckham" wasn't as funny as it could have been. I cared for the characters and was indeed
interested in the story, but I felt -- perhaps because the film's humor is based in a foreign country
-- that I wasn't laughing as much as the material wanted me to. But as the football-bound Jess,
Parminder Nagra gives a wholly realized portrayal of teenage repression and desire that makes
"Beckham" more than watchable even when it's not sure where it's going.
  My grade: B
  Screened: March 28
  Oscar potential: Best Original Screenplay

Laurel Canyon
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Frances McDormand can really do no wrong. Even if the film around her begins to crumble, you
still can't wait until she's back onscreen to try and save it. In "Laurel Canyon" she plays a
middle-aged rock critic -- the complete antithesis of her character in "Almost Famous" -- and is
clearly able to do both parts with equal humor and vibrancy. It's just too bad that the rest of
Cholodenko's film, a step backward from her much more interesting 1998 lesbian drama "High
Art," is loaded with cliches that tarnish Ms. McDormand's energy and wit at every chance they
get. The Hollywood Hills mansion that much of the movie takes place in is more "alive" than
Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale's characters, who are so tightly wound in their J. Crew ways
that you nearly expect steam to start coming from their ears when McDormand lights up a joint.
Still, the film has a few redeeming qualities -- an oddly original romantic triangle, a great
soundtrack, a few choice scenes -- that make the effort watchable...but not very memorable.
  My grade: B-
  Screened: April 2
  Oscar potential: None

Phone Booth
Director: Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher really knows how to screw up a good movie. Ever since this project was
announced a few years ago (with Jim Carrey originally planned for the lead) it seemed like an
interesting premise: A man walks into a phone booth, answers a call, and is told he'll get shot if
he hangs up. But with annoying camera tricks, a cast of really annoying characters, and an utter
lack of suspense, all the tension from this potentially claustrophobic thriller has been unwound
before it even starts. (The picture-in-picture gimmick seems directly lifted from TV's "24" simply
because Kiefer Sutherland, the unseen sniper, is in it.) Colin Farrell, struggling to hide his Irish
brogue, still comes off as a game player, but when the game is this predetermined and
suspense-free, his -- and our -- participation seems more like an afterthought.
  My grade: C-
  Screened: April 4
  Oscar potential: None

Anger Management
Director: Peter Segal
It honestly pains me to admit it, but I think I'm finally beyond the maturity level of Adam Sandler's
brand of humor. Keeping in line with the rest of the year's cinematic disappointments thus far, the
potential for genuine laughs and believable characters was wasted on fart jokes, random beatings,
and the sappiest romantic ending I've seen in a movie in a very, very long time. What was Jack
Nicholson thinking? Nearly every humorous opportunity was wasted with the lowest common
denominator gag -- or just repeated ad nauseum. For example, the "West Side Story" singalong
was fleetingly funny, but was brought up so often it wore out its welcome quickly on an audience
that probably didn't even get the reference in the first place. And how many small penis jokes can
a movie have? Trust me, Adam Sandler's manhood wasn't the only thing lacking in the movie.
  My grade: C-
  Screened: April 11
  Oscar potential: None

Malibu's Most Wanted
Director: John Whitesell
I expected little going into this movie, and felt little when I left. For the first ten minutes, though,
I thought -- by some bizarre act of benevolence -- that the film was actually going to be funny. If
there ever was a master of incorporating fake ghetto culture into a humorous character, Jamie
Kennedy's the man. And "Malibu's Most Wanted" remained highly watchable when it served as a
spoof of said culture. But when the black-white antics began taking a backseat to a lame-brained
kidnapping plot, my usual yawns and groans emerged. And despite his talent in films like "Go"
and "Chicago," Taye Diggs stretched believability as an upper-class black actor pretending to be
from South Central. Only Regina Hall ("Scary Movie"), as Kennedy's wannabe girlfriend, seemed
like a fully-realized person in the movie's utterly farcical schtick.
  My grade: C
  Screened: April 18
  Oscar potential: None

The Real Cancun
Director: Rick DeOliveira
I'm not a reality TV snob like many cinema fans are; I was one of the 40 million people who
watched the "Joe Millionaire" finale, and I do catch "American Idol" from time to time. But any
given episode of "The Real World" has more tension and "intrigue" than this first foray into reality
film. For starters, there are only about 5 mintues of titillating material and 85 minutes of
melodrama. But the melodrama isn't even milked for all its worth. Case in point: A supposedly
"platonic" couple -- who've been best friends for years but have never had sex -- are shown
innocently enjoying each other's company until the end of the film. Suddenly, during their last
night of clubbing in Mexico, they kiss and kiss and...well, that's the last we see of them. No
follow-up interviews, no confessionals, just more whining from the other dozen housemates.
Another of the film's faults is that we are never properly introduced to the characters, probably in
an effort to make the movie seem as un-TV-like as possible. But it left me scratching my head
over who had slept with who. But don't worry, the sex is shown (under the covers, of course)
for anyone too blushed to buy a copy of "Girls Gone Wild."
  My grade: D
  Screened: April 18
  Oscar potential: None

Better Luck Tomorrow
Director: Justin Lin
In depicting a vastly underused cinematic demographic as a springboard for an involving story
about youthful deception and recklessness, Justin Lin has crafted a startlingly audacious debut.
The Asian-American teens on display are the kind of kids living next door to you in Anytown,
Suburbia, but who have the kind of dark pastimes and secret desires that kids in big cities -- and
much more violent -- movies possess. The minor flaw of the film resides in the predictable rise
and fall of Ben (Parry Shen) as he goes from petty thief to drug pusher to vengeful thug; near the
film's final twenty minutes, the plausability meter was going off the charts. But even so, Shen's
shaded performance and the movie's overall stylistic flourishes -- including several effective music
montages and many fluid camera tricks -- are definitely worth the trip.
  My grade: B
  Screened: April 19
  Oscar potential: None

Spellbound
Director: Jeff Blitz
It's amazing what you can capture simply by turning the camera on. In the eight wonderful
vignettes that make up the bulk of this documentary about the Scripps-Howard National Spelling
Bee, we are shown the intimate lives of a select group of grade-school finalists. Some of the kids
live on farms and some live in the inner-city; some are relentlessly self-promoting while others are
at the mercy of their strong-willed parents; one in particular seems to possess enough energy to
keep the electricity on at the Washington, DC Airport Hilton. The film's magic, though, is in
subtly suggesting that the aspirations of these eight kids represents the higher dreams of their
parents -- in gaining fame for academic excellence, in succeeding in this country, in offering a
better life to their children. Proof that drama and suspense are not inherently linked to special
effects and gore, "Spellbound" kept me riveted to the edge of my seat just waiting for a contestant
to spell a nonsensical word like "darjeeling." Non-fiction films rarely get better than this.
  My grade: A-
  Screened: April 29
  Oscar potential: Nominated this year for Best Documentary Feature

Owning Mahowny
Director: Richard Kwietniowski
For anyone that saw last year's Philip Seymour Hoffman opus "Love Liza," this film is basically the
same trip -- except that now his character's drug habit of choice is gambling, not gasoline sniffing.
While Hoffman's performances are always nearly dead-on, one wonders why he spends his time
with such super-indies (often looking like they were filmed on 16mm) that are dry character
studies and nothing more. His Mahowny, for instance, is a potentially fascinating man -- and a
horrible gambler -- who spends much of his time sitting at craps tables or at his banking office
without ever doing much but...sitting and betting. The highlights are few and far between, and
reside mostly with the secondary characters: John Hurt, as a casino magnate who always wants
Mahowny around, and Minnie Driver, as Mahowny's dowdy girlfriend who just can't seem to pick
the right pair of glasses or a wig that fits. Nonetheless, for Hoffman devotees -- of which there
are many -- it's worth a small look.
  My grade: B-
  Screened: May 3
  Oscar potential: None

The Matrix Reloaded
Director: The Wachowski Bros.
If there ever was a movie that could get by purely on its special effects -- and that's a big if --
"The Matrix Reloaded" is it. Every fight sequence is beautifully and wondrously choreographed,
the set pieces are crafted with the most meticulous attention to detail, and the car chase scene on
Highway 101 (the movie's crowning achievement) is mind-blowingly awesome. For a few
minutes I felt like I was part of that turn-of-the-century movie audience that ran out of the theater
when a train was rushing towards them onscreen; I ducked and swerved with every lane change
that was being made. The rambling philosophy of the movie, though, is ultimately what almost
kills it. One-third of the dialogue is downright laughable, one-third of it merely moves the plot
along, and one-third of it seems like it was taken directly from some bad college theology
textbook. Amid all the posturing about chance and fate and "doing what needs to be done," the
movie lost its own grip on reality. But the performances are solid, and several individual scenes are
definitely memorable. (Not to give too much away, but the scene with the late, great Gloria Foster
in a courtyard and one in a restaurant with the voluptuous Monica Bellucci will be hard to top.)
Still, Part III better be good.
  My grade: B
  Screened: May 12
  Oscar potential: Technical Categories

Winged Migration
Director: Jacques Perrin
The bird kingdom has rarely looked this pristine, untouched, and, oddly, human. It's hard not to
personify the two pelicans who look like they're kissing, or the penguins who walk in a single-file
line down an ice shelf. But seeing some of these creatures fly up close -- so close you feel inches
above, below, or in front of them -- is a truly ethereal experience. I kept thinking how simple it
looks from such a high vantage point; just tuck the legs back and flap. It almost seemed like an
intrusion to be able to hear the gentle sound of the wings gliding through the air. And the shot of a
flock breezing past the Twin Towers in 1999 was almost too emotionally overwhelming...in a
good way. But three minor complaints: The useless narration (which is, thankfully, cut to a
minimum), the titles that unnecessarily describe the lengths of the birds' flights (which just end up
obscuring the amazing cinematography), and the few human interactions that seem painfully
forced. Otherwise, it's astounding.
  My grade: B+
  Screened: May 13
  Oscar potential: Nominated this year for Best Documentary Feature

X2: X-Men United
Director: Bryan Singer
When talking to many other people who enjoyed this "X-Men" sequel, I found that a lot of them
didn't particularly care for the first film. I, on the other hand, thought it was one of the better
comic book movies of recent years. There was a seriousness about it -- in the good vs. evil battle
that threatened to destroy the world -- that the cartoony "Spider-Man" never made believable for
me. "X2" continued in that vein, and made a highly entertaining successor that now has me avidly
awaiting "X3" (or is that "XXX"?) despite the fact that I've never read the comic book. The
characters were more fleshed out this time around, and the struggles of being a mutant in today's
non-mutantized world probably more closely simulated the Civil Rights undertones of the original
source material, first published in the mid-1960s. The film struggles only in its handling of the
scope of the entire project. The final sequence, for example, set below the Alkali Dam, unspools
over what seems like an hour, wringing nearly all of the tension out of a potentially thrilling finale.
  My grade: B
  Screened: May 17
  Oscar potential: Technical Categories

Hollywood Homicide
Director: Ron Shelton
Recipe for big-budget Hollywood blockbuster: Add two famous actors (one old, one young -- for
maximum crossover appeal). Set in location that Hollywood executives think that the rest of the
country wishes they were in -- Hollywood. Mix in cliches of said location: annoying cell phone
rings (ha-ha-ha), aspiring actors (ha-ha), yoga (ha), corrupt LAPD cops (not funny at all). Goal:
PG-13 rating (so eliminate anything interesting to those over age 13 or IQ 75, like plot, character
development, effort). Extended car chase required. Make that two extended car chases. (Most
people won't realize that such car chases are impossible in everyday LA traffic, anyway.) Bake
for 1 hour and 50 minutes. Try not to fall asleep or throw shoes at movie screen.
  My grade: C-
  Screened: May 30
  Oscar potential: None

Finding Nemo
Director: Andrew Stanton
Forget humans. This summer, the best movies at the box office are all about animals. After the
flighty birds of "Winged Migration" and the beastly-but-earnest mutants of "X2," "Finding Nemo"
proves itself to be a worthy charmer and ranks high above "Monsters, Inc" -- and just below "Toy
Story 2" -- among the Pixar clan. The movie does indeed follow that familiar cartoon formula --
someone's away from home, someone else must brave several obstacles before the rescue, a
friendly tag-along is there for the ride, etc. But when the elements are this expertly executed, who
can complain? The creature away from home this time is a little clownfish who ends up in the
most happenin' fish tank in Sydney, while the friendly tag-along is played by the hilarious Ellen
DeGeneres who, somehow, ends up resembling the fish she's voicing by the end of the film (and
that's not a put-down). There's enough imagination in "Nemo" to fill a thousand other types of
Hollywood blockbusters (see below), and one wishes that live-action directors would take a few
character and plot cues from the Pixar treasure chest.
  My grade: A-
  Screened: May 31
  Oscar potential: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Score

The Italian Job
Director: F. Gary Gray
I remember being a seventh-grader and watching MTV in my living room. Considering how the
channel replays the same 10 videos over and over again (during that rare block of time when they
are actually playing videos), I would repeatedly see the same names as directors. Many of my
favorites went on to make great -- or at least interesting -- feature films. Spike Jonze ("Being John
Malkovich"), Michel Gondry ("Human Nature"), Mark Romanek ("One Hour Photo"), and David
Fincher ("Fight Club") can all be grouped into this category. F. Gary Gray, however, cannot.
Perhaps because his forte was in hip-hop videos -- in which creatively filming booty-shaking is
now the norm -- he is unable to sustain an intriguing premise for the duration of an entire movie...
yet is able to effectively coat that shortcoming with flashy visuals and gonzo eye candy. That's
what gives "The Italian Job" all of its limited excitement. Not the people involved, but their
execution of The Big Score. Add to that a soundtrack of pulsating jazz and techno beats to keep
the blood flowing, and you have enjoyable pulp that's simply all filler.
  My grade: B-
  Screened: May 31
  Oscar potential: None

Alex & Emma
Director: Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner went from "Misery" to this? He went from "A Few Good Men" to this? And -- let me
get this straight -- he went from "Stand By Me" to this? It's difficult for me to believe that during
production of this "comedy" that those involved didn't occasionally say, "Wait, this movie isn't
funny." Or, "There's no reason for Emma to like Alex." Or better yet, "Who in their right mind
would pay to see this piece of tripe?" First off, the editing was incongruous. I noticed two times
when words were being said but no lips were matching them, and that doesn't even account for
the uneven pacing of the film itself. Secondly, Alex and Emma are two of the most annoying
characters I've seen onscreen this year (and I've seen a lot of bad movies so far -- look below).
And lastly, half of the movie -- the scenes that take place in Luke Wilson's next "bestseller" -- are
so ludicrously anachronistic in their dialogue and plot that it just makes one wish for the days of
Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap." (Maybe he needs a spinal tap to get back on the right track.)
  My grade: D
  Screened: June 20
  Oscar potential: None

The Hulk
Director: Ang Lee
Ang Lee takes a slight backstep in his ever-impressive catalogue with this
too-good-for-its-own-good comic book adaptation. While the obvious fakeness of the Hulk
himself didn't bother me -- I still think "Spider-Man" was the most troublinglingly unrealistic -- too
much of Lee's pic was squandered in telling us why Bruce Banner was as angry as he was. This
wouldn't have seemed that glaring except for the near-absence of thrilling action to offset it. When
Mr. Green finally reaches San Francisco, tearing up streets and overturning cable cars, I couldn't
wait to see what he would do next. Would the Hulk hurl a police car into Coit Tower? Would he
somehow cause the Bay Bridge to collapse? Would he cause some sort of catastrophe that would
affect thousands of San Franciscans at once? Nope...he just slithered back to being lifeless ol'
Bruce Banner. The anti-climactic nature of this scene ended up representing a fault that the entire
film had: You can't expect an audience to care so much about a character's past without giving
him much of an interesting future.
  My grade: C+
  Screened: June 23
  Oscar potential: Best Visual Effects, Best Editing

28 Days Later
Director: Danny Boyle
There's a lot to admire about Danny Boyle's new zombie flick -- the best such film to come out in
quite some time (at least since George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead"). A sense of dread is
immediately and effectively created with eerie visuals and even eerier music, and the super-charged
nature of the virulent undead monsters raises the tension to a level rarely seen in genre flicks. One
honestly never knows quite when a zombie will strike or where it could be coming from. And, like
all of Romero's "Dead" flicks, a random assemblage of disparate individuals bands together to find
some sort of answer, creating an uneasy camaraderie that lets viewers establish a quick rooting
interest. Stylistically, Boyle goes right for the throat. No vomit, blood, or limbs were spared in
relating the horrors of a post-apocalyptic London, and the dark lensing and dicey editing only
enhance the sense of sudden death lurking around every turn. But sadly, as in many horror films,
the resolution fails to make as successful an impression as the premise warrants. What starts out
as an utterly tense mystery finally culminates in a war of the wills between villainous men -- and
the zombies are ultimately used as pawns in this struggle without a true explanation of the extent of
their wrath. While I didn't expect everything to be spelled out by the closing credits, it would have
been nice to let the impending doom make more of an impression than it eventually did.
  My grade: B
  Screened: June 30
  Oscar potential: None

Capturing the Friedmans
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Countering the sensationalism from all sides to a point where fact and fiction can barely be
distinguished from each other, "Capturing the Friedmans" is a generally successful exploration of
one family's downfall over the nearly unspeakable crime of child molestation. I went
back-and-forth mentally several times during the film, at first thinking Mr. Friedman had abused
the children taking computer classes in his garage, then assuming it was a police frame-up, but
finally concluding that not a single account in the film could be completely reliable. Subtle hints
were dropped -- expertly, I initially thought -- throughout the piece that gradually gave the viewer a
keener and keener insight into the Friedmans' dysfunktional family life. Just when I thought I had
it all put together, Jarecki would drop another bomb that served to completely alter my original
judgment.
  Again, initially I felt this to be a marvelous technique that both built suspense and created drama
in a movie comprised largely of interviews and "talking heads." But when going over the film in
my mind several hours later, I wasn't sure if this strategy was as intentional as I had previously
thought. Was Jarecki really trying to offer his audience an objective viewpoint, or did he just
throw up all the information he had onto the screen in the hopes that viewers would sort it out for
him?
  This became especially troublesome in a scene near the end when Mr. Friedman's younger
brother, interviewed alone up until that point, was gradually zoomed away from -- revealing a man
sitting next to him, his longtime homosexual partner. Why was this information withheld from us
until this point? Was his partner beside him during all of the film's interviews? When the elder
Friedman admitted to molesting his younger brother earlier in the film, the audience was inclined to
dismiss the suggestion as ramblings of a potential criminal. But knowing that the younger brother
was gay, it made me question whether the alleged abuse could have contributed to his
homosexuality to some degree. These are weightier issues that Jarecki apparently has no time to
explore; yet until these little bombs start dropping, a truly frightening and captivating world has
been documented.
  My grade: B+
  Screened: July 6
  Oscar potential: Best Documentary Feature

Swimming Pool
Director: Francois Ozon
Expressing the the most severe reserve and bottled lust of any role Ozon has drawn, Charlotte
Rampling bests her work in the director's "Under the Sand" by giving her character a full body --
literally and figuratively -- that is never easy to comprehend, but is always fascinating to watch.
She fusses with her computer cord, stares at a blank wall after removing a cross, renders an ascot
for every occasion, and seems to find something to do in any empty room. These specific traits
perfectly suit her portrayal of a pent-up mystery writer named Sarah Morton suddenly forced to
share her publisher's summer house with his lustful teenage daughter. Ludivine Sagnier, as that
daughter, could challenge any Hollywood actress to the Miss Universe Pageant and win, but her
sexuality is much more than a convenient ploy to bare breasts. She represents the anti-Morton, not
afraid to express her lust and more than willing to challenge her state of affairs. But after an hour
and a half in, I was still waiting for "Swimming Pool" to turn into the thriller that it was advertised
as. When the "Adaptation"-esque meta-references begin to emerge (a movie about a mystery
author that turns into the mystery she's writing) they served only to muddy up a previosuly pristine
character study. I was able to decipher "Mulholland Drive" and I put together "Memento" all right,
but "Swimming Pool" had one too many cracks in its closing moments for me to be completely
won over -- evocative perfomances notwithstanding.
  My grade: B+
  Screened: July 9
  Oscar potential: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress

Seabiscuit
Director: Gary Ross
Call it "Field of Dreams" syndrome. Once in a great while, a film comes along whose parts look
rather slipshod when examining them on their own terms. But the overall emotional experience
seems to justify these seemingly incongruous elements in the end. And while "Seabiscuit" never
achieves the greatness of that baseball classic, it nevertheless is a handsomely mounted production
that stirs up the deeply-felt charm of lost Americana and nostalgia that is nearly impossible to deny.
The problems lie in the film's first half, in which director Gary Ross seems intent on showing us
every detail of the three lives who would ultimately bring the titular horse to greatness. There's
Seabiscuit's stately owner (Jeff Bridges), his introspective trainer (Chris Cooper), and his reckless
jockey (Tobey Maguire) -- fine performances all -- who each need a little redeeming of their own.
While this is fine, it really belongs in another movie. This is the story of a horse and his races, and
when the equestrian storyline finally gets front-and-center treatment, the movie becomes an
engrossing piece of docu-drama that eventually makes the time invested feel worthwhile.
  My grade: B
  Screened: July 14
  Oscar potential: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted
       Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Director: Gore Verbinski
This is studio blockbuster fare of the highest order. From production design to musical scoring to
the deliriously enjoyable performances, the film feels transported from some faraway land where
special effects are used and not abused, where scene-stealing acting actually feels appropriate, and
where the one-liners and action sequences are thrilling instead of overbearing. Aside from its
unnecessary length -- the tacked-on endings seem to be a slightly growing problem for Gore
Verbinski -- everything about this adventure just seems right. Performances don't come any more
original, humorous, and bizarrely incandescent than Johnny Depp's rendering of Captain Jack
Sparrow, and although it wouldn't be fully representative of his career to give him his first Oscar
nomination for the role, it's definitely worthy. (He's probably already got the Golden Globe for
comedy in the bag.) In the end, summertime movies are about escapist fun -- and they just don't
get much more fun than this.
  My grade: B
  Screened: July 15
  Oscar potential: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Visual Effects

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													*Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life* Director: Jan de Bont Or, "Angelina Jolie: Decent Actress: Find Me a Worthy Role." Actually, "Cradle" isn't as bad as the previous "Tomb Raider" film, which stunk to high heaven. This one is mere pulpy fun, with a clearer sense of direction and contextually believable obstacles. Jolie seems more confident this time around, and exudes a potent energy that keeps the whole thing lively even as the movie goes through the rote formulations of Big-Budget Hollywood Blockbuster. But hey, her para-gliding scene off a skyscraper was more thrilling than a lot of the other nonsense that's been released this summer. My grade: B- Screened: July 10 Oscar potential: None

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												*All the Real Girls* Director: David Gordon Green The two films are completely different, but not since "Boys Don't Cry" has such an accurate and startingly honest portrayal of young love in the Midwest been so beautifully carried out onscreen. Every word of dialogue seems genuinely unrehearsed and unaffected, especially those coming from Zooey Deschanel, who owns the movie -- despite the cliche -- in a star-making peformance. Sure, she stole great scenes in "Almost Famous" and "The Good Girl," but here she brims with the potential of a young Angelina Jolie...before she went off the deep end. The only setback is the abrupt ending, which tries to wrap up two hours of denouement into two minutes of montage (which is odd considering the length and wistful pacing of the rest of the movie). Speaking of which, it uses colorful and brilliantly-scored time-lapse cinematography in a way that "Gerry" attempted to but failed to make resonate. Extra bonus: the briefly-seen Patricia Clarkson, who somehow seems to belong in every movie in just the perfect way. Cast her in everything, please. My grade: B+ Screened: February 24 Oscar potential: Best Original Screenplay

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												*Old School* Director: Todd Phillips It's the year of the Farrell. First, Colin Farrell seems to be in a movie released every other week ("The Recruit," "Daredevil," "Phone Booth"...please make it stop). Then Will Ferrell, the funniest cast member from the current "Saturday Night Live" troupe, finds the perfect vehicle for his mix of unassuming antics and physical buoyancy. Seeing "Old School" in a packed theater where everyone is laughing loudly at the same time -- so much so that you couldn't hear the next line in the movie -- was reminiscent of another gut-buster that didn't get a fair shake with critics, "Goldmember." Vince Vaughn's "seriousness" is a perfect counter to Ferrell's relative lunacy, and the movie gets bogged down only when the machinations of the plot start to take up too much screen time. The simpler the better, guys. My grade: B Screened: January 28 Oscar potential: None

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