Welcome to the online version of the Ring Report.Instead of all that messy exchanging of email, now you can enter your reviews online!
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | 1941. Grade C
I just watched this on DVD after not having seen the movie for ages. I remember it as being not that funny, and it's still true. Even with Belushi and Ackroyd and a lot of character actors, and even though they try hard and there's lots of crashes and physical stuff, it's just plain not that funny. The DVD is a mess too. Even though it claims to be a special edition, it's nonanamorphic (meaning it won't fill up a widescreen TV) and the 5.1 soundtrack is clipped and distorted. Spielberg should be ashamed of himself for letting the DVD out like this. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Closer. Grade B
The story of four people (Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Robers, and Clive Owens) who fall in and out of love with each other. This has some noticably strong language, some of which is quite effective. None of the characters are especially sympathetic, which makes this a little harder to like. The moral seems to be, "if you plan to forgive somebody for something they don't think you know about, don't ever let them know that you know." |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Grade B-
A kids movie that isn't all sappy and safe, and plays on that fact with comedy. Jim Carrey is really pretty good as Count Olaf, who himself masquerades as other characters. Although he plays it broad, it isn't the typical over the top Carrey we have all come to hate. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Meet the Fockers. Grade B+
It's got De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Streisand, and Blythe Danner, all having fun doing comedy, in addition to the usual Ben Stiller stuff. De Niro and Hoffman really seem to be having fun, and it show. I thought this was a quite enjoyable film, at least as good as the original "Meet the Parents." |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | To Be or Not To Be (1942). Grade A-
I'm not a film historian or I would already know more of this stuff. But I now know that if you come across an old movie directed by Ernst Lubitsch, by all means WATCH IT. This one stars Jack Benny and Carol Lombard and is the story of a troupe of actors in occupied Poland who plot to keep secret information from getting into the hands of the Nazis. This is a sophisticated comedy that not only includes male/female romantic sparring, but also digs at the Nazis and Germany. It's very interesting to watch a relatively modern take on Hitler that was made before the US even decided to get into the war. Very entertaining and highly recommended. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | I (heart) Huckabees. Grade D
Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't get into this movie at all. It literally put me to sleep. There seemed to be no life, no verve, no characterization, just weirdness. Eulogy. Grade C The patriarach of a screwed up family dies, and the children and grandchildren come together for his funeral. This is supposed to be a black comedy, and there are some amusing moments (often with Ray Romano and his voyeuristic sons), but mostly the people are bitter and unsympathetic. And in the end, even the most normal, sympathetic of the grandchildren blows her trust with the audience. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Sphere. Grade C-
There are lots of good actors in this -- Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Peter Coyote. But the plotline -- discovering under the sea a spaceship from the future containing some sort of alien sphere that causes weird things to happen to people -- all that is just too unbelievable and confusing. Way, way too many suspensions of disbelief required. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | The Forgotten. Grade B-
Julianne Moore's son dies in a plane crash and she seems to be the only one who remembers she even had a son. She tries to unravel this mystery and the whole thing gets less and less believable. However, there are two or three genuinely "knock you out of your seat" surprise jolts in the movie, if you like that sort of thing. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | The Motorcycle Diaries. Grade B-
Che Guevera goes on a motorcycle trip with a friend and learns that people are more important than governments. This is all good stuff, but I'm sure this movie would be a LOT BETTER if I could understand Spanish. The subtleties of the relationship between the main characters are really only hinted at in the subtitles. So this wasn't as enjoyable to me as I'm sure it really is. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | A Home at the End of the World. Grade B
Andrew Chalmers/Erik Smith/Colin Farrell all play main character Bobby Morrow as he grows from a child in the Sixties to an adult in the Eighties. Enlightened by window pane acid given to him by his brother when he was a child and aware of just how short life can be (watching his brother crash through a window while on same acid and die), Bobby lives for pleasure and in the present, thus both a sexual relationship with his friend Jonathan, and also one with Jonathan's roommate Clare (Robin Wright Penn). The tenderness of the relationships and the sensitivity in which they are portrayed make this movie worth watching. Only Clare's actions at the end defy logic, and maybe we can forgive that because the rest is so good. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Sideways. Grade B+
You probably all know the story. Two guys (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church) go off on a "bachelor party" week of California wine tasting a week before Church's wedding. Giamatti is wine snob school teacher who can't get over a lost love, and Church is a B-grade actor who wants as much sex as possible before he marries. They hook up with a waitress (Virginia Madsen) and a wine server (Sandra Oh), and Church is not truthful enough while Giamatti is too truthful. I enjoyed this movie, but my expectations of it were so high based on word of mouth and on director Andrew Payne's previous work that I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Church was marvelous and truly deserved the Oscar nomination. Giamatti, in my opinion, was not as good in this as in "American Splendor." Madsen was fine, but not spectacular, and Oh seemed very wooden to me. Still, a good, solid, character-driven movie. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Shall We Dance. Grade B+
I thought this was a tender look at a successful man (Richard Gere) having a midlife crisis. Vaguely unhappy, he sees Jennifer Lopez in the window of a dance studio and decides to take ballroom dance lessons. But since he's embarrassed about his unhappiness, he doesn't tell his wife (Susan Sarandon) about it. There are many amusing moments with the secondary characters in this film, and Gere, Sarandon, and JLo all are believable. A touching film. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Ray. Grade B
I thought Jamie Foxx did a terrific job portraying Ray Charles in this biopic and probably deserved his Oscar. But the movie itself dragged a bit. Mr. 3000. Grade B+ Bernie Mac portrays an arrogant baseball player (think Barry Bonds) who retires after getting his 3000th hit, sure of his election into the hall of fame. However, when a clerical error is discovered nine years later, three of his hits are taken away, and he decides to play one last season. Now he has to come to grips with his past actions and the ways of the modern ballplayer. Amusing story, and Bernie is good, but this is no Bull Durham. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | From Broadway to Hollywood box set. Grade A
A box set of five MGM musicals, including two of the greatest of all time, "The Band Wagon," ((with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charise) and "Easter Parade," (with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland), both of which have been restored using Warner Home Video's ultravision technique. Also included are Bells are Ringing (another of my favorites, starring Dean Martin and Judy Holliday in her last movie), Brigadoon (so-so Gene Kelly, and Finian's Rainbow (a very minor Fred Astaire). It's cheaper to buy the box than the first three individually, so this is a real deal for fans of classic musicals. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | The Grudge. Grade: A
We loved this -- very scary, very creepy, lovely visuals, absolutely an "A" horror movie. I Heart Huckabees. Grade: A- Very clever premise (Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman are existential detectives whom people hire to find the meaning in their lives), mostly funny, excellent acting, witty script. A few misses here and there where things don't work, but all in all we liked it a lot. King Arthur (Clive Owens, Keira Knightly). Grade: D Don't even bother. Dull, dull, dull. And we LOVE King Arthur movies! Motorcycle Diaries. Grade: A Loved it!! Story of Che Guevara taking a motorcycle trip all over South America with a med school buddy, before he became a famous social activist. Funny, warm, and personal, with some awesome countryside. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | American Movie. Grade ???
Documentary about a Wisconsin man who dreams of making movies. He's basically a slacker who doesn't have much money, gets $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, and gets his friends and family to help out with the acting and setup. He needs to complete his horror short "Coven" (which he pronounces like "woven" not like "oven") and sell enough copies so he can make the movie he really wants. Unfortunately, all the dysfunction, poverty, and slackerness was too much for us to take, so we gonged it after about 40 minutes. The guy is a character, though, so maybe it will be your cup of tea. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | The Secret Lives of Dentists. Grade B-
Campbell Scott and Hope Davis play husband and wife dentists who share a practice and have three small children. Scott suspects Davis of having an affair but doesn't want to voice his suspicions because it would begin a cycle of change that he doesn't want. However, in keeping silent, the fabric of the marriage begins to unravel. This movie is good in how it portrays the sacrifices you have to make to keep a family together. However, the presence of Denis Leary as an imaginary character in Scott's mind (the symbol of Scott's anger) is pretentious, arty crap. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Secret Window. Grade C+
A plot-twist thriller based on a Stephen King story and starring Johnny Depp. Depp plays his usual crazy character; this time a writer who is basically being stalked by a strange man who accuses Depp of stealing his story. Depp's character is good but nothing out of the ordinary for him. And unfortunately, I figured out what the twist was early on, and that pretty much ruined the tension for me. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Maria Full of Grace. Grade B+
Story of a pregnant Columbian girl who doesn't want to marry her not very supportive boyfriend and instead becomes a drug mule, swallowing more than 50 "pills" (more like sausages) at a time and transporting them to dealers in the US. The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles, but the acting is clearly outstanding. The sense of helplessness at the girls plight is palpable, and the scenes of her trying to learn to swallow something as large as she has to are almost physically nauseating. Intense and well worth seeing. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | I, Robot. Grade B-
Loosely based on an Isaac Asimov novel, Will Smith is a police detective investigating a murder of a man by a robot. But because of the three laws of robotics, robots aren't supposed to kill. Of course there is a plot twist in the end. This is OK, watchable, with expensive special effects, but a largely forgettable movie too. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Without a Paddle. Grade B+
Seth Green stars in this picture about three friends who, after the death of another friend, go off to the woods of Oregon in search of the D.B. Cooper hijack money. Lots of humor and buddiness ensue. This should have been stupid, but the relationships of the characters make it really enjoyable. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Garden State. Grade D
I got totally bored with this and fell asleep. Maybe it's good, but you couldn't tell by me. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Garden State. Grade D
I got totally bored with this and fell asleep. Maybe it's good, but you couldn't tell by me. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Pipe Dream. Grade B+
This is a story of a New York plumber (Martin Donovan) who decides to pretend to be a movie director because attractive women aren't interested in plumbers. His friend (Mary-Louise Parker) has written a script and Donovan stages a casting call so he can meet women. However, when the word gets out, the thing starts taking on a life of its own. This is fun and pokes fun at the whole movie-making business. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Flirting with Disaster. Grade B+
This might be the best Ben Stiller movie ever. Using a lot of elements later used in "Meet the Parents," Ben plays a father of a four-month-old son who is married to Patricia Arquette and is the adopted son of Mary Tyler Moore and George Seagal. He is neurotic and feels that if he only found his birth parents, this would cure all his problems. Tia Leoni plays a counselor from the adoption agency who researches his past and accompanies him on his trip to find his parents, which has several mis-steps along the way. All the actors do a good job of making this as hilariously funny as can be and as uncomfortable as possible for the Stiller character. Good fun. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Napoleon Dynamite. Grade B-
I think this movie is one of those that's funnier when you talk about it than when you actually watch it. It has a style (primary colors and simple camera angles), and intentional unstated humorous elements. But its intentional amateurishness was too hard for me to take for the entire length of the film |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Last Orders. Grade B
Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Tom Courtnay, and David Hemmings are all in this story of a man who dies (Caine) and the friends who are charged with spreading his ashes off a certain pier. The acting is very good, and the movie slowly reveals more and more about the characters. Turning on English subtitles helps with the accents. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Grade B-
I like the comic book concept of this, but I didn't think the plot was strong enough nor that Jude Law or Gwenneth Paltrow took the whole thing seriously enough. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Birthday Girl. Grade B
Ben Chaplin plays an English bank clerk who orders up a mail order Russian bride. And who does he end up with? Nicolle Kidman (whahoo!). However, he doesn't get quite what he expects when he learns she smokes, and worse yet doesn't speak English. Then when her two male friends show up on her birthday, things really start looking bad. This has lots of twists and turns that make it enjoyable, but the ending is a bit lame. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | The Village. Grade: B+ (for the Stephen King genre)
This feels like a made-for-TV Stephen King movie -- not that that's a bad thing. It's an excellent premise, nice twist at the end, high production value, but most of the dialog is iffy at best and it's not scary at all. But still a good story, kept us watching. The Bourne Supremacy. Grade: C This gets a low mark because its predecessor (Bourne Identity) was so good. What happened? Did they forget how to make a good movie? The dialog is so bad we were laughing. Not the mood you want for a thriller. Ray. Grade: A Predictable biopic but Jamie Foxx really does give an extraordinary performance. I'm hard to please around Oscar time, and he absolutely deserves to win for this. Astounding. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Grade: B+ (for comic book genre) This is a gorgeous movie, and if you're into cinematography and special effects you should see this. The story is predictable (but hey, it's a comic book movie) and Gwyneth Paltrow is the exact wrong person for that role (they needed someone spunky like Reese Witherspoon). But it's still a well-made movie that's fun to watch. I didn't get bored once. (Altho it's no Hell Boy....) De-Lovely. Grade: Eh. Just-OK movie about songwriter Cole Porter. Kevin Kline is OK as Porter, and Ashley Judd sucks as his wife, but then Ashley Judd sucks at everything. Only interesting thing is the structure, with the elderly Cole Porter watching a "musical" about his life, and he sits in the audience and comments on various scenes. Vanity Fair. Grade: B+ Reese Witherspoon is perfectly cast as Becky Sharp, the wily heroine who is born poor but scrapes and scratches her way up the ladder of fine British society. A little slow to start, but the second half is quite entertaining. Photographing Fairies. Grade: A- Here's a little British gem that nobody saw in 1997 when it came out. We happened to catch it on cable, and what a surprise! Intriguing story, nicely told, good writing and good performances by all. And NOT cutesy. Will entertain adults and children alike. |
| Name: | Paula T |
| Review: | Sideways A-
I loved the Miles character. He seemed totally convincing and believable. And I loved how the two guys played off each other's personalities. Excellent writing and acting. Didn't much care for the musical score or the split screen episodes. It felt like the director was going for a 70's "feel," and I'm not sure why. Paul Giamatti should have been nominated for an Academy Award! |
| Name: | Paula T |
| Review: | Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow B
You gotta love a movie that's shot entirely on blue screen and CGed in later. The story is hokey and flimsy, but if you loved those old Saturday morning serials, like Flash Gordon, then you'll enjoy the look of this film. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Collateral. Grade: C
We watched this mostly to see if Jamie Foxx deserves that Oscar nomination he got for this film (he was also nominated for "Ray"). Well, he doesn't. I can't believe that the Academy thinks speaking in a low monotone and mumbling your lines counts as acting. This whole film had no high moments, no low moments, and no changes for either character. Tom Cruise got a lot of attention from the critics, who praised him for finally playing a bad guy. But his interpretation of this role was just another Tom Cruise performance. Oh and the story? Completely predictable. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Alien vs. Predator. Grade: A- (for the genre)
Surprisingly good. Stop laughing. I mean it. Excellent story line, a lot of borrowed shots (from "The Thing" especially), and great effects. High production value, a pretty good script, and some awesome fights between - yes -several Predators and a whole bunch of Aliens. I won't tell you who wins. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Manchurian Candidate (2004). Grade B+
A fine effort and worthy remake of a very good film. This one uses a lot of the same elements that made the first one so good, but adds enough twists to keep even someone familiar with the first film interested. As Jackie mentioned, Denzel is very believable and different from the usual character he plays. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | De-Lovely. Grade B-
Kevin Kline plays Cole Porter in a sort-of biography of his life. One criticism of this film is that it didn't touch on the fact that Porter was gay. But from what I saw, the entire movie was about his gayness and how that affected his ability to care for his wife. Kline is fine, and believable in a sort of unlikable way, but the film is a little hum-drum. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Anchorman. Grade B-
Will Ferrel is a sexist TV anchorman in 70's San Diego. This is a funny concept for a SNL skit or two, but a little weak to support an entire picture. There are some great touches however, including Ferrel's unusual voice warmups and the rumble between competing newsteams. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Collateral. Grade A-
Another tension-packed thrill ride. The interaction between Tom Cruise (the hit man) and Jamie Foxx (the unsuspecting cab driver) is terrific. Foxx may have gotten an Oscar nomination for this, but Cruise is every bit as good. The plot moves quickly and logically, and the characters never cross the boundary into buddy-buddy-ness. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | The Bourne Supremacy. Grade A-
Taut, tense, exciting film shot with a lot of quick jumps and shakey camera moves. Matt Damon is a good lead who shows more characterization than most action heros. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Spiderman 2. Grade C+
Though I was a big comics fan earlier in life, I'm not sure what the appeal is here. Doc Ock is cool and moves like he was portrayed in the comic. But the whole Spidey swinging on webs through the streets of Manhattan is really fakey. And I just don't buy Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Shaun of the Dead. Grade: A
Hilarious British film that looks like a zombie film satire but is really a romantic comedy. Sideways. Grade: B+ 2 buddies go on a road trip for a week in CA wine country, before one of them gets married. Lots of drinking, lots of funny encounters, a little angst here and there. Starts slow but don't give up on it -- the last half is fabulous. Great writing, great acting. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Manchurian Candidate (new version with Denzel Washington). Grade: A-/B+
Surprisingly good remake, with Washington doing a remarkable job and not just playing his same old character that he always plays. You really feel his fear and paranoia and confusion. Might be the best thing he's ever done. Meryl Streep is way over the top as the conniving mother, and doesn't deserve that Oscar nomination she's probably going to get. Liev Shreiber is excellent as the son. Nice and taut, keeps moving, keeps you on the edge of your seat. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Stepford Wives (new Nicole Kidman version). Grade: C
Really stupid remake, which couldn't decide if it was serious drama, campy sci-fi, or comedy. The old film is still the best. Dated, to be sure, but still the best. |
| Name: | Ringmaster |
| Review: | Just a note to all posters. I believe there is an unstated limit to the number of characters in each post. If you enter too much, you'll get a weird error. To prevent this, I suggest you post each movie review separately.
Thanks! |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Grade C-
Absurdly stupid plot based on a comic book or something. Sean Connery is OK (is he ever not), but it is just not possible to suspend so much disbelief in a single movie. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Seeing Other People. Grade C+
An engaged woman decides that she and her hubby-to-be should see other people (i.e. have more sexual experiences) before they marry. This is supposed to be a poignant comedy, but the woman (played by Julianne Nicholson)is, to me, totally unsympathetic, and the fiance(Jay Mohr) turns out to be a jerk. However, Andy Richter is in it, so it's not all bad. Along Came Polly. Grade C+ If there's anything like a sure thing in Hollywood, I think it's that any movie starring Ben Stiller will be mediocre. Not good, not bad, just mediocre. This is no different, just Ben getting in embarrasing situations. He and Jennifer Aniston have no chemistry. But Philip Seymour Hoffman is in it, so all is not lost. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Kitchen Stories. Grade B+
Charming story about a swedish researcher sent to do a time and motion study of a Norwegian bachelor farmer in his kitchen. The researcher is under orders not to speak, just sit in a high chair and observe. Unfortunately, this is a case of the observer affecting the experiment, because the farmer spends more time trying to screw with the observer's head than he does leading an ordinary life. Of course, a friendship of sorts develops slowly. NOTE. The film is in Swedish and the English subtitles are off (on the DVD) by default. I sat through a bit of (what to me was) gobbledy-gook before I figured out I had to go back and turn the titles on. Lonesome Dove (original miniseries). Grade A- I believe this is the ultimate guy-flick, i.e. the equivalent of "Beaches" for guys. Set-in-their-ways, non-verbal cowboys (with troubled pasts, of course), set out to take cattle to Montana territory. Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall are terrific. |
| Name: | Jackie Fischer |
| Review: | Napoleon Dynamite. Grade: B+
Flawed indie with no budget has some real genius moments, but it's very uneven. Van Helsing. Grade: C All video game, no story. Hero. Grade: A- This is a more beautiful "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." there are a few too many fight scenes, and many go on for too long, but shot after shot is deliriously breathtaking. also i liked the story better than Crouching Tiger. Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Grade: B Darned good for a) a sequel and b) a movie based on a video game. Funny thing though: i'd read that this had a killer metal soundtrack, so i rented it only for that reason. uh, what soundtrack? there's no soundtrack to speak of. but still a surprising piece of entertainment. if you don't mind movies based on video games. |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Love Actually. Grade A-
A lovely, well-written, well-acted comedy about the effects of being in love. There are several stories about barely connected people, each falling in or out of love. Hugh Grant is a gas as the British PM, there's a great piece about an ever so polite and shy couple who meet when they are working as stand-ins (naked) for porno actors, Bill Nighy is a fabulous old rock-and-roll star who says just what he feels about things, Liam Neeson as a widowed father whose son has fallen in love with the coolest girl in school. And on, and on, with Colin Firth, and Emma Thompson, and more wonderful actors. The stories just skip around, and it all gets more or less resolved in the end. Simply terrific! |
| Name: | Paula |
| Review: | Finding Neverland A-
A sweet, three-hanky movie with Johnny Depp as James Barrie and Kate Winslet as the mother of the boys who inpsired him to write Peter Pan. The film has a beautiful period look to it. Great supporting performances by Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman. Closer B- A film about love, betrayal, sadness, and deception. The opposite of a feel-good movie. I left the theater not liking any of the characters in the end, except maybe Alice. Awesome performance by Natalie Portman. |
| Name: | Jackie Fischer |
| Review: | Open Water. Grade: B-
Very low budget movie that got all kinds of attention at Sundance (a la Blair Witch). Good story, but i felt ripped off at the end, mostly because i had heard it ended differently. Also they tell you it's a true story at the beginning, but when you see the ending, you know most of it has been made up. Still impressive for having a tiny budget. The Passion. Grade: D If you want to watch someone be physically tortured for 2 full hours, this movie is for you. it wasn't for me. to me, there was no point, no story, and no reason to spend 2 hours of my life watching that. |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Review: | Steel Magnolias. Still a great chick flick, and we still laughed at the Sally Fields' classic heel-clicking walk down the hospital corridor toward her dying child.... |
| Name: | Jackie |
| Name: | Steve A |
| Review: | Movies:
Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Grade B Interesting 60's British film with Richard Attenborough that starts very slowly with a man and wife bickering, but then becomes tense and interesting when we discover it's all about a kidnapping. |