A-Movies
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Audition: This
romance-fantasy-horror film is from Japanese director Takeshi Miike.
A widowed man, with the help of his movie producer friend, sets up a phony
audition to meet the woman of his dreams. Notice I put "horror" in
the first sentence as the film goes through a "From Dusk 'til Dawn" transformation
to create some horrific visuals toward the end. Rating 3
out of 4. (1/06/02)
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Ali: This
biopic directed by Michael Mann stars Will Smith as the legendary boxer.
The film is too long (more than 2.5 hours) for the duration of Ali's life
covered (1964 - 1974). The movie is average; definitely not as good
as Mann's "Heat" or "The Insider". Rating 2.5
out of 4. (12/25/01)
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Amelie: This
joyous film is directed by "City of Lost Children" director Jean-Pierre
Jeunet. The plot follows the sweet and naive Amelie, wonderfully
played by Audrey Tautou, as she dispenses her own ideas and reward and
justice, while slowly falling in love. This is the best film I have
seen thus far in 2001. Rating 4
out of 4. (11/17/01)
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Apocalypse Now Redux: This
version of the Francis Ford Coppola Vietnam war classic has 53 additional
minutes. This version is great, but not as great as the 1979 original
release. If you haven't seen either version of this great film, check
it out. Rating 3.5
out of 4. (8/15/01)
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A.I. - Artificial Intelligence: Haley
Joel Osment excels in this film about the first robot programmed to love.
This was Stanley Kubrick's last project and you can feel his influence
in this Spielberg-directed film. Kubrick's vision, which seems great,
is gilded some by Spielberg's happy, other-worldly ending. Rating
3
out of 4 (7/7/01)
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Angel Eyes: Jennifer
Lopez and Jim Caviezel star in this romantic drama about communication,
forgiveness, and acceptance. The characters are true to themselves
and the situations that arise are realistic, something missing in far too
many films. Don't bring any preconceived notions into this film and
you will enjoy its life-like tone. Rating 3.5
out of 4 (5/19/01)
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Amores Perros (Love's a Bitch): This
film tells 3 fascinating stories that are intertwined using a car accident
and dogs (hence the title). This is the kind of movie that needs
to be made more, realistic characters in realistic situations with a tint
of the unexpected. The film is subtitled, but you are reading this,
aren't you? Rating 4
out of 4 (4/21/01)
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Along Came a Spider: Morgan
Freeman and Monica Potter investigate a senator's daughter's kidnapping
in this film. There are a couple of twists in this film that work
o.k. Freeman is good here in this thriller which is a prequel to
"Kiss the Girls". Rating 3
out of 4 (4/6/01)