Analyze This (1999)

This had some good moments that made me smile, but overall my thought was "This should've been much better than it is." It's a good premise, and somehow the individual moments didn't work very well. Lisa Kudrow's character was so underdeveloped that she just felt out of place whenever she did anything that sort of hinted at a personality. Billy Crystal's long monologue at the meeting is incredibly unfunny. And it's sad, because this movie could have been hilarious. However, as I said, there are some very good moments, and it really isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be. Just disappointing given what I was hoping for. 2.5 stars.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Plot: An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.

Wow. This was an interesting movie, although I was really unsure what was actually happening. Heh. Actual plot details baffled me. I'm not sure if this is the same exact animation style they used in Waking Life - if so, I'm getting used to it, because I really liked it here. It felt amazingly real. I kept actually forgetting it was a cartoon. Robert Downey Jr was the most interesting character in the entire movie, no question. It was also one of those movies that even though I wasn't sure what was happening (and no doubt smarter people than me will be able to figure it out) it was still interesting to watch. 3.5 stars.

A Time To Kill (1996)

Plot: A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Except for the ending, which I hardly find just, this was a fairly decent movie - well-acted, melodramatic in all the right ways. I will say I groaned through most of the summation speech, thinking, "What kind of thing is that to do to a jury?" but then there was that final statement that I found very powerful. It honestly made it worth all the previous sap. This movie is also really, really long. But still . . . pretty good. 2.5 stars.

Anatomy of a Murder (1951)

I read the book on my dad's recommendation a few months ago and absolutely loved it. It felt so wonderfully real. So when I noticed this sitting in our local video store I decided I should see it. To my delight it had been only slightly Hollywoodized and only slightly shortened. (It's a good 2 1/2 hour movie.) The atmosphere of the book was kept as was, well, nearly everything else about it. It's a fascinating look into the basic in-and-outs of how a lawyer might defend a guy who HAD committed a murder and probably belonged in jail. No real moral judgments or anything here, just the telling of this case and how it was plotted out. This was a pretty darn great movie. 4 stars.

Along Came a Spider (2001)

Ooh. A nice intelligent thriller. So refreshing. The villains were intelligent, the little girl was intelligent... none of those moments that made me go, "YOU IDIOT! *Why* did you just do that?" I also didn't catch on too early, not until right when I was supposed to. I'm now going to have to look up the first one in the series and see if I can watch that one next. 3 stars.

And Then There Were None (1945)

Maybe it was just me, but this movie made me go, "Huh?" I mean, I can accept changing the book so that we do have someone left alive at the end. I mean, Christie herself did that when she wrote it as a play. But... they changed EVERYTHING. None of those characters I came to know and... well, maybe not love, but at least know... survived the transition to movie. Too bad... because this really is a brilliant story. 1.5 stars.

Another Thin Man (1939)

As murder mysteries go, it was pretty mediocre, but Nick and Nora are so great together and play off of each other so well, it was still incredibly easy to watch. Please note that, yes, this is exactly the same review as I wrote for The Thin Man. With these, you've seen one, you've seen them all - but they're fun anyway. 3.5 stars.

Agent Cody Banks (2003)

Plot: A government agent trains Cody Banks in the ways of covert operations that require younger participants.

Back in April, I heard about this movie, and I thought, "Hmm. That could be either really stupid, or really funny." It was the latter. The key to making kids' spy movies is to not take it seriously. This makes fun of itself with every move. It's always fun to watch movies where you *know* the actors are having a blast playing their melodramatic, overhyped characters. Definitely a great movie. 3 stars.