The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Wow, wow, wow. This was listed as one of the top five scariest movies according to the American Film Institution, and while it wasn't edge-of-your-seat scary, it certainly was a CREEPY movie! Anthony Hopkins did a superb job playing Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster was very interesting in her role as well. One of the things that creeped me out the most was the general sense of inevitability. You just KNEW Lecter was going to escape. Obviously, this movie is not gonig to be for the squeamish. There are a lot of "Oh, yuck!" moments in the film. But did I like it? You bet. 4.5 stars.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Ok, let me just say right off the bat that I was never all that crazy about the books, so while others were breathlessly awaiting this movie, my reaction was more along the lines of, "Oh, sure, I guess I should see that eventually." So when it came to the cheap theater, I decided to actually go watch it. And my reaction coming out was pretty much the same as it was going in. I was NOT blown away by this movie. Although it was beautiful visually, there was nothing that really caught my attention. And I was not all that fond of Aslan's "buddy buddy" image. Still, it's probably worth seeing, especially if you're already a fan. 2 stars.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

I actually went into this very unsure. The few things I'd heard about this movie made me very wary. I bewared, I bewared, I was a very wary bear. But anyway. Despite loving Tim Burton and loving Johnny Depp, I was worried they'd take my beloved Chocolate Factory story and turn it into something ridiculously modern and stupid, a la Ella Enchanted. It was modernized a bit, but it somehow managed to keep the utterly whimsical feel of the book. Freddie Highmore annoys the heck out of me, but Johnny Depp more than made up for it with his marvelous portrayal. I can't think of any other actor who could have pulled that off as brilliantly as he did. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie - I found it fun, albeit a little loony. And I must say, it's the only movie I have ever seen that was rated PG for "Quirky Situations". 3 stars.

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

Wow. I had such difficulty sitting through this movie. I know people raved about it, but it was SO slow and rambly! It had nothing to do with the fact that it was in another language - I like watchng movies in Spanish! No, it was the movie itself that I was struggling with. It was basically Sideways, except political and not nearly as interesting. With three motorcycle crashes in thirty minutes. 1 star.

War of the Worlds (2005)

I didn't think this was nearly as stupid as everyone seems to think it was. Silly, yes. Mindless, definitely. But stupid? Not entirely. I thought it was a pretty decently done mindless flick. The only thing is, it wasn't jovial enough to be a popcorn flick, nor was it intelligent enough to be a good serious flick. It definitely didn't fit any genre, so I think people who went with genre expectations would definitely be disappointed. I certainly didn't mind it, though. 2 stars.

Batman Begins (2005)

Ah, the good ol' Batman franchise. For some reason I've never been enthralled by Batman, although I really SHOULD be, seeing how dark it is and how, really, Phantom-like it is. Except Erik's obviously not fighting for justice. Nor is he a billionaire playboy. But whatever. I only actually saw the first Batman movie, but when this one came out people were raving about it so I figured I'd check it out and, really, I'm very glad I did. It was action, sure, but it really was very much about the drama of the situation. Plus, hallucigenic (sp?) drugs are WAY SCARY. Whee. Christian Bale was fantastic as good ol' Batman, too. Definite kudos to him. The movie wasn't quite as dark as I expected (surprising since it was directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan - director of Memento, Insomnia, and Following, all very dark movies). Quite well-done, however. I'd recommend it, you bet. 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.