Courage Under Fire (1996)

This review is a bit last minute, and therefore going to be a bit abrupt, but here goes. Although this movie was done really well and had an interesting plot and was acted well and had good dialogue... I just couldn't get into it. Something just never clicked between me and the movie. I'm not sure what. Maybe I wasn't expecting it to be as much of a war movie as it was. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood. Either way, it was a really good movie but I just personally didn't enjoy it. 3 stars.

Chocolat (2000)

I just finished reading the book, which was rather fascinating, and thought, "How on earth are they going to translate it to film?" Well, they did, and they did an okay job with it, except for the fact that it became a blatant morality tale about tolerance. The book at least tried to be subtle about it. The movie had a 30-second SERMON about it, for pete's sakes. (Worse still, it scoffed at the idea that one can be tolerant if you have religious ideals that don't make sense to other people. Isn't that slightly defeating the point of tolerance?)

HOWEVER, aside from that, it was a pretty interesting story, and I was actually quite impressed with the way that they handled the chocolate in the film. That sounds bizarre, but that was one of the things I was worried about. In the book, so much was about feeling things you couldn't easily portray on film. For the most part, that transition worked. 2.5 stars.

Changing Lanes (2002)

It's getting harder and harder to review movies. It's difficult to find enough to say about movies you LIKE, and I keep seeing good movies. Meh. But, anyway, on to actual discussion of this. This movie was fascinating. Although usually I'm bored by Ben Affleck, he did quite a good job with his character. Samuel L. Jackson was great as always.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the movie was its delving into moral issues without attempting to get preachy at all. Although this movie was advertised as a thriller, it was clearly more drama than action/thriller, as the focus was on the characters, not the tension or the threats. And the characters were marvelous... it was fascinating watching the contrasts and similiarities between them as they tried to exact their revenge on each other, or push each other over the edge.

If you're expecting a high speed action thriller with lots of car chases and gun fights, this isn't what you're looking for. But if you want something to mull over for awhile, this movie will do just fine. 4 stars.

If Only (2004)

Despite it being a Groundhog Day lookalike, I was all ready to see this movie and possibly enjoy it. And for the first, oh, ten minutes or so I did. A little over-the-top at times, sure, a little contrived, but I was willing to suspend disbelief enough to watch it. And then the main plot point happened (the boyfriend relives the day his girlfriend dies) and everything just went down the tubes. I'm not sure whether it was a horrid script or a horrid actor (I've never seen him in anything else), but that boyfriend was probably the least believable character I've seen on screen in a long time. Hammy, making ridiculous accusations, acting the way no normal person would... On careful consideration, I think it must have been at least 3/4 the fault of the script, because the girlfriend seems to go through mad mood swings, too. On that morning she's convinced he's the only one she could ever love, and in the evening she announces, very out of her set character, that she wants to break up with him because he doesn't appreciate her. It also has the bleakest ending of ANY chick flick I have ever seen. Most chick tearjerkers have at least a semblance of hope, or an "Oh, my gosh, that's so sweet," but that final scene of her standing on the mountaintop is one of the most depressing things I have seen in my entire life. Skip this movie. Really. 1 star.

The Out-of-Towners (1970)

I fully expected to enjoy this movie. I mean, Jack Lemmon, Neil Simon, and New York City (albeit only NYC's chaotic side)... what could go wrong? And the answer is, I'm not entirely sure. Like I said, I kept expecting I'd enjoy it and then it just kind of fizzled. I usually love Neil Simon's writing, but here it felt less snappy and more tired. I usually find Jack Lemmon very funny, but in this movie his performance also got tired. I don't think I actually laughed once during this movie... That can't be a good sign. The whole thing felt so unrelentingly BLEAK, too. I don't mind stories all about horrible situations - I adored Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - but somehow this just left me feeling depressed. I noticed almost no background music during the entire movie, perhaps that had something to do with it? It would be interesting to see how the remake compares with this. Perhaps someday. 2 stars.

Just Friends (2005)

Let me start this off by saying I've really liked Ryan Reynolds in the other two movies I've seen him in. (Foolproof and Finder's Fee.) So what happened to him in this movie? I'm not entirely sure.

The movie was a really nice concept, actually. Could have been done really sweetly and made even me think, "Now there's a good movie." However, there were two major flaws: 1) The whole thing was played far too over-the-top, which makes the entire story difficult to swallow in the first place, and 2) The main guy really WASN'T all that likeable. He was rude and manipulative and that doesn't just change in the blink of an eye. I didn't particularly want the girl to end up with him. Whoops.

That being said though, there were a few good moments throughout the film, and it really WAS a nice idea for a chick flick. It just didn't actually work out. 2 stars.

Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989)

What can I say about this movie? Do I rate it low, do I rate it high? (I'll compromise and rate it lowish middle.) It was a truly terrible movie but I laughed so hard while watching it that I actually had fun with it. I might even purchase it. This movie is one of those that is SO bad it's hilarious. The sock puppet piranhas... the people who keep switching sides... the dialogue... oh, goodness, the dialogue. This has been Rinkworks.com's Official Bad Movie for many years, and now I can take pride in the fact that I've seen it and it is every bit as horrible and awesome as they all claimed it was. 2.5 stars.