Chain Reaction (1996)

Something about this movie just never caught on for me. It had the potential to be a silly-and-utterly-typical-but-well-made action flick. But it was only the first two attributes. I kept waiting for it to get better or more interesting, or even to involve a chain reaction, but it never did. This was two hours not completely wasted, however. I now know not to watch this movie again, and that I'd hardly recommend it to anyone. 1 star.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Plot: After a brilliant but asocial mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn to the nightmarish.

Wow. I can very much see why all the hype about this movie. It was pretty phenomenal. Russell Crowe turned in a great performance, his character was very believable. I felt like I was gaining great insight into the mind of someone who deals with a problem like this. Halfway through I felt that horror realizing that... er, well, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and somehow knows nothing about it, I shan't give away the main plot element. I shall simply conclude by saying it was a truly fascinating movie and had a somewhat very satisfactory ending. And also was a bit creepy at times, which can often be a plus. :-) 4 stars.

All About Eve (1950)

I can see why this is a classic movie. The entire cast turns in fantastic performances, the script is intriguing, the story is compelling... And yet with all that I can't find a *whole* lot to say about it. It was quite generally good, but I can't think of anything specific to say about it. No clue what that means about the movie, or about me. Maybe after another viewing I'd be able to come back and add a few more thoughts. 3.5 stars.

Identity (2003)

Most definitely the best thriller/suspense/mystery/whatever you want to call it, that I've seen so far this year. This is one brilliant movie. Although, I must warn you . . . It's not at first. At first I was watching and was all, "Erm....okayyy....this is typical slasher killer-on-the-loose movie." Except it totally isn't! I don't even know what else to say about it. It's definitely got some creepiness to it - I'm surprised my mom watched it - but is so definitely worth watching, as long as you make it all the way through. 4.5 stars.

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

I had the privilege to see this at a film festival at our community college - "classic sci-fi". This week was a double feature, Attack of the Crab Monsters and Plan 9 From Outer Space.We watched this one first and I have to say, I had a great audience to watch it with. People were yelling out comments left and right. This is a classic bad movie... The monsters don't move their legs when they walk. One monster is destroyed, the people still have no way off the island, and they all cheer like it's the end. A man's greed for oil leads him to be eaten by the crabs. The crabs swallow people's brains whole so they can now think and talk like those people. A few sailors play poker using sticks of dynamite as chips. Goodness. What else can I say about this movie? If you ever get a chance to watch it with a group of loud-mouthed mocking people, DO SO. It should be one of the most entertaining afternoons/evenings/mornings/whatever of your lifetime. 1.5 stars.

Frequency (2000)

When this first came out, several of my friends saw it and loved it, but for some reason I missed it. So now I've tracked it down and finally watched it and... er... I'm not quite sure why it was such a raved-about movie (among my acquaintances, anyway), although it was a pretty decent movie. Plot holes kept jumping out at me making me go, "Wait... wait... what?!" And I've never really been a fan of Dennis Quaid. HOWEVER... it was pretty entertaining for one viewing. I'll never watch it again, though, mostly so I can avoid that unpleasant image of the hand shriveling up. Yech. 3 stars.

Finding Neverland (2004)

Just days after seeing Shawshank, here comes my OTHER favorite movie I've seen thus far this year. This movie is pretty amazing. I'd heard it was good, figured I'd watch it and be all, "Eh... it's a biographical story, not that fascinating." I had forgotten a few things. One: That's Johnny Depp in the movie. He does a brilliant job even in not-so-brilliant movies. Secondly: It's the story of PETER PAN! One of my favorite stories of all time! And third: It involves theater, which will nearly always guarantee a good story for me. I have to admit I almost cried in this movie... no, not any of those heartfelt talks between Peter and James. No, I cried when the orphans were being led in to the theater to see Peter Pan. This truly is a magical story (much more so than that tragedy of a Peter Pan story they did in 2003). I've never liked a biographical "real life" movie so much.