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Never Been Kissed [1999]

starring: Drew Barrymore, Michael Vartan, David Arquette, Molly Shannon, Leelee Sobieski
directed by: Raja Gosnell

June 19, 2000
Nice easy to watch film, passes the time and a bit more. Drew Barrymore, I find, is sweet and appealing as an actress but never too much, can usually enjoy watching her, and that is the case here too. She carries the film along, and David Arquette is good fun as her brother. Enjoyable and with a happy ending but not too sweet, just.

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Talladega Nights [2006]

starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan
directed by: Adam McKay

January 15, 2007
Some of the funniest bits I've seen on film recently. Also has the fella from Borat in it. What more do you want?

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The Hours [2003]

starring: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson
directed by: Stephen Daldry

November 17, 2003
The attempt at justifying the dumping of a child at a hotel is a particular low point in this film, which -for me- drags dreadfully. My only sympathy lay with the chap who (forced by circumstances, it appears) jumps out of a window - seemingly a victim of fortune, the other actors/actresses and the author.

I noticed that one 5-star review referred to the emphasis on every action - including the quality of the acting in even basic activities like turning off a light. Maybe it's a sad reflection on myself that I'm not impressed by such details, nor by the time-shifting and mingling of a range of character traits. The attempt is to make links between a range of women, but they are all negative, depressing links - offering no glimmer of hope. ... Read More:

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What's Eating Gilbert Grape [1993] (Johnny Depp, Leonardo Di Caprio, Juliette Lewis)

starring: Johnny Depp; Juliette Lewis; Mary Steenburgen; Leonardo DiCaprio; John C. Reilly; Crispin Glover

March 27, 2006
I would put this film down as one of the great understated classics of the 1990's. It is a simple story of Gilbert ( Depp ) who lives in a hick town with nothing to do, very little aspiration, and is stuck in time. He has a larger than life family consisting of an older brother who has left the nest, an older sister, a brat teenage sister and Arnie his mentally handicap brother. His mother who is actually played by a lady who had never acted before is after years of depression, from her husband's suicide has become obese. The story focuses mainly upon the two brothers.
Gilbert feels trapped by this constant attention of Arnie, so when Lewis's character who is a traveller comes along, Gilberts world has a shining star in it once more. This is a wonderfully ... Read More:

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The Perfect Storm [2000]

starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, William Fichtner
directed by: Wolfgang Petersen

November 27, 2000
This film is absolutely abysmal. They know i giant storm is out there but those fish just have to be caught. The moments of sentiment between the fishermen and their wives are utterly unconvincing and when the storm finally arrives its a complete disappointment. I love extreme weather conditions (in particular large waves) and was hopeful of at least some good effects and late drama in an otherwise hopeless film but even the perfect storm itself was a disappointment. The camera flicks from a computer generated wave to a boat where it looks like stage hands are just throwing buckets of water over the cast the back to the CGI rubbish and so on with occasional corny lines and cast member dying to mix it up. The idea for this film is great and it could have been so good ... Read More:

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Boogie Nights [1998]

starring: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham
directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

May 21, 1999
Ok before i start my review of this movie/DVD please note that the comments other people have made about the aspect ration being messed up are wrong! I found no problem what so ever with this disc and there was certainly no "oogie Nights" at the start!
Now onto the movie....
This film rightly deserves to be called a classic. Why? Becuase it's unique. There have been a few imitations (Wonderland is one) but non have ever come close to the sheer power and honesty of this movie. Many people see the porn industy as glamour and non stop partying. But as this movie proves there is much more to it. These people have lives and, just like you and i, they have problems. The film starts off charting the rise to fame of "Dirk Diggler" the new boy in the porn industry. And "rise" ... Read More:

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Chicago [2002]

starring: Catherine Zeta Jones, Dominic West, Chita Rivera, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere
directed by: Rob Marshall

March 03, 2008
Ok before i start my review of this movie/DVD please note that the comments other people have made about the aspect ration being messed up are wrong! I found no problem what so ever with this disc and there was certainly no "oogie Nights" at the start!
Now onto the movie....
This film rightly deserves to be called a classic. Why? Becuase it's unique. There have been a few imitations (Wonderland is one) but non have ever come close to the sheer power and honesty of this movie. Many people see the porn industy as glamour and non stop partying. But as this movie proves there is much more to it. These people have lives and, just like you and i, they have problems. The film starts off charting the rise to fame of "Dirk Diggler" the new boy in the porn industry. And "rise" ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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The River Wild [1995]

starring: Meryl Streep, Stephanie Sawyer, Joseph Mazzello, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Hoffman
directed by: Curtis Hanson

May 31, 2002
Film starts with a disintergrating family unit. Workaholic architect dad ignores and is irritated by his family, so that all laughing stops when he gets home from work. He never joins in the fun and cancels holidays. Wife Gail(Meryl Streep) believes their marriage to be over as he disappoints their young son yet again, cancelling a family trip. However mother and son set off on their own to navigate a river by dinghy that Gail knew as a young girl (she had even worked as a river guide). As they are about to set off the son makes friends with another group of three men, who are going on the same journey on the river. One of them (Kevin Bacon) starts flirting with Gail. Just then, unexpectedly her husband turns up to join in with the trip after all. The thrills begin as the ... Read More:

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The Thin Red Line [1999]

starring: Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, George Clooney

June 12, 2000
I can only assume that the folks who give this a low rating were looking for some straightforward blood and guts (of which there are plenty) but did not have the sensibilities required to deal with a movie which, first and foremost, is about a man determined to retain decency and a true love of humanity in circumstances where these things are all but impossible. It shows more terror than heroism, and what heroism is shown is shown in small and usually futile episodes.

Another theme explored and made clear in a way that no other war film I have seen manages, is how the pressure was applied down the chain of command, finally ending in terrifying and sometimes paralysing decisions to be made by the NCOs at the sharp end. In real war, command is ultimately about bullying ... Read More:

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A Prairie Home Companion [2006]

starring: Woody Harrelson, Lindsay Lohan, John C. Reilly, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen
directed by: Robert Altman

June 25, 2007
I love country music, Johnny Cash, Willie Waylon, Merle, Neil Young etc. and I thought that Prairie Home Companion would be similar to O Brother which is the best and funniest country film I have seen.
What a letdown this film was, it should have been excellent judging by the top cast and producer, but was marred all the way through by a bad script and cringeworthy performances. If I could have done I would have given this piece of complete boredom 0 stars.