This teenage nostalgia flick of graduation woes is best viewed by generation X-ers only. It's laughable, but only because it's relatable. So what's incomprehensible comes off as plain stupid. Not as good as another teen-star-filled counterpart, Clueless, Can't Hardly Wait which is about a class of 1998 graduates, is probably watchable only by class of 1998 graduates (plus or minus a few years). (I pity a movie that targets only such a speck of an audience.)
GRADE: C

Robert DeNiro scared the crap out of me as he stars as Max Cady, an ex-con seeking revenge on the Bowden family (Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and daughter Juliette Lewis.) This movie is very eery and somewhat disturbing, with a somewhat suspensful ending. IT's not a bad movie, but I wouldn't recommend it on a stormy night.
GRADE: B

Tom Hanks is superb in this highly innovative (for movies, not tv--since this is post-Survivor) movie about a FedEx employee that gets stranded on an island after a plane crash. Most of the movie is pretty quiet, afterall, he's stuck on a deserted island, but it's interesting and sometimes painful to watch Hanks' character survive off of coconuts, fish, and crab. There's not much I can say about the movie except that if you like Tom Hanks, you'll like this movie. (And who doesn't like Tom Hanks?)
GRADE: B+

This highly enjoyable cat and mouse caper is even more entertaining knowing that it is based on true events. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as teenage con artist Frank Abnagale Jr. with charming allure and smoothness. Tom Hanks is FBI agent Carl Hanratty who devotes his waking hours (and holidays) to catching Abnagale. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can is a fast paced film with a deliciously lucrative performance by DiCaprio.
GRADE: A-

I don't get it. I don't like it. I'm wondering what kind of people might enjoy this movie.
GRADE: F

Remember the 80s? Remember movies that had cheesy lines, mediore plots, and obvious morals and values. Center Stage is definitely one of those movies. I mean this in a good way. Center Stage is about a ballet dancer (Amanda Schull) with bad feet, trying to land a spot in the coveted American Ballet Company. There's more involved: like love interests (Ethan Stiefel and Sascha Radetsky), competition (Susan May Pratt), and supportive, yet rebellious friends (Zoe Saldana). Though Center Stage is not spectacular, it'll make you dance and remember the good ol' days, when movies were mildly made and modest.
GRADE: B

Think James Bond meets Mission: Impossible meets a trio of girls. Charlie's Angels was a fun movie based on the television show. Starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as female agents for a private investigating firm owned by a guy named "Charlie," this movie finds the girls in a pickle of mess. They are trying to retrieve stolen software that might be put to bad use. The plot gets more complex, but honestly, if you're a guy, you're not paying attention to the plot. If you're a girl, you're probably thinking "I want to be an Angel"....or not. In any case, it's got corny or not dull humor, fun fighting scene a la The Matrix, a few explosions, and a car chase. I wouldn't be surprised or bothered if there's a sequel. It's about time Hollywood made a movie with female action heroes that aren't totally dislikeable.
GRADE: B+

Undeniably created for a man, Charlie's Angels 2 is too much giggling, too much unrealistic crime-fighting in too high of stiletto heels. Perhaps I came into this movie expecting to see something believable (the Angels drive a truck carrying a helicopter off a cliff and get into the helicopter and fly off? pfshh!). The premise of this episode (I'm sure there will be more) is the Angels (Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, and Drew Barrymore) recovering 2 rings containing the identities of those under the witness protection program. The rings fall into the hands of ex-Angel, Demi Moore, who plans to sell it off to one of many mob families. I am probably not giving the movie the credit it might deserve, having never seen the TV series, but for me, the movie was too much cacaphony: giggle, kaboom, hi-ya, giggle, bam, AHHHH, giggle, giggle, boom! The end.
GRADE: C+

I've seen the musical and I'd say it's pretty hard to screw up a straight-forward musical. But this one goes the extra step and just explodes with a great cast and excellent sets. This movie doesn't simply put a musical on screen, it REALLY puts a musical on screen. I mean it's got all the great music and acting that will keep audiences glued to everything going on and not simply realizing (I could watch this live....). Ok, so the movie's about Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) who is imprisoned for shooting her lover. In prison, her ambition is to be a bigger celebrity than fellow inmate Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). With the help of a famous lawyer (Richard Gere) and the warden (Queen Latifah), Roxie battles the media and her dreams to become Chicago's leading celebrity. But will she really??
GRADE: A

Chicken Run is a very fun and distinct movie brought to you by the guys who created the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit claymation shorts. Chicken Run is about a coop of chickens who are attempted escapes from their evil owners. Simple plot, funny and punny humor, very fun claymation, and overall cuteness make Chicken Run loveable for everyone. Perhaps on the more softer side, it should be watched with a light heart and willingness to sit among lots of little kids.
GRADE: B+

Chocolat is as sweet, semi-sweet, and dark as chocolate can get. It's got a bit of everything without overdoing it. Juliette Binoche is a nomadic chocolate shop owner whose recent destination is a tranquil, church minded French village. Her flippant and unfamiliar ways upsets the mayor, but she changes many lives for the better including that of an abused wife (Lena Olin) and her landlady (Judi Dench). Then comes the arrival of "pirates" including a handsome Johnny Depp. They bring about even more skepticism from the mayor and ultimately lives are hurt. But will Binoche move again due to adversity or will she finally find a place she can call home? It's a quaint movie that has a little for everyone.
GRADE: A-

This somewhat dull romance movie does not radiate the deep compassion and light comedy that might have been anticipated. Meg Ryan's role as Maggie is not as fulfilling as her roles in Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. Though her character and Nicolas Cage's click well together in the movie, the movie as a whole does not deliver well. It has a novel plot, but I kept feeling that the director could have done so much more with this movie to make it better.
GRADE: B-

Such a well performed mockery of teenage life. Alicia Silverstone is great as a ditzy, materialistic but genuinely good adolescent. I don't know what to say about it, except that its a movie made for anyone, perferably not too out of range with the latest trends and excitements. In other words, if you've lost touch with what's in and out of the '90s, then don't see it.
GRADE: A-

Good action, romance, comedy, suspense film. Mel Gibson was good, but could have been better. Same for Julia. Still, it was a very satisfying movie and it's very much recommended.
GRADE: B

This movie gets really heated in its debates on religion vs. science. I thought it was overall exciting, since it attempts to find life beyond Earth. The movie is a lot of talk, but it gets really exciting toward the end. Perhaps you should see the last half of the movie. I dunno. It was exciting in a philosophical way.
GRADE: B

The Contender is a high-touting movie about politics and scandal and defaming a person. It's also about morals and integrity and standing to your beliefs. Starring Joan Allen as a contender for the vice-presidency since the former vp died. Jess Bridges is the president who wants to appoint her. Gary Oldman is the committee chairperson that wants to bring her down. Christian Slater is part of the committee that wants to get to the truth behind her scandal. It's not a very dramatic movie, and it just barely holds your attention long enough to know what's going on (kinda like watching the news...you get pieces). I didn't like it or hate it. But the way it was presented, it could be a better book than a movie.
GRADE: C-

I have loved Chow Yun Fat for the brilliant acting he executes for the many decades he has been in the Asian movie industry, and he is just as superb in The Corruptor, a movie where two different cultures of police officers come together to fight NY Chinatown crime. However, Chow's acting is just about the only thing holding this quite drab and exaggerated movie together. The plot gets too confusing, minor characters are over-emphasized, and then it just seems to get too long.... And as adorable and talented an actor Mark Wahlberg is (he plays Chow's partner), he paled to Chow's acting. Well, what I'm trying to say is that the movie delivers the action and that Chow was awesome, but the plot is too confusing, everyone in the movie seems to try to outdo the next actor, and it starts to drag. (It's 111 minutes long.) I suggest it for Chow, no more.
GRADE: C-

Great movie based on the Alexander Dumas' book of the same name. Jim Caviezel is surperb as the revenge seeking Edmund Dantes, who is framed by his best friend Fernand (Guy Pearce) who also marries his fiancee (Dagmara Dominczyk). I've never read the novel, the no comparison can be made, but for a movie it was really enjoyable to watch. The plot is good movie material because it's got love, action, drama, and revenge. And it's all filmed nicely. A minor pitfall (though perhaps intended by director Kevin Reynolds) is that some scenes were kinda "fuzzy." Not sure if this was done on purpose, but it would have made the movie seem cleaner. Nevertheless, and enjoyable movie.
GRADE: B+

A quaint yet soap-ish Mexican film, this is the story of a young, handsome priest (Gael García Bernal)who comes to a small Mexican town where religion is intertwined with politics, sex, and ambition. His own crime is breaking the vow of celibacy with beautiful, young, and ironically pious Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancón). The movie's perks is in its real-life surrounding controversy (Catholic church and celibacy issues, political ties to drug lords, etc.), but watching it can be like watching a made-for cable movie. I liked it because of the plot twists. Didn't like it because the plot twists left a sour taste afterwards. I know, I know....that was a controversial statement.
GRADE: B

Not only was this subtitled movie beautiful to watch, it had great fighting sequences as well as romance (key ingredients for filling a theater with males and females). Chow-Yun Fat is a semi-retired martial arts master who retires his sword known as the Green Destiny to his friend. But the sword is stolen by a mysterious thief. In returning the sword, you encounter the artful fighting skills of Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Zi-Yi, and Chow-Yun Fat. It's hard to imagine a love story within this skillfully crafted movie, but there is one and its pretty good too. Directed by Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is filmmaking and storytelling at it's best.
GRADE: A

Very twisted. A little bit slow-paced. And later becoming a tad cheesy. Cruel Intentions, starring Ryan Phillippe (Sebastian) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Kathryn) as conniving step-siblings who try to have fun with sexual conquests and blackmail, is a pretty crude movie, but not fully awful, because there does exist a sappy love story, in which Sebastian falls in love with his latest conquest, Annette (Reese Witherspoon). The dialogue and implications of this movie are very extreme, considering the characters are of high school age. However, it's extremity makes for a pretty new flavor in the trend of monotonously boring, superficial teen-movies these days. Does that make any sense?
GRADE: C-

Very psycho. And not a lot of substance either. Just a crazy teen who loves a guy amd will do anything to get him. The movie can be out of whack (not very smart) and it has a tendency to appear too fake. But...it's a psycho thriller, so anything is possible.
GRADE: C-