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A Walk in the Clouds
It's a very scenic film (Napa Valley), but that's about it. The acting is so-so, the plot is dumb, and the casting...well, could have been better. I'm not big on Keanu Reeves (the lead actor in this movie) but that's not the reason I graded this movie so lowly. It's because it's just not a good movie.
GRADE: D

A Walk To Remember
Cheesy, sappy, predictable....'tis a teen movie about love, high school, and the forces that push and pull two unlikely people together. In this melodrama, Landon Carter (Shane West) is the impossibly handsome, popular, devil-may-care boy whose punishment for a badly pulled prank crosses the paths of Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), the sweet, innocent, religious, daughter of the town preacher. Both are paired up by the forces above to bring out the best of each other and falling in love. Unfortunately, unlike most teeny-bopper movies, this on takes a sharp turn and leaves the couple coping with a bitter reality. Based on the novel by Nicolas Sparks (but by no means following it to a tee, which I think they should have), A Walk to Remember (read the book and then mind the title...ahem!) is a sighful movie on youth, love, change, and faith.
GRADE: B

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The Watcher
And we all thought Keanu Reeves was making some better movie choices....The Watcher was a very bland movie that only tried to make itself interesting by using "scary-heart-thumping" music. Other than that, the watcher could have put me to sleep. Well, it wasn't THAT terrible. The plot is about a serial killer (Keanu Reeves) and his investigator (James Spader) and their silly cat-and-mouse-game. The excitement is always whether or not Spader will find Reeves' next victim before the 9pm deadline. It's a thriller without thrilling and a psychoanalytical film without really being very psychoanalytical. The only thing that really surprised me was the length of the movie: barely an hour and a half.
GRADE: C

The Waterboy
The Waterboy is exactly what you'd expect from an Adam Sandler movie: corny yet laughable comedy about a guy with problems. This time Sandler plays Bobby Boucher, a retarded, stuttering, wrestle and H20-loving 31 year-old. After getting fired from one college as waterboy, he gets another job (and another position) at another colelge working under Coach Flein (Henry "Fonzie" Winkler). Bobby also finds love and friends in this cheesy goofball movie that I recommend for Sandler fans (like myself).
GRADE: C+

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Wayne's World
Unbelieveably hilarious! Wayne and Garth are outrageous in this mockery of teenagers. It's truly really funny in the corniest way. Well....there's not much else to say about the movie, except that its funny. Yep!
GRADE: B

We Were Soldiers
About the Vietnam War, We Were Soldiers stars Mel Gibson as Lt. Col. Hal Moore who leads many soldiers into the first battle in Vietnam. Fighting on enemy ground, the movie attempts to take a somewhat unbiased stance of the deadly battle in which many young Americans and Vietnamese were brutally killed. Without remaining too attached to any particular soldier except Lt. Col. Moore, you watch most of the American perspective, but also the Vietnamese's fighting tactics and planning. I found that the drawback of the movie was Gibson, because of his repetoire of films involving a freedom fighter (The Patriot, Braveheart, and even Chicken Run). It's hard to get out of that I'm-going-to-fight-for-my-cause-until-death attitude. I think a movie on this particular war shouldn't give reason to this kind of thinking. Well, whatever your stance on the Vietnam War, the movie does well to focus on the atrocities and unpredictability of battles. Oh, and my other pet peeve was Moore's ability to stand up straight amid gunfire while anyone else who didn't lie flat on the ground got shot! But I attribute this to Gibson's role-making abilities. Though it did lend insight to the Vietnam War, my suggestion is a toss-up.
GRADE: B

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The Wedding Planner
I thought this would be a cheesy movie with an annoying Jennifer Lopez and a dull Matthew McConaughey, and maybe it really is, but I couldn't see any of that. The Wedding Planner was a delight to watch. It made me nostalgic for classic romance movies. This movie has that kind of quality (though not heavily, which is still good), and it makes you somewhat happy, somewhat dreamy, and somewhat sigh-ful. It's about Lopez, a wedding planner, who falls for the groom (McConaughey) of her latest planning and vice versa. But both are in an uncomfortable position to tell each other their true feelings. You can guess what happens, but even up to the last five minutes you'll be pretty unsure of the ending. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie much more than I thought I would. The only drawback was Lopez's ultra-lame "My Love Don't Cost A Thing" song (ugh...terrible grammar in that song!) that played during the credits. Other than that, it's cute, it's crisp(?), it's classy.
GRADE: A-

The Wedding Singer
I love Adam Sandler and the basic nature of his movies! However, the lack of Oscar-worthy substance and superb acting tends to give the movie a dull edge, which, however, can be easily made up by humor. In his latest movie, which takes place in the 1980s (very important to know since the movie's humor revolves around this decade) Sandler is a wedding singer stood up by his fiancee on their wedding day. Drew Barrymore tends tables at weddings and is helped by Sandler with her own wedding plans. But she's marrying a jerk and Sandler knows this. In his efforts to save Barrymore he falls in love with her. You can guess what happens.
GRADE: C+

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What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath is a great getaway into some good psychological, suspense and thriller movies. Michelle Pfieffer plays the perfect wife haunted by someone she may or may not know. Harrison Ford plays the perfect husband, who comforts Pfieffer, but also thinks she's going a bit looney. As Pfieffer probes deeper into all the freakiness going on around her, she discovers a secret that Ford would rather leave "dead." Oooh....very creepy. The movie is a little witty and a lot of scare, mostly the jump out of your seat kind. But the movie only works if you don't figure it out until the end. Otherwise, I'd say it's kinda lame. (UCLA has a cameo!!)
GRADE: B

What Women Want
I'm a woman, and I can sadly say that What Women Want did not offer what I wanted. Okay, now that the pun's been said...I thought this movie was pretty cheesy and predictable. I'll admit the plot's a bit intriguing: a so-called man's man (Mel Gibson) can hear women's thoughts after being electrocuted. So what do you do with this new power? Well...whatever you want, but anyways...it's all a bunch of big name actors (Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Lauren Holly, etc.) trying to make a funny movie that wasn't even that funny. Reminds me of Dr. T and the Women (see my review).
GRADE: D+

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Whatever It Takes
Just cause it's another low-budget, predictable, teeny bopper movie doesn't mean it automatically stinks...or does it? Whatever It Takes is the story of Ryan (Shane West), the nice boy from next door, and Chris (James Franco), the brainless, sex-driven jock who make a pact to set each other up with Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), the nice girl from next door with Chris, and Ashley (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), the ever popular girl of every guys' dream, with Ryan. Simple enough. So is the movie. I wouldn't agree it was the best chosen cast or best acting. And if you're looking for a fun teenage-driven movie, this movie is barely sufficient, since it's low on humor and lacks the usual Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook duo.
GRADE: C

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Splendid film! More old-age films should really be in this kind of format: modern, groovy, and tuney. This version of the classis romantic tragedy is played by Leonardo DiCaprio (What's eating Gilbert Grape? and The Basketball Diaries) and Claire Danes (Little Women, My So-Called Life tv series). They are well casted and give awesome performances. Well, one of the few flaw could have been on Danes' part. A little under and over emotional at times (i.e. the infamous last scene). But a great new approach to a well-known and "routine" play.
GRADE: A-

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The World is Not Enough
Okay....if you're not here to stare at James Bond (Pierce Brosnan, I think, makes the best looking one) or a Bond girl (there's Christmas Jones played by Denise Richards and Electra King played by Sophie Marceau), then I can honestly say that you're wasting your time (over 2 hours of it). Nevertheless, for those inquiring minds, this 007 adventure has a plot that's almost as complicated as Mission Impossible (remember that ridiculous storyline?): Marceau's character's oil-drilling father has died and now her life seems to be in danger. Who's trying to kill her? Her old kidnapper? Bond has to figure this out, and a whole bunch more, and then deal with everything he figures out. Along the way, he'll kill his enemies, and sleep with the ladies. Yes, very exciting stuff indeed....
GRADE: C

The X-Files
Being an avid X-Files fan, I came into the theater with a big affinity for the movie, but also with big expectations and slight apprehension. But the movie delivers extremely well. Chris Carter has done a fine job on the big screen as he most often does on the small screen. His intricate, but not hard to follow plot, is a combination of everything that the 5 season long sci-fi show contains: government cover-ups, Mulder's (David Duchovny) suspicions, Scully's (Gillian Anderson) sci-fi jargon, those evil, old men, and seemingly "little, green men" (though a bit mutated in this film). I was scared that Carter would be forceful in making the movie a success, but in fact, the movie's modest execution makes for a delightfully suspenseful two hours. (Why the A-? If you know anything about Mulder and Scully then your opinion may differ on what becomes of "them." Can you see I'm trying not to give everything away?)
GRADE: A-

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X-Men
Comic books to silver screen movies have not always been met with lots of enthusiasm. Afterall, the development of such well-established characters can be quite tricky. But director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) can be well commended for his efforts. X-Men was extraordinary, as are their characters. I didn't grow up religiously on the comic book or cartoon, but I have a general knowledge of who they are. The plot of this fun-for-all-ages movie is simple: stop Magneto's (head of the "bad" mutants, played by Ian McKellan) from his sinister plans. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) leads the X-Men: Wolverine (portrayed by a very very good Hugh Jackman), Cyclops (James Marsden), Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Storm (Halle Berry), etc. The beauty of this movie (and I thought it was quite beautiful) lies in it's characters and visual effects. I don't want to overhype the movie, because the truth is, the movie makes you feel like something's lacking (like...perhaps a sequel). I found myself craving to watch more, but I guess I'll have to make do with 2 hours of X-Men and pray for a sequel to come out soon. All in all, I loved it, and you probably will too.
GRADE: A-

X2: X-Men United
Awesome. Great. Leaves you craving more. (And you do know you will get more.) X-Men unite (both the good and evil) to face the mutant-hating Stryker. And what's the back story to Stryker? The storyline is incredible (it's a comic book remake afterall), but it's the directing and casting that is pure magic. Bryan Singer (who did the brilliant Usual Suspects) compels each actor to dig deep into the characters that were laid out in the comics. That's how you end up with a movie with equally stellar actors that don't outdo one another. Stars Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellan, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Kelly Hu, among many others!)
GRADE: A-

XXX
Vin Diesel as a thrill-seeking daredevil turned government secret agent is one heck of a plot. Surprisingly, it works very well if all you're going for is an action film with guns, explosives, cheesy lines, and fast cars. I thoroughly enjoyed this testosterone generated movie because, well, I think Vin Diesel is cool. Also starring Samuel L. Jackson and Asia Argento, XXX is pure movie fun without much else.
GRADE: B

You've Got Mail
Though the movie starts out with too many characters that don't really help to develop the main characters Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), it does start to focus more on them later on; which is a good thing considering that the duo of Ryan and Hanks make any romantic-comedy enjoyable. The plot is about two rivaling bookstore owners that have e-mail pals without knowing that it is really each other. You'll enjoy it because it's cute. You might dislike it because it starts to drag after almost two hours (this romantic-comendy is, in fact, two hours long!). Partial options goes to whether you think this movie being similar to Sleepless In Seattle is a good or bad thing.
GRADE: B

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Zoolander
Holy crap, this movie was funny!! Ben Stiller is Derek Zoolander, the brainless super-male-model of the world whose very lack of intelligence, makes him the perfect candidate to become an assassin for fashion designer Mugata (Will Ferrell). Silly as it may sound (and the movie is rather silly, cheesy, and all that lame stuff that I ACTUALLY enjoy most), Zoolander is a fun movie to watch. If you want deep meaning to the movie, Zoolander actually does some political exploration into the garment/child labor/modeling industries. Also stars Owen Wilson as Zoolander's model nemesis, Milla Jovovich as Mugata's righthand-woman, and Christine Taylor as the nosy Time magazine journalist and love interest of Zoolander. There's also a vast array of celebrity cameos. I liked the movie because of and despite it's dimwittedness.
GRADE: B

W | X | Y | Z
For movies A-B click here For movies C-E click here
For movies F-G click here For movies H-J click here
For movies K-L click here For movies M-N click here
For movies O-Q click here For movies R click here
For movies S click here For movies T-V click here

NOTE: A grade of A is a highly recommended film for everybody.
A grade of B is a moderately recommended film for anybody.
A grade of C is generally geared toward a particular fan.
A grade of D is an unrecommended film.
A grade of F is a really bad film that is recommended for your extremely bored amusement.

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