EDtv |
The Education of Little Tree |
8 Mile |
Election |
Elizabeth |
The Emperor's New Groove |
End of Days |
Enemy of the State |
Entrapment |
Erin Brockovich |
Escanaba in da Moonlight |
Ever After |
Evita |
Excessive Force |
Executive Decision |
Exit Wounds |
Eyes Wide Shut
EDtv (1999)
(PG-13)
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A man decides to allow a TV network to broadcast his life live over television. The movie had a good idea and some great parts, but seemed as if it was trying too hard to show you things that most people have already seen or understand, such as the effects of fame on how you have to live your life, or how what you say can and do can come back to haunt you from time to time. The movie was well thought out and filmed, but never really had any punch for me. Overall it was all right, but it could have been better.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Film.com's Review
Radio Free's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
The Education of Little Tree (1998)
(PG)
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An O.K. movie with a tired plot but good acting. A white boy comes to live with his Grandparents who were raised by Indians.
This movie is only interesting if you haven't seen movies lecture about how the whites took over the Indians' land, ect., before. If you haven't, the ideas will be good grounds for thought. If you have, all the good acting in the world couldn't keep you from
falling asleep during this film.
Links:
Mr. Showbiz's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
8 Mile (2002)
(R)
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When I first heard the idea, I wasn’t holding my breath to see the movie 8 Mile. Yes, I knew Eminem could rap and had even shown creativity with what he had written, but I’ve seen too many people try to be cross over hits in different fields of entertainment and fall on their face. However, my ears did perk up a little when I heard who was hired to help give Eminem his start in the movie business: director Curtis Hanson, who is good at directing gritty but sensational dramas such as L.A. Confidential and The River Wild, and a strong cast including Academy Award winner Kim Basinger and talented young actors Mekhi Phifer and Brittany Murphy. Then I began being bombarded with ads and music from the movie as I attempted to go about life in a collage dorm, and couldn’t wait for the movie to come out so that the sudden overkill could end. So, going into the film, I already had mixed emotions about it, and this hasn’t totally changed after my viewing.
The movie focus on a 20-something white man, and begins with him moving back into his mother’s trailer in Detroit on the side of 8 Mile Road which has become predominantly black. He currently works at a factory making car parts, but has dreams of making it in entertainment as a rapper. Against his wishes, his friend enters him in a rap contest at a local club. The movie then becomes a modern day version of Rocky, with the man who doesn’t obviously fit in fighting the odds and attempting to win a contest that is as much a battle with himself as the people he’s fighting against. During his preparation for the contest, his life starts to fall apart around him, testing the bonds between him and his friends and family.
I did enjoy the movie, even though I came out with the feeling that I had seen it all before. The film almost seemed like a well-made episode of “Behind the Music” without the narration. The characters were all believable, and the most over-the-top roles were taken by actors who could handle them while making them seem fairly down to earth. The only downfall I could find with the movie was that the reaction of his final opponent seemed incredibly out of character, almost throwing off the climax of the film in my mind. Even with this ending, however, I would still recommend the film.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Roger Ebert's Review
Election (1999)
(R)
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A satire of life showing the consequences for what people are capable of allowing themselves to do. The film is about a married teacher who gets involved with another woman while trying to figure how to teach a lesson to a student whom he feels has the wrong attitude for life. The movie is very down to earth with it's satire, but has a very pessimistic view of most of it's characters and seems rather harsh at times. Overall, good for a laugh at the characters' expense.
Links:
Official Studio Site
DVD Review's review
Film.com's review
Roger Ebert's review
Elizabeth (1998)
(R)
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The story of how Elizabeth became queen of England and how she secured her position from the people who didn't want her ruling the country. The acting and directing is great, and really gave me a feeling about what the characters were like. The script, however, focused too much on the sex and violence of what was happening to Elizabeth, and didn't go far enough into detail about what else was happening both in her life and to her country. Overall, an intriguing movie, but it could have been helped by a slight shift in focus.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Mr. Showbiz's review
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
(G)
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An emperor is changed into a llama by a fired assistant, and must rely on the help of a man who's home he wants to destroy to get back to his castle and change back into a human. Not one of Disney's best animated movies, it still managed to be interesting enough to keep me mildly entertained. It is very lighthearted, as if Disney wanted to make it up to people for being so serious in their animated movies lately. It tries to be fun and energetic, and is mildly successful. However, the movie could have used a little more development, figuring out a few really intriguing elements to juice up the movie a bit. As it stands, it is only mildly entertaining Disney fluff without the usual punch they have been working into many of their animated films lately.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Film.com's Review
Roget Ebert's Review
End of Days (1999)
(R)
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Arnold Schwarzenegger tries to save a woman when Satan wants to use her to conceive a child. A lot of running around and big explosions, but the characters aren't really that interesting and the story is rather drawn out. Over all, even when there's a lot going on, not much really happens.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Enemy of the State (1998)
(R)
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A man receives a disk containing video footage of a senator being killed, and the people who killed the senator will stop at nothing to get the disk back. This is actually a very entertaining conspiracy movie, with good action and decent suspense. It could have used some bad guys who weren't quite so stereotypical, but good none the less.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Entrapment (1999)
(PG-13)
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Sean Connery gets back into Bond mode for this film, about a career criminal who helps a police woman, who gets extra income as a thief on the side. This filmed seemed ready at any time to become just another forgettable, generic summer blockbuster, but the people working on it managed to keep it fairly entertaining. This was helped a lot by Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Mask of Zorro) in the lead roles and Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) in a supporting role, all of whom were very good. The direction was also very good, including several action scenes that made me feel like I was actually in the movie. Overall, a fun time burner.
Links:
Pictures from the set
Erin Brockovich (2000)
(R)
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Julia Roberts plays an out of work mother who convinces a lawyer to hire her to work for him. She decides to investigate a case that the lawyer doesn't have much time for, and discovers that it may lead to another very profitable case, if they could find the right evidence. The movie is fairly generic and predictable, but the acting and directing make up for it, creating a mildly enjoyable movie about underdogs fighting against a big corporation.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001)
(PG-13)
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A group of hunters attempt to deal with one of the group who has never been able to shoot a buck. The movie was based on a stage play, and like many plays transferred onto the movie screen, seems confined to limited visual elements and more than enough talk. They obviously tried to make this work for the film, but weren't really able to pull it off. The main problem is that what may have been funny in a live stage production just seems slow and tedious on film. The only times the film really shows a glimmer of inspiration is when they pick up the pace during a few cheap jokes. The rest of the humor is too drawn out to be funny, and the movie suffers for it.
Ever After (1998)
(PG-13)
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This movie presents what a character refers to as the "real" story of Cinderella. It doesn't retell the story the way we've always heard it, it makes up slight variations on the story, making it seem a little more plausible, and managing to make it very entertaining. The characters are very convincing, and the story is fun to watch and easy to follow without seeming mindless. Over all, a good way to escape from the world for two hours.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Evita (1996)
(PG)
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My favorite musical turned movie that I have seen, this movie focuses on Eva Perón as she advances up the social ladder in Argentina and eventually becomes known world-wide as a hero for her people. This movie has some good dramatic moments, and a lot of the music is memorable.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Excessive Force (1993)
(R)
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Thomas Ian Griffith stars as Terry McCain, a cop who beats a confession out of a witness to put a mob boss away for good. The confession is then thrown out of court because McCain obtained it using excessive force (hence the film's brilliant title). When the mob boss is found dead, everyone assumes McCain did it, and chaos ensues. This has got to be one of the most predictable action movies of all time. The "screenplay" is a simply a vehicle to get us from one martial arts scene to the next. When the action stops, the boredom takes over. Even the presence of Lance Henriksen and James Earl Jones can't save this ship. Excessive Force makes Steven Seagal's films seem Oscar-worthy.
Links:
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
Executive Decision (1996)
(R)
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A movie about a group of anti-terrorists stuck on board a hijacked plane, who must get control of the plane before the U.S. government shoots it down killing them and the passengers. The suspense is well-maintained, and the script well thought out. And extra points for eliminating Steven Seagal.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Exit Wounds (2001)
(R)
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Steven Seagal plays a wild cop who wants to get his man at all costs, and is partnered up with a good cop who wants to clean up the streets. The movie is all about getting in as many punches, kicks, and gunshots as they can while sticking with the plot, in other words a typical Seagal movie. This movie is not the most boring film Seagal has ever made, but once you've seen one, you've seen them all, and this one has nothing really impressive to offer.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Film.com's Review
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
(R)
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Stanley Kubrick's last film, with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman playing married psychologists who have mild difficulties after the wife admits to an affair. The movie focuses on the husband's journey of sexual exploration he takes after his wife's admission. More of a movie to get lost in than to watch, the film stays in Kubrick's tradition of trying to convey an overall feeling to the audience instead of just telling a story. This film was very well done if you enjoy the style, but others will just be bored.
Links:
Official Studio Site
The Movie-Page's Eyes Wide Shut Page
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