Halloween |
Halloween II |
Halloween: H20 |
Hannibal |
Happiness |
Hard Rain |
Hardball |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
The Haunting |
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not |
Hearts in Atlantis |
High Noon |
High Plains Drifter |
Holes |
Hollow Man |
Holy Man |
Home Alone 3 |
Home Fries |
Hope Floats |
The Horse Whisperer |
House of the Dead |
The House on Haunted Hill |
How the Grinch Stole Christmas |
The Hunted |
Hurlyburly
Halloween (1978)
(R)
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A madman has escaped from a mental institution and wanders back to the city where he had killed his sister when he was 6. He then decides to kill Laurie Strode and her friends, who happen to be babysitting some kids on Halloween night. Although I find this kind of thing frightening in real life, watching it play out on screen has never really been very scary to me. However, I did find it mildly entertaining none the less, with help from the good acting and character development. I am now convinced that Donald Pleasence is the best actor for dishing out psycho-babble in movies.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Horror Guy's Halloween Horror Page
The Halloween Domain
A Fan's Page
Halloween II (1981)
(R)
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A continuation of the first Halloween movie, this one is a lot bloodier and a lot spookier. The death count sky-rockets compared with the first film, and the deaths are much more gruesome, sometimes repulsively so. The part I found good about the story, though, is that this is the only time I've actually been scared of a villain in a slasher movie. The film really created some good suspense, and the bad guy is actually scary, not funny like the countless rip-offs make there badguy out to be (whether intentionally or not). I really liked how the music didn't always give away what was going to happen next, a rarity in horror films.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Halloween: H20 (1998)
(R)
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Jamie Lee Curtis is back playing her character from the first two Halloween movies in what is technically the sixth sequel in the Halloween movie franchise. The movie was well made and a good finish to the series, but was a little short. The movie was set up well, and moves along great until people start getting killed. Then it seems to be a race to the finish, seeing how fast they can eliminate characters as they go along. The characters could have been a little better developed, also, which is how I think they should have lengthened the movie out a little more. Over all, though, I think is a decent horror movie, and I'm glad they kept it from getting too focused on the blood instead of the characters. Joseph Gordon-Levitt from 3rd Rock From the Sun has a great cameo, although I almost didn't realise it was him.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Dark Horizons's Holloween H20 Page
Hannibal (2001)
(R)
(May 25, 2001)
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FBI Agent Clarice Starling is called back to the case of Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in an attempt to track him down and put him back in prison after he escaped. The film has glimmers of enjoyable content every so often, setting up characters that can become interesting given the right script. However, these glimmers always get squashed by awkward soap-opera-like scenes and other scenes that go where even Freddy Krueger fears to tread, each getting harder to watch than the last up to the extended brain eating sequence at the end. This film tries to be the thinking man's slasher movie, but just ends up as a promising movie gone gross.
Links:
Official Studio Site
San Francisco Chronicle's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Happiness (1998)
(Not Rated)
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This movie gives a group of people the chance to explore some of their sexual fantasies, and then shows the consequences of them. The group includes a group of sisters who just can't seem to get it right with guys, a man obsessed with a woman who lives in his apartment, and a pedafile who falls for some of his eleven-year-old son's friends. A movie that makes an art form out of disfuntion, it can get rather hard to take. It can also be very interesting if you recognize yourself or someone you know in one of the characters. Over all, only for people interested in, shall we say, abnormal psychology, and not for the easily offended.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Hard Rain (1998)
(R)
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This is a generic action movie done right. The acting is great, and the plot had a few clever twists. The story was fairly fast
paced, which is good for this movie. The movie centers on a armored truck driver who's truck gets stuck in the middle of a
flood. A group of robbers try to take the money, so he hides it. The robbers spend the movie trying to find out from the driver
where the money is, while fighting off the other people who want to get their own hands on the money. An all out fun ride.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Radio Free's Review
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Hardball (2001)
(PG-13)
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Keanu Reeves plays a man forced in coaching a minor league baseball team. The film give into all the clichéés they could think off, but the acting and directing manages to give it some emotion. Worth watching if you think you can stomach watching kids try for a come from behind winning season while teaching an adult how to live a perfect life for the hundredth time.
Links:
Official Studio Site
USA Today's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
(PG)
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A boy discovers he's a wizard, and goes to a special school to develop his talents. The movie is made to appeal to a wide range of ages, and lives up to it as well as a movie can. The acting and directing are very good, the fantasy elements of the film are handled very well, and the special effects are made well enough that I was able to suspend my disbelief. Not for people who can't take cute movies, but others should be entertained.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Washington Post's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
(PG)
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They pulled it off again. Taking the film audience back to the land of Hogwarts was handed to all the same people as the first go round, and they somehow pulled it off. A sequel that is just as entertaining as the original without giving in to the trap of remaking the first film. In my opinion, this trap brings down too many sequels, so I get excited when a movie rises above it. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets does this remarkably well. Don?t get me wrong, those who shrugged off the first movie as pointless fluff won?t make any drastic conversions. But for those drawn into the world of Harry Potter, this movie presents an intriguing, enjoyable ride.
Perhaps it helps that the movie had a rather interesting story to begin with, taken form the second of the Harry Potter book series. Home for the summer, Harry Potter is visited by a little creature called a house elf who warns Harry not to return to wizarding school at Hogwarts, since a plot is being planned against him. Eager to get away from his non-wizard (AKA Muggle) family holding him captive in their house, he ignores this advice and escapes with the help of some schoolmates. Arriving at school by way of a flying car, he manages to get in trouble because of the attention this ride drew from Muggles along the way. His situation does not improve as people in the school begin to be turn to stone, and many fingers point to him as the culprit. It is then up to him and his friends Ron and Hermione to figure out what is really happening. Told with less of the Spielberg-like awe of the special effects that would sometimes slow down the first movie, this film keeps the plot moving at a fairly steady pace. The film also skews a little darker than the first movie, especially when presenting the ever-menacing Lucius Malfoy, father of Harry?s school rival Draco Malfoy.
I won?t lie, this movie will most likely be more interesting to people who have already read the book. Although the story presented in the movie follows the book very closely, many details have been left out to keep the movie from going too far over two and a half hours long. This leaves out some of the most interesting parts and juiciest moments, and prevents the characters from being developed as well as in the book. What is there is good, however, and is a very good continuation of the first movie. Although this film, as with the first, can be criticized for following the book too closely at the expense of making a truly classic movie, many fans of the book will like the movie as companion to what they have read, and everyone who enjoyed the first movie with or without reading the book is likely to have a similar reaction to this film. I don?t think you can ask for much more in a sequel.
Links:
Official Studio Site
The San Francisco Examiner's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
The Haunting (1999)
(PG-13)
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A group of people are brought together in a big, spooky house, supposedly to study insomnia. The real purpose is to study the effect of fear on the way people act. The movie is interesting, but some of the actors weren't really able to make me care too much about their characters. The plot was also a little weak, never really explaining what was happening or why it would happen. The special effects were very well done, however, and this is one of the few movies to ever surprise me enough to make me jump in my seat. Overall, passible entertainment, but could use a little work.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Radio Free's Revie
Film.com's Reviews
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (2003)
(Not rated)
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Audrey Tautou, better known to independent film fans as "Amelie", stars in this unique romantic thriller. Angelique is a young art student who is infatuated with an older cardiologist named Loic. Even though Loic is married and has a son, Angelique is convinced that he will leave his family to be with her. What makes this film so unique is that it plays with the audience's preconceived notions. Our initial view of the affair is from Angelique's side, which leads us to feel sympathetic for her and resentful of Loic. Later, we are presented with Loic's angle, which makes us aware of the entire story. Tautou, in another outstanding performance, comes across as both adorable and unsettling. Overall, a very creative movie that teaches us the importance of perspective.
Links:
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
(PG-13)
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Anthony Hopkins is a man with a strong ability to know what people are thinking who moves into a boy's house and inspires him for how to live. Another dramatic Steven King adaptation along the lines of Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me, the actors manage to do a great job and really pulled me into the story. Unfortunately, the story didn't really go to far, leaving a little to be desired plot wise. Overall, good, but could have used more meat in the plot.
Links:
Official Studio Site
USA Today's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
High Noon (1952)
(unrated)
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A sheriff of an old west town decides he must wait and face a man who wants to kill him instead of running away as everyone wants him to do. The movie is interesting and is good at building suspense as to what will happen to the sheriff when the bad guys arrive. The acting and directing are good, but the repeating of the same song throughout the film gets old fast, and the end was sort of a let down for me, with a lot of build up for not much of an ending. Overall, though, good for the time when it came out.
High Plains Drifter (1972)
(R)
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Video Pick of the Week
(5/4/03 - 5/10/03)
A classic western starring Clint Eastwood. The townspeople of Lago fear retribution from three outlaws who are about to get out of prison. When a stranger drifts into town and kills three hooligans, the citizens try to solicit his help to protect them. Apart from Eastwood's presence, this movie boasts an excellent supporting cast, great cinematography, and a plot that offers several exciting twists. Above all, High Plains Drifter is masterfully directed from start to finish.
Holes (2003)
(PG)
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I almost gave up on Andrew Davis. He had a few action movies that made it onto my favorites list back in the early 90s (The Fugitive and Under Siege), then he seemed to stop having fun (the words "Chain Reaction" can still send a shiver up my spine, and Collateral Damage doesn't fare much better). So I'm happy to report he's made another movie I really enjoy.
Holes was adapted from a book that a recent magazine article I read made out to be very popular with children, and many of the parents they convince to read it too. The last time I heard this, I almost had to be dragged to "Harry Potters Anonymous." So, naturally, I had to give the movie a chance, even with Davis' recent film history. And I was impressed with what I saw. Don't get me wrong, the movie wasn't a "everyone will love it" thrill ride or anything like that. I wouldn't be so happy with it if it was. But it did have everything I look for in a movie.
The film is about a boy, the forth in his family to be named Stanley Yelnats. The name Stanley (his last name backwards) has been handed down through four generations now, along with the curse of bad luck picked up by the original Stanley's father. After being found guilty of stealing shoes from a charity auction (they fell on him from out of the sky), he is sent to a juvenile correction center called "Camp Green Lake" where he, along with the other boys at the "camp," is forced by the warden to dig holes in the surrounding desert to "build character." The movie then flashes back and forth between his adventures at center, the story of his great great grandfather's curse, and the story of how a innocent schoolteacher became remembered in history as an outlaw named Kissin' Kate Barlow. These stories begin to intersect as he figures out why they are really digging holes in the middle of a desert.
The movie is great in it's complexity, as well as it's simplicity. The main characters have a real depth to them, and seem to be real kids. Even many minor characters (including the adults) have a depth that is missing from characters in most movies, which moved them beyond simple stereotypes and helped draw me in to the story. The story itself was fairly creative, if not challenging. And director Davis uses his old action experience well, giving the film an exciting, fun spirit which complements the story. The movie is a great ride, and a welcome change from the many overindulgent special effects films that have come out over the last half decade or so. While this movie isn't aimed to impress everyone, those who like it will find it's well worth the price of admission.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Los Angeles Times' Review
Houston Chronicle's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Hollow Man (2000)
(R)
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After he successfully uses a substance he created to make a monkey become invisible and another to change it back to normal, Kevin Bacon decides to test them on himself. After the revisualizing substance doesn't work, he allows his ego to take over and tries to kill the people who know what happened to him, leaving him free to do as he pleases. The special effects are very good, but are mostly the same two things over and over - liquids getting thrown onto the invisible man and a talking latex mask seeming to float in mid air. Beyond that, it's simply a predictable movie about a killer murdering a small group of fairly generic victims one at a time. A decent movie with several good moments, but as a whole it could have been much better.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Robert Horton's Film.com Review
Tom Keogh's Film.com Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Holy Man (1998)
(R)
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Eddie Murphy is a man on a holy quest who stops to help Jeff Goldblum. Goldblum, needing help to boost ratings at his shopping network on TV, hires Murphy to sell the products. The movie is a modern fairy tale, with Murphy teaching Goldblum some important life lessons, and was made very well. If you like the style of film, you'll like the movie. It has some very funny and some fairly touching moments. Overall, a little silly, but the good stuff keeps it entertaining.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Home Alone 3 (1997)
(PG-13)
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Another kids film that leaves a lot to be desired. The only mildly entertaining parts come in the mandatory Home Alone burglar bashing. The rest of the movie is very slow, and somehow the family scenes seem overly contrived, even for a Home Alone movie.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Cinema 1's Home Alone 3 Page
Radio Free's Review
Film.com's Review
Home Fries (1998)
(PG-13)
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Two guys with a helicopter try to scare a man, and accidentally scare him to death. The guys radio signals to each other were picked up by the crew at a burger chain store, so one of them gets a job there to see if any of the employees figured out what they were hearing, and falls in love with one of his co-workers. This leads to several plot twists involving his brother and mother. The movie doesn't have a typical Hollywood plot; it almost seemed like a cross between a romantic date movie and Psycho. The script and directing didn't quite work the way I thought it should, since it seemed to go back and forth between a realistic story and something that could only happen in the movies. Movies usually work best if they pick one or the other. The acting was the high point of the film, the actors making their characters seem very real as much as the script would allow. Over all, the romance works, but the rest of the script needs a little help.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Hope Floats (1998)
(PG-13)
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Birdee goes onto a talk show for a free make-over, only to find out the real reason she's there is so her friend can tell her she's having an affair with Birdee's husband. Birdee then moves back to her mother's house with her daughter, and tries to come to grips with what's happened, while the other people around her try to help her move on with her life. The movie tries to be melodramatic, but fortunatly doesn't force it too hard most of the time. It does well at making you feel what the characters are going through, but that's mostly from the performances of the actors. I especially enjoyed Gena Rowlands as Birdee's mother, but all the actors do well. Over all, a little too much like a TV movie of the week, but a well made one.
Links:
Film.com's Review
Mr. Showbiz's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
(PG-13)
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This movie was very well made. A girl loses a leg in a horse riding accident. Her mom then decides to take her and the horse (who is now very hard to control) from New York and go see a horse trainer in the west. The script is well written, and the directing is great. The movie gives you a chance to see how people can heal after something devastating happens in their life. Very well made.
Links:
San Francisco Chronicle's Review
Time's Review
House of the Dead (2003)
(R)
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A group of teens go to an island for what they hope to be the rave of lifetime, only to have to fight off a whole bunch of dead people. I generally hate to be overly harsh on a movie, but it's hard for me to decide what part of this film I liked the least. The over-the-top yet somehow bland acting, the uninspired Day of the Dead meets The Island of Doctor Moreau plot line and forgettable dialog, or the surprisingly boring action sequences. I think the winner, however, is the footage stolen directly from the video game from which this film is based and thrown in for two or three seconds at a time during the big fights, which not only looked incredibly tacky but just reminded me that the game must have been much more exciting than this film. The only thing I liked was a interesting concept for a rotating camera move during the fights that seems to be inspired by camera work in The Matrix. Beyond that, nothing worth the paper the script was printed on. Incredibly, the movie didn't even seem to lend itself to humor, but just seemed to drone on.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Reel.com's Review
The House on Haunted Hill (1999)
(R)
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A group of strangers are invited to a party in a house that used to be a mental hospital and is now rumored to be haunted. They are told that they must stay the night, and anyone who survives gets to split up several million dollars. I don't usually get very scared by movies, but this one managed to scare me. It helps that it doesn't give away when the surprises are going to come, and so I was never quite sure what would be around the next corner. The actors were able to really flesh out the characters, and everyone involved helped to give the film a very eery feel. A fun suspense movie.
Links:
Official Studio Site
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
(PG)
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Jim Carrey plays the Grinch in this live-action adaptation of the book. The movie is another big budget excuse for Carrey to run around and make funny faces, but also manages to have several messages about how we live life. Unfortunately, the humor and look of the movie are the primary focus. While the humor is never really strong enough to make the movie very memorable, the movie looks good, but fairly similar to the animated version of the story.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Robert Horton's Film.com Review
Sean Means' Film.com Review
Roger Ebert's Review
The Hunted (2003)
(R)
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Few movies pull off the continually intense chase very well. Even the better chase movies, such as The Fugitive, break up the intensity and give the audience a chance to relax or even laugh. Keeping people's interest with a continuous intensity level can be incredibly hard to do, but when it succeeds, can be very rewarding. This was the case with The Hunted. Even though it was layered with clichés, director William Friedkin managed to keep the story from being dragged down by them, and allows the story to develop as an interesting cat and mouse game.
Benicio Del Toro plays the younger, almost robotic military killer on the loose in the general population, and, in a roll sounding incredibly similar to his role in the Fugitive (coincidence?), Tommy Lee Jones is the older instructor attempting to find and stop him. The chase plays out over the entire movie, until the inevitable climatic battle between the main characters. Yes, I know we've all been there and done that. But this film proved to me that movies don't necessarily have to be original to hold my interest. Although the clichés keep it from becoming more than simply a intense ride, this is a ride I can recommend to action/adventure fans. Just be warned, the gore isn't too prevalent, but may be a little much for some.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Entertainment Weekly's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Hurlyburly (1998)
(R)
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A mentally exhausting film, this movie focuses on a group of four men who give us a constant and very chaotic stream of ideas and explanations about their experiences with each other and the occasional women in their lives. The movie seems to pick out two very eventful days in their lives one year apart from each other, and crams in as many emotional events as possible for the guys to try to analyze. The result is very chaotic, but is a mildly entertaining way of listening in on other people trying to make sense of the world. The movie is well acted and directed, but doesn't really let us in to who the characters are, just what they think. Over all, decent (if you don't mind all the profanity, drugs, and sex talk), but the script could have helped me care about the characters a little more by included a little on the outside lives of the characters, not just their deep life-defining lectures.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Mr. Showbiz's Review
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
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