Jack Frost |
Jackass: The Movie |
Jagged Edge |
Jeepers Creepers |
Jerry Maguire |
Johnny English |
Josie and the Pussycats |
Joy Ride |
Judgment Night |
Jurassic Park III |
Just Looking
Jack Frost (1998)
(PG)
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Singer Jack Frost dies, and his son builds a snowman that resembles him. When the son plays the harmonica his father gave him, the father's spirit magically comes back into the snowman. It sounds hooky, but the film is quite good for people able to get caught up in the story. The acting is good, and the story is very believable, once you get past the living snowman. This is actually a fairly inspirational story about being alive.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Jackass: The Movie (2002)
(R)
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Johnny Knoxville and company present us with a big-screen collection of their hilarious pranks and death-wish stunts. No plot, no storyline, just a super-sized version of what everyone wants to see. As you might guess, the film is preceded by a disclaimer warning the audience not to attempt anything seen in the film. What they neglect to warn you about is the gross-out factor, which I really could've done without. I won't go into too much detail because it makes me gag just to think about some of the scenes; just take my advice: don't plan on eating a meal before OR after you watch Jackass: The Movie. Fans of the MTV show might find some of the material to be rehash, but they'll still get a good laugh out of it.
Links:
mtv.com
Jagged Edge (1985)
(R)
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An female attorney defends a man accused of killing his wife, falling in love with him during the trial. She then begins to suspect that he may have actually done it. The movie is a little bland, but still enjoyable. The acting is good, and the director keeps the pace up enough that it doesn't get too boring. However, a few parts of the film feel a little staged, causing the film to never become as suspenseful as I would have liked.
Links:
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
(R)
(August 24, 2001)
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A teenage brother and sister are taking the long way home through the country when they notice a man dumping what look like bodies into a drain. They investigate, leading to several run-ins with something that wants to eat one of them. Almost just another throwaway teen horror movie, it does have a few halfway decent actors and well directed moments. However, they aren't quiet good enough, or often enough, to make this movie stand out.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Jerry Maguire (1996)
(R)
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This film is good as both a romance and a sports movie. Sports agent Jerry Maguire starts feeling guilty about his job at a major sports agency corporation, and decides to try it on his own. He then falls in love with the only person willing to go into business with him. This movie has some good ideas about life and how people work and live with each other.
Links:
Film.com's Review
Johnny English (2003)
(PG)
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As if the world really needed another James Bond spoof. Rowan Atkinson (who had a bit part in Never Say Never Again) plays a bungling secret agent who must save England from an evil French industrialist. Although this is a well executed film, most of the jokes are either uninspired or way too predictable. Thankfully, the individual actors are entertaining enough to make the movie worth a look. Not a washout, but hardly a revelation.
Links:
Official Studio Site
Roger Ebert's Review
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
(PG-13)
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A band is picked up by a record company agent desperate to find a new hit band to hide subliminal messages in the music of. The movie tries to preach against the tendency of teens to jump on fads promoted by commercial enterprises, which seems out of place in a movie that is designed to attract as many teens as possible into the movie theatre. I might have taken it better if more of the jokes had worked, but I mostly just found myself bored, waiting for the jokes to end (and the movie as well, for that matter). Overall, not a terrible movie, it just really missed it's mark.
Links:
Film.com's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Joy Ride (2001)
(R)
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Two teens, on there way to pick up a girlfriend form collage, get a mad trucker chasing them after playing a joke on him. It has some cleaver moments, but not enough to make it very good. Overall, just a bland teen suspense film.
Links:
USA Today's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Judgment Night (1993)
(R)
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A group of four guy get lost taking a shortcut to a boxing match and witness a drug killing. They then spend the rest of the movie running around the streets of Chicago trying not to get caught by the killers. Although it's been done better before, this is a decent cat and mouse movie which doesn't have many big explosions but is good at creating atmosphere. The performances are good for the material, although Denis Leary is in typical over-the-top mode as the bad guy. The fights are almost believable, and the director does a decent job balancing the story, action, and tension of the movie. Not classic, but a decent movie if you're out of other ideas.
Links:
Film.com's review
Washington Post's Review
Jurassic Park III (2001)
(PG-13)
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A couple enlist the help of Alan Grant (Sam Neill, from the first film) to help find their son who is lost on "Site B" for Jurassic Park. This leads to several incredibly staged scenes of people running away from dinosaurs that are almost too adorable for their own good. These scenes do manage to be funny despite themselves, with the standard bad dialog, contrived plot, and changes in the way characters (and dinosaurs) act that plague many sequels. For a good laugh at a movie's expense, this is the way to go. The film isn't able to do what intended, however, and people who want good action or suspense shouldn't bother.
Links:
Official Studio Site
San Francisco Examiner's Review
Roger Ebert's Review
Just Looking (2000)
(R)
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A teen-age boy is sent to live with his aunt and uncle for the summer. He then has to figure out how to live up to his summer goal of seeing two people making love. The movie is essentially a coming of age period film (set in 1955), and isn't as raunchy as it may sound. It is well acted and directed, and while it may cover ground similar to other movies, some of which were done better, it still manages to have enough that works to keep me entertained. The movie isn't quite as smart as it seems to think it is, but it still has enough emotional moments and laughs to hold it over. Overall, not great, but people who like the type of film may enjoy it.
Film.com's Review
The San Francisco Examiner's Review
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