I haven't seen a whole lot of films this year (partly because of time, partly because of the sheer amount of junk released).

The Passion of the Christ--Emotional roller coaster of a film that is ultimately uplifting. A powerhouse performance by James Caviezel and fine acting all around, the film transcends any notion of controversy in my opinion. Occasionally a tad "what the heck?" and sometimes TOO emotionally stacked, but great film. A

Kill Bill Volume II--Better than the first one with more emphasis on plot and character development instead of stylishness. David Carradine delivers an awesome performance and there are many memorable set pieces. A-

Spider-Man II--A tad too long and sort of herky jerky, but a very good and entertaining superhero epic. The performances are well played and the film has great resonance, but there's a lack of freshness here that all sequels face. B+

Anchorman--Enjoyably dippy film that gets along nicely on the comedic power of Will Ferrell, although there are some nice satirical moments on local news. An insane guilty pleasure of a film, although I'm certain that some elements will not hold up to repeat viewings. B

Dodgeball--One of those movies where you laugh and generally feel bad about laughing. Vince Vaughn's inability to act and Ben Stiller's inability to not overact are the major problems, but there are some well chosen cameoes, some instances where the movie stops making obvious jokes and gets very creative, and an energetic supporting cast put the movie over. B-

Troy--Enjoyable enough but very silly. Brad Pitt is so-so and the film's perversely humorous altering of the Iliad is either amusing or blasphemy. Lot of rich, fruity dialogue, much of it spoken by Brian Cox. The Aeneas cameo is worth the price of admission. C+

In short:

Jersey Girl: A
Kill Bill Vol II: A+
Spider-Man: A+

And that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get to see at least one more moive before year's end.

Here we go:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A-
Hellboy: B+
Kill Bill Vol.2: A
Van Helsing: C-
Shrek 2: A
Harry Potter 3: B-
Fahrenheit 9/11: A
Spider-Man 2: A
King Author: D
Catwoman: F
Thunderbirds: F
Donnie Darko: Director's Cut: A
The Village: C
Open Waters: A
Alien Vs. Predator: B-

Looking foward to later this year: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Saw, The Machinist, Team America, Man-Thing, The Incredibles, The Aviator

More Reviews

The Incredibles: A corker of an idea with an interestingly esoteric yet well chosen voice cast (Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee? WTF?). Film is eye-popping to be sure, but at least for me, not as emotionally fulfilling as the other Pixars. B+

Collateral: Neato suspense film that can't decide if it wants to be a thriller or something bigger. Foxx and Cruise are excellent and the film is very entertaining, but the ending seems a tad too contrived. B+

Cellular: A wisp of a premise that manages to be reliably entertaining. Not the best cast in terms of acting talent, but that's okay in a movie like this because they're playing stereotypes anyway. Good popcorn film. B

Miracle: Nice, simple film that does what it promises to do. Kurt Russell does nicely understated work and the hockey sequences are still thrilling. Resists getting too cheesy. B

The Life Aquatic: Entertaining to watch throughout, but the film ultimately leaves you like Zissou himself: unable to feel emotion. It's funny but not THAT funny, interesting but not THAT interesting. It's just weird. B

Ray: A bravura job by Jamie Foxx (the whole cast, really) and getting to listen to Ray Charles songs for 2+ hours make this a worthwhile film. One could prefer a less choppy version of Ray's life (racism? We'll add that, too), a less melodramatic version, and a less contrived version (Quincy Jones!). But this is okay. B

The Ladykillers: Some funny set pieces and a generally amusing cast (J.K. Simmons and Tom Hanks are the standouts) are offset by a completely offputting (and unneeded) never-ending stream of profanity, some of which is admittedly funny. I'm not really a prude when it comes to swearing, but it sort of ruined the mood after a while. B-

Garden State: A fine entry into filmmaking by Zach Braff; I'm certain he'll get his groove even better as he goes on. This is a pleasant slice of life that suffers from "artiness" and "cuteness," meaning I could identify with it until Braff got too arty and cute. Nice try. B-

National Treasure: One lauds the attempt to make a family-friendly adventure film, but it really boils down to Nicholas Cage solving puzzles and running. Sean Bean, for some odd reason, isn't a despicable enough villain, and while it's nice to see old pros like Caine and Voight, one would also prefer a better Team Cage than Diane "Troy" Kruger and Justin "Smart Aleck" Barda. B-

Saw: Undeniably creepy premise with some great horror scenes, even playing off typical cliches. But after a while, it becomes a "plot twist for the sake of plot twist" kinda thing, and some of the performances could use some work. C+

Alien v. Predator: About as good as one would expect for a movie based on a computer game. Certainly doesn't waste time, although any suspense is somewhat neutered by the film's eagerness to get to the killing. C+

The Forgotten: A okay premise which obviously nobody bothered to take to anything resembling a conclusion. Yawn. Takes deux ex machina to a very new level. C-