November 21, 1999
Went to see The Messenger today. The story of Joan of Arc. Featuring Luc Besson and Mila Jovovich from "The Fifth Element", which is why I wanted to see this movie. Came out knowing a little more of the story (as interpreted by Mr. Besson) and nearly satisfied with my movie experience. I was a bit apprehensive at the 2.5 hour running time, but the movie moves right along with enough content and twists to keep you interested the whole time. I didn't even notice that my butt had gone numb until the credits started rolling. Even the Monty Python/Private Ryan quality of the battle scenes was most entertaining.

November 19, 1999
Finally watched Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. I enjoyed it. What more can I say? It was definitely an Austin Powers movie with Mike Myers working overtime on a cast of characters. Though it did raise one question. I've seen a gesture in this movie and somewhere else and can't for the life of me figure out where it came from originally. A character will take a swig from a bottle and then pour some on the ground and say "Some for me, and some for my homies". Just where the heck did that come from? I may have to start doing that on my own anyway. Seems like a reasonable gesture.

November 13, 1999
Rented Notting Hill because it was one of those movies I thought I'd rent if I went to the video place and there wasn't anything else I wanted to see. Okay movie. Definitely a "date" movie.

November 12, 1999
Went to see Dogma. Matt Damon, Ben Afflec (?) and a host of others. Certainly not another "Good Will Hunting" but imho, a dang good movie. You see, two fallen angels find a loophole to get back into heaven. But it threatens all of reality, so a group of people are brought together to stop them. Now, this may sound like an offensive movie, even verging on sacreligious, but come on you've got to keep your sense of humor fully engaged whilst watching this movie. There's even a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie, so don't miss that part either. And besides, the people that are offended by this movie are the very people you should watch out for and avoid at all costs. While not attacking religion, or faith, directly, it's more an "attack" on the doctrines that are forced down our throats for various reasons. Now, it could offend you if you're an atheist (maybe), but if you're that sensitive, I have doubts about your atheism. Sure, the language is a little rough..even hear an angel exclaim "Jesus Christ" once or twice..but in the context of the movie it makes sense.

On the other hand, there's a great bit in the movie about how it's so easy to "have faith" as a child. They compare it to a glass of water. When you're small, the glass is small, but as you grow, the glass grows, too. But there's only so much water in the glass. So occasionally you have to re-fill the the glass. I think I'll have to remember that one.

The casting for various parts is even part of the humor in this movie. It just wouldn't work without Jason Mewes and Silent Bob, for example. Over all, I'd have to say the movie wasn't exactly what I expected, but I got what I went for: entertainment. And not brain-numbing mush.

October 24, 1999
I've taken the time to watch some movies over the past month:

Pushing Tin - One of these days I'm gonna learn that when the cover says "in the tradition of" that this movie ain't going to be anywhere near the quality of the movie it was "in the tradition of". I enjoyed Grosse Point Blank tremendously. And I like John Kusack's work. But this movie wasn't nearly as entertaining as Grosse Point Blank. For one, it was straight drama about the life of on of New York's finest air traffic controllers. Billy Bob Thornton plays the new guy who's really better, but more 'seat of the pants' than our hero. Angeline Jolie, the wedge driven into their lives. And the obligatory nudity. mmmmm.

Bolero - yup, that nearly carreer ending flop for Bo Derek. I'd recently watched one of A&E's Biography segments about Bo Derek and realized I hadn't seen this movie. Hey, I'm a guy and seeing Bo Derek naked ain't all that bad. But watching this movie (just the first half for that matter) will make you wonder. But, there were some shining examples of good acting buried amongst all the rubble. I realize Bo truly loved John Derek, but I put the blame for this movie squarely on his shoulders. Somebody out there please give Bo another chance at acting. Please?

American Beauty - this was one of those "spur of the moment" dash out on a Friday afteroon and catch a matinee. But talk about mental confusion. See, I was thinking "American Pie", a totally different movie concept. But once the mental fog cleared, I settled down and watched this movie. By no means a happy movie, I think it should be seen by every suburbanite who's starting to wonder if "this" is all there is. Kevin Spacey kicks ass once again.

My Favorite Martian the remake. I liked this movie. Christopher Lloyd was inspired casting. A purely entertaining movie.

Office Space - mmmm Jennifer Anniston. Though never naked. Blech, the movie.

September 26, 1999
I watched "Cruel Intentions" just because I've become a Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, inadvertanly. And I was surprised to find that I liked the movie. While there's no hope of an Oscar in any of these performances..there was definite potential displayed. Just no booty. It was good to see some of these teen stars have the luxury ? to develop a character in 2 hours and then run with them. Although it was really just a teenage version of Dallas or some such.

On a less intellectual note: If you've ever wanted to see and hear SMG yell "I want to fuck!" this is the movie for you!

September 25, 1999
We watched "Idle Hands". Now this is a spoof of teen horror flicks, and watching with that in mind, it was a fairly clever movie..with lots of "in" jokes. Unfortunately I can't recall any of them at this time. I do see good things for Seth Green, if he can handle the fame and doesn't get stabbed from behind along the way. Maybe that was a bad phrase.

August 13, 1999
watched "Payback".. another Mel Gibson vehicle. Some nice action adventure, and some week laughs..no nudity (dangit) and Debra Kara Unger ends up as a corpse early on in the movie...what's up with that, anyway?

July 30, 1999
Watched "October Skies". This is a good movie, based on a true story. Homer Hickman and the Rocket Boys. "Coming of Age" in a coal mining town in West Virginia and looking for a way out. And the early days of Space Flight. (well, it all takes place shortly after Sputnik was launched). I highly recommend seeing this one. Although, I wonder if people that didn't grow up during the early days of the space program will enjoy it as much as I did. Or the people that just didn't give a damn about space, period. Oh well.

July 11, 1999
Watched "Waking Ned Devine". An Irishman (Ned) dies from the shock of winning the Lottery. Two of the local boys attempt to claim the prize. Now this is a village of 52 adults so everyone knows everyone. Of course, they end up having to convince the whole town to participate and they do divvy it up evenly. Early on in the story, I was convinced that the guy who showed up to handle the legalities of the claim would turn out to be a shyster, and the movie would have turned out to be a feel good story about the town coming together and learning that was better than winning. But no, he was official. This has been advertised as the breakout comedy of the year, but I'd call it one of the better "feel-good" stories of the year. A good movie for a Sunday afternoon.

July 10, 1999
Watched "Clerks" finally. Let me dig out my "buzz word" thesaurus. Oh yeah, here it is: "querky". Holy cow! Talk about an off-the-wall look at life. We follow a day in the life of a convenience store clerk and a video store clerk. I should hope my days never get that odd. Filmed in black and white. Mature audiences, at least. I think Dante is my hero. I've had friends like Randall. Silent Bob rules.

July 9, 1999
Watched "Patch Addams" finally. This is a really good movie. And it's based on a true story. Man, the stuff the poor guy had to go through to get to where he is today. And I liked the thought of injecting a little humanity into the medical proffession. Of course, that makes it somewhat a work of fiction in this day and age of doctors attempting to unionize "to make things better for the patient". Hah! But the movie is well worth seeing. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be entertained.

July 2, 1999
I rented "Varsity Blues" and really sort of enjoyed it. I'm certainly no "fan" of James Van der Beek, but he does show tremendous potential as a young actor. And I never was a "jock" in high school. But I managed to suspend my natural skepticism and enjoy this tale of the last 5 games of a high school football team and the core of life-long friends that manage to make something really memorable of their last year together as a team. Ah what the heck: go rent it.

May 29, 1999
Went to see *The* movie. And I liked "Episode One: The Phantom Menace", despite all the hype. Of course, I tried to ignore most of the hype, anyway. I was certainly surprised..all the hoopla about people waiting for days in line and so forth. Here it is Sat afternoon of Memorial Day weekend and spur-of-the-moment I bolt out the door at 12:30 to go catch the 1pm show. I parked right near the doors (pure luck, that) at 10 min. 'til, and still found a seat near the middle, though a little closer than I like. The kids in the theater stayed quiet throughout and damn it was a good movie. Pure Star Wars through and through. But I'll have to go out on a limb and agree with the mainstream: why the hell did Jar Jar Binks get so much screen time. At most he should have been a one-shot character. Maybe it's just George Lucas showing off his special effects. Oh well, the guy did a great job, and I can't wait for Episode 2.

May 17, 1999
Went to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with My Mommy! I sure can appreciate Shakespeare in the modern video format. For that fact alone I recommend the movie. At first, I was amazed that it was a three-hour movie, according to the listing in the paper. As we left, I felt that it must have been entertaining, because it sure didn't seem like three hours. And then I noticed the clock in the car...it was only 2 hours long! But entertaining anyway. Maybe it is as Mom said: "You really have to pay attention to the dialogue to follow the story". They did it in the original iambic pentameter style. Ah, but it is worth seeing while us "normal" people wait for the Star Wars frenzy to die down.

April 22, 1999
I watched "A Night at the Roxbury" featuring the wild and crazy guys of the '90's from SNL. The character's names escape me at the moment. Basically it was a longer SNL skit with dialogue. I didn't laugh as much as I had hoped, but I didn't fall asleep, either.

April 17, 1999
I watched all three hours of "Mee Joe Black" with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Death comes for an old man on the eve of his 65th Birthday, but makes him a deal. Death would like to experience Life for a while. Pitt is Joe Black, aka Death. There are some complications along the way, but in the end, everything works out. It's worth seeing. Just be sure to get a good copy. The first half of the one I watched had video "noise" across the screen at just about mouth level. Not that I need to read lips, but facial expressions do play a part in the movie.

April 7, 1999
Yes, I saw a movie on a Wednesday..and it was good. Saw "The Matrix". I have to agree, it's a great premise. But I also think they took just a little too much time 'explaining' things. But maybe that works better for people that don't understand technical gizmos. But, in my humble opinion it was about 20 minutes too long. But the special effects were damn awesome! Some of the best fight scenes!

Basically, it's a "Technology Gone Wrong" movie. But the good guys triumph in the end. 'course, I'm not gonna tell you what The Matrix is..you have to be shown what The Matrix is. Be warned: it's a graphics and web-goodie rich site. I recommend a 4.+ browser.

Mar 26, 1999
It was a toss up between "The Mod Squad" and "EdTV". But rather than wait an hour, I went to see "EdTV". Granted, I have some interest in seeing this movie because of the supposed connection betwixt webcams, and the premise they hid behind in this movie. First off, "EdTV" has more in common with a FOX network special than the webcams on the WWW.

In short:

• Guy hears of project (audition tapes to be the guy on the show) and thinks it's stupid, doesn't want to be a part of it.
• Guy wins 'cause of his on-air honesty.
• Guy gets girl and learns a lot about the people around him. Some of it he don't like
• Guy loses girl (for a bit), is tempted by usual guy stuff (hot babe that pretends to want him)
• Fate saves guy (and he squashes the cat)
• Guy realizes he's signed a deal with the devil
• With a little un-expected help from the inside, Guy wiggles out of deal with the devil and gets the girl back, too
• the end

Mar 12, 1999
Hot Damn, the New Trailer looks even better on the big screen!.

Went to see "Wing Commander" today. I have to repeat myself here, but it's all a matter of expectations, I suppose. The local paper gave it a D+ review. I didn't expect much. It stars a couple of the new Teen Dreams that should stick to Teen Scream movies. But I feel I got my matinee price's worth. It was entertaining, if a bit predictable. And they could have done without all the romantical stuff.

In the area of "expectations", I expected more from Analyze This, that's why I was more disappointed by that movie, than this movie.

Mar 11, 1999
Neener, neener..I saw the new Episode 1 Starwars Trailer, twice! On Television. The Phantom Menace is gonna Rock!

Mar 8, 1999
Well, "Analyze This" was pretty disappointing, but still worth watching. Just wait for it on video. I mean, you've seen the funniest moments in the commercials/teasers for the movie. And I have to agree with the newspaper's review this time. The movie couldn't quite make up its mind whether to be a comedy, or a drama with some funny moments. So it sorta of stumbled about in between. But its definitely worth watching just to see Robert Deniro and Billy Crystal work together.

Mar 5, 1999
Okay, okay.. "Practical Magic" is a chick flick, no doubt. Or an excellent date movie. But it was still a pretty good movie. Not oscar material by any long shot, but very watchable. Say Saturday or Sunday morning right after breakfast. A consistent story, yet not even what I expected after watching all the teasers on TV and at the movies. And I have to admit that the whole time I was watching the movie, I kept thinking of a Bullock/chunkking/Kidman sandwitch. They both look very fetching in this movie.

Mar 4, 1999
"Ronin" was described to me as one long car chase. Now while there was much more to the movie than the car chases, the car chases were wonderfully choreographed! DeNiro did a great job as a former spy. I've always liked Jean Reno (The Professional, if you happen to recall that movie). And Natascha McElhone is the beautiful, yet duped in the end, love interest. This story intends to be about masterless spies that work for the highest bidder. And there is a bit of intrigue, and spy-craft....not knowing just exactly who is who until the very end. It's no masterpiece, but it's very watchable.

Feb 16, 1999 - turns out I was more than half way thru the movie...and it was disappointing! The Candidate turns out to be the stereo-typical do-anything to succeed politician. Nah! no oscar here, either.

Feb 15, 1999
- "Primary Colors" - another Oscar List movie? Shoot, I can't recall if it was "on" the list, or "off". When this movie came out, it was just before, or during the original breaking news of our President's alleged (admitted) infidelity. I heard in an interview with Travolta that there was an embarassing moment between him and Clinton during the preview screening.

But the Oscar buzz made me more curious. Currently, I am only half way thru the movie. It's 2-1/2 hours long! And the first 45 minutes are all build up and character introduction. Then it suddenly got interesting! I still don't see the Oscar material, but it is a coherent story, with political skullduggery. But you end up rooting for the candidate! More later.

Feb 14, 1999
- 'nother list of movies. Kinda "Movies I wanted to see, but was in no real rush".

"Dirty Work" - a vehicle for suddenly released S.N.L. Alumni Norm MacDonald. Too life-long friends discover a natural talent for revenge, and nothing else. Wait for it to be on TBS.

"Lethal Weapon 4" - What can I say? I saw the other three, I had to see this one eventually. And now that I have surround sound, even more reason! Our heroes stumble onto something big. Chris Rock is now a sidekick, sort of. More stuff gets blown up. Our hero's families get involved. More people get beat up. Our heroes get beat up. I have to admit that the new martial artist in this movie is damn good and I look forward to more of him. But I didn't get his name. Big battle between good (Gibson) and evil ( the new guy ). The good guys win. The end.

Feb 11, 1999
- Nothing like a minor incapacitating illness to help catch up on the movies via the majic of video rental:

"Night Moves" is a 1975 Gene Hackman movie, as Harry Moseby. A recurring character?, well anyway: He has just started out as a private eye in Hollywood and is looking for that big case. A washed up actress hires him to track down and return his daughter. He tracks her thru the weirdo stuntmen world and down to Florida with her step father/ex stuntman. And gets tangled in a web of intrigue and murder, and lousy film editting. I saw this movie on Arts and Entertainment channel over the weekend, and was curious to see what had been editted out. There are a couple of female actresses that look familiar, but the names didn't ring a bell. I can't even recall them, now. And then, there's the young Melanie Griffith - the missing daughter. Her character is oh so liberated, and living in the Florida Keys. The running joke with the adult characters in the movie is about whether or not you've been laid by her yet. How does Harry resist her charms? Anyway, I rented the movie, and if you care, there's some nekkid footage of dear Melanie to be seen. All I can say is "Wow". Wow!

Oh, and the movie has a twisted ending, like all them '70's era movies had, but like I said, the editting is really bad.

"Antz" - Despite what I said last year, I did see both of these animated flicks.
And "A Bug's Life" wins hands down, in my humble opinion. Better animation, better story, not such a heavy reliance on "Who's voice is that,anyway?". But it's worth watching, anyway. Coincidentally, Gene Hackman plays one of the lead rolls in this movie, too. He's the evil General that is seeking to destroy the Colony, and begin a new one with the Pricess. But his plans go awry when Zee ( a worker ant ) has a chance encounter with the Princess and falls feets over antennae in love with her.

"Slums of Beverly Hills" - I have no real idea why I rented this one, other than I had seen a preview, and was curious. We follow the coming of age of the central character as puberty strikes at an odd time in the family's life. The Mother has been left behind. The Father (Alan Arkin) is actually living off the generousity of a Relative (Rob Reiner) and carrying his three kids around from apartment to apartment. Suddenly, the middle child ( the only daughter ) has breasts, and needs a bra. Then they move. Then the relative's substance-abusing, act-cleaning-up daughter (Marissa Tomei) escapes the current clinic she is in and comes to stay with our ragtag group. Thus, the relative forks over more money and the family moves to a nicer apartment, with three bedrooms. The younger daughter meets a boy a little older than herself and they get involved. The substance abusing daughter freaks out over an old boyfriend. The whole family goes to meet the Father's new girlfriend. That doesn't work out, too well. The Relative comes to check up on things the younger daughter freaks out. The Relative and the substance abusing daughter leave, along with any money...so our little family has to move again. This time, the daughter realizes what family is, and acts to hold everything together.

Like I said, I have no idea why I wanted to see this movie. But there were some nice body-doubled breast shots. And Marissa Tomei!

"The Truman Show" - at first this film was touted as some sort of spin-off from the webcam phenomena abounding on the Internet. Pfaugh! A different concept all together. Though it is a story about voyeurism taken to the extreme. Actually a logical off-shoot of today's soap operas I would think. We meet Truman, who is unknowingly the star of a long running, very popular TV show. He's just turned 30, and like some of us, life starts to take odd turns. A light falls from the sky, labeled: Sirius, Canus Majoris, or something. Truman dreams of going to Fiji and being an explorer. But he has been cleverly manipulated into being scared to leave his paradisiacal island. Afraid of flying, afraid of crossing water. But he does "exit stage left" eventually.

But I don't see an Oscar-winning performance from Jim Cary. Oh he is totally "in character" and makes Truman believable....but sheesh...go see Shakespeare in Love and watch Gwyneth Paltrow...then watch Truman...you'll see the difference.

Feb 6, 1999
- Oh yeah! If you haven't, go see "Shakespeare in Love". This should be the movie that everyone is talking about, rather than Titanic and Saving Private Ryan. Of course, it won't raise such a ruckus. I can already hear the excuses: "I never understood Shakespeare". "It's a girly movie". "That's not what really happened". Duh! It's a historical fiction! Whaddya think Titanic was?. A made-up story about actual events!.

"Shakespeare in Love" is great entertainment. We meet Shakespeare just before he is inspired to write Romeo and Juliet. And follow him, and her, thru to the first public presentation of the play. And it's not all done in that stilted, English prose like the plays so it's easy to follow the story. If you go to see it, take kleenex. There are both tears of joy, and tears of sorrow to be shed during the movie. But, do go see this movie.

Jan 22, 1999
- Only because today is the day I finally got around to writing this down.

Actually, back on the 17th I watched "BASEketball" from those same braniacs that bring us South Park! I needed a little comic relief and this was perfect! Now, I have to say that I had avoided seeing this movie because I thought it would be just too dumb. But then I saw a trailer that featured Jenny McCarthy apparently sucking the chrome off of trailor hitches, so i had to watch it! And dad gum it! this is a pretty funny flick, if ya like South Park. Different humor, all live action, but you get an idea of who does which voices.

Now I'm really looking forward to South Park, the movie!

Jan 16, 1999
- In an effort to avoid updating the site, I rented two movies, today!

"Blade" with Wesley Snipes. Woo Hah! Great flick, if you just keep in mind that all the blood is fake. Heck, even Kris Kristoferson puts in a good supporting performance. Lots of action, lots of gore, and a reasonably coherent story. They leave the door open for "Blade 2", but still appears that the ultimate menace has been defeated. And interesting aside: When I took the movie back to the video store, I heard one person describing this movie as "oh, at least a hundred people die in the first 5 minutes".

"Out of Sight" another George Clooney vehicle. He plays the sensitive, not-really-bad bad guy. Now, while this was a very watchable movie, I bet some people will be confused by all the jumping around, chronologically, that goes on. But, if you pay attention, you can follow it pretty well. Oh! and Jennifer Lopez! Mmmmmmmmmmm saweeeeet! I look forward to seeing her in "broad-band" roles like this one, rather than just as a Hispanic heroine typecast. She's good.

Jan 3, 1999
- Had to balance that one out with "Six Days Seven Nights". Yeah, yeah, I know: "Say chunkking, that ain't really a guy flick". Well, hell, it's my last day of vacation and I'll watch what I wanna watch! This is a good, watchable movie. Just interesting enough to keep you watching. No real deep meaning (come on, it co-stars David Schwimmer of Friends fame). Just good, clean entertainment.

And damn, if I was a lesbian, I think I could go for that Anne Heche, too. She has the most captivating eyes. Heck, I don't even need to be a lesbian. Woo hoo!

Jan 2, 1999
- Heh, I watched "Halloween - H2O" today. Probably not a good way to start the year, but what the heck! I still like Jamie Lee Curtis. Even tho she made this movie. I wanted to see a good ending to the Micheal Myers saga. This wasn't it. Maybe I should have watched more of the "in-between" movies. This one started with Micheal loose, and on his way to hunt down his sister. And talk about lame endings! She simply chops his head off. If it would have been me, I'd have separated all the body parts and hidden them around the country side. But I ain't no Hollyweird writer, now am I?

It's a real shame, too. The original "Halloween" was probably the only movie of it's genre that I liked.