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WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS

Ratings are out of four stars.

Featured Review 17 - Erin Brockovich (Rating: ***1/2)

Despite a slow start, this movie makes good use of a touching and true story about Erin and her law firm winning a case against a water polluter. Julia Roberts has an excellent performance. She makes convincing Erin's times of lashing out at others. I think they should have shown the judge's final decision. I would have loved to have seen the faces of the opposing lawyers. Look for a nice scene at the end with Erin and her boss. Although I have seen movies of this type before, the good script, acting, and story sets it apart from the others.

Featured Review 16 - Chicken Run (Rating: ***1/2)

This is a charming story about chickens in a farm who plot their escape as a group. This movie has the humor, morals, and understandable storyline to make it a great family film. Only once does anything in the film get killed, and that is not shown. The claymation in this film is well-designed. Mr. and Mrs. Tweety, the two humans, don't look that realistic, but they fit in better the way they are.

Featured Review 15 - GalaxyQuest (Rating: ***)

This movie, about a group of actors who wind up in the real thing, is an entertaining spoof of the Star Trek series. The Thermians are very likeable in how awkward they are in trying to be humans. It is a more subtle spoof than Spaceballs was, though: so don't expect too many off the wall events. Action packed though, it's really a good popcorn movie to put in on a Saturday night.

Featured Review 14 - Sleepy Hollow (Rating: ***)

This adaptation of Irving's classic tale takes the right cartoonish approach - including how the murders are shown. Christina Ricci is a natural as always, but they made Icabod Crane, played by Johnny Depp, too subdued. The bungling part of him was not shown enough. I did like the part where Icabod wrote down his clues, though - provided a smile. Johnny did a fine job with the speaking part of his role. The ending of the movie is a bang, and adds to the movie a lot. Visuals are really neat throughout the movie, and the ending has some of the best. I loved how the horseman transforms back into his old self. I won't give away who the villian is, but the villian shows great evil in the tradition of children's tales. There are a few muddled parts, like when they are explaining a will, but overall, this is good entertainment.

Featured Review 13 - Sixth Sense (Rating: ***1/2)

This movie had good performances from all involved: Haley Joel (stand out scene: in the schoolroom,) Donnie Wahlberg (check out his freak out scene as the formal mental patient), Toni Collette (her emotional car scene was great), and Bruce Willis (weakest of them but still laid back without usually being bland or expressionless.) The movie goes at a good pace and doesn't drag out for too long. I like the fact that the scenes with the kid and the psychiatrist are kept to a minimum but you still see the chemistry. It's not that scary, but there are several disturbing scenes of dead people. There's also the frightening staircase and attic scene.

Featured Review 12 - Runaway Bride (Rating: **1/2)

Romantic comedies are not supposed to be really overtly funny like comedies, and this movie is no exception. It has a few gags here and there (the video of the three runaways, and Ike's messed up hair.) Overall, the movie relies on some nice charm. Richard Gere's a little old to be playing Ike IMO, but he did a fine job of being sincere, and Julia was her usual social self as Maggie. I did not think that Maggie and Ike showed enough signs of chemistry before the ending, and while the reason for Maggie's runaways made sense, it wasn't really an interesting revelation.

Featured Review 11 - Bulworth (Rating: **1/2)

Bulworth, though better than Wag The Dog because it has some numerous and really funny scenes, suffers with its plot twists. Check out the scenes where Bulworth is rapping at the functions for the lobbyists, and also check out the debate scene. Your definition of political honesty will never be the same, and you could laugh until you cry. Halle Berry shows street savvy in her role as Nina, and Warren Beatty does not overact as Senator Bulworth, but the relationship bewteen these two characters is never fully realized. The end is too open ended, and makes you wonder if the whole premise of the movie just went out the window.

Featured Review 10 - Life Is Beautiful (Rating: ****)

This sub-titled story about war-torn Italy is about as touching as a movie can get. It starts out in 1939, before the Germans have invaded Italy. The first part of the movie has many laughs, like when our main character Guido runs into his future wife a few times (literally), before they finally marry. The scene when Guido impersonates a school inspector is a riot, and so is the part at the theater when another lady thinks Guido is looking at her, when he's actually looking up to his beloved. The game that Guido invents later to protect his son from the turmoil of the holocaust is a perfect one for a kid: he told him if they earn 1,000 points, a tank will be the reward. And he told his son that he could leave at any moment. I'm not going to give away the ending, but I will say I feel bad for when the son has to learn the truth. But that part is not shown in the movie, so I was left with a rewarding feeling. This movie is nicely artistic AND entertaining. The conditions that the Jews suffered were accurately shown, and perhaps even understated a bit. But the movie did not need to show more; it was good as was.

Featured Review 9 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Rating: ***)

Mike Meyers definitely has proven why he is one of the best comedic actors in the business, playing both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil very effectively. In this movie, our hero Austin goes back in time to the 60s, where Dr. Evil has taken Austin's mojo and plans to destroy the world from the moon, using a laser. While all of the movie has its funny moments, the beginning is definitely the place where I was laughing the most. The Jerry Springer part is a highlight that you will not want to miss. Dr. Evil even attacks Jerry. Heather Graham as Felicity Shagwell uses the right expressions, says her lines well, and of course looks very sexy. While there is bathroom humor in the movie, like when Fat Bastard farts and when Dr. Evil's henchmen think that Felicity is pulling items out of Austin's butt, it has enough charm not to seem stale.

Featured Review 8 - Analyze This (Rating: **)

This movie about a man named Frank Vitti, a mobster being helped by a psychologist, did keep my interest, but just did not have enough funny parts. The only really funny part was when the psychologist, played by Billy Crystal, had to sit in for Frank during a mob movie. That is the kind of scene where Billy Crystal always shows a lot of strength. In one statement, he said that he is known by many names, including Elmer The Fudd. LOL! The final scenes where Frank was coming to terms with his problem - which I won't give away, but is cleverly brought out by the psychologist - were made a little too much on the sappy side by DiNiro, who I usually like as an actor. When DiNiro had to portray his strong mob boss role, he was successful.

Featured Review 7 - The Blair Witch Project (Rating: ***1/2)

To me, this movie did not disappoint. Heather's heavy breathing was eerie when she saw the clothing of Josh. So were all of the noises around the tent: some sounded like footsteps, some like the dead children from before,and some from Josh. So were the many Blair Witch symbols. That abandoned house at the end was good, with all the paneling broken out. The end was definitely neat, where the unseen possessed Josh first gets Heather and then will go for Mike in the corner of the screen. The camera just falls to the ground. I did not mind the moving movie cameras - I think it gave a fine sensation of following the action. I guess some people have weak equilibriums. The movie gave a feeling of hopelessness involved with being lost, and that was part of the objective. Mike even got so freaked out that he kicked the map into the creek. In real life, they could have carried a cell phone, but then there would be no story. The vocabulary was limited, but youngsters often talk like that. The length of the movie was also perfect. Overall, the story wasn't quite as scary after learning that it's fake, but it's clearly creepy. But I have no big complaints that would make the movie less entertaining.

Featured Review 6 - The Mummy (Rating: ***)

This movie didn't quite have the laughs of slapstick comedy or the scariness of a horror movie, but the special effects (The Mummy looks really neat in the various forms,) good performances (Brenden Fraser is super charismatic), and characters make this movie well-worthwhile. The theme will also keep your interest. I love the moral it teaches: greediness will backfire in the end.

Featured Review 5 - Shakespeare In Love (Rating: ***1/2)

This is good historical fare about the Elizabethan era of England and William Shakespeare. It was a neat idea to have Shakespeare's inspiration for getting out of his writing block end up playing Juliet besides him as Romeo. Gwyneth and Joe Fiennes gave good, classy performances, but their departure scene seemed a bit dull. I liked how the 2nd theater owner let Shakespeare use his theater despite the betrayal Shakespeare gave him. Also, I liked the queen's sympathy towards Gwyneth's situation of not wanting to be with Wessex. Wessex was not enough of a villian that we learned to hate, but he provided good support for the storylines. The movie did a good job of showing portraying the women in theater issue that went on at the time. Overall, it was not Oscar-winning material, and not very funny, but kind of unique and thought-provoking.

Featured Review 4 - A Bug's Life (Rating: ***1/2)

A Bug's Life is better for the imagination and complexity in the story than Antz, but Antz has the more mature dialogue. In this story, a bungling ant named Flick turns out to be the hero when he reminds everyone in the colony of the perfect strategy, thus saving them from the grasshoppers. This movie's diverse bugs in the circus gang will definitely keep the children entertained. The animation was better than in Antz because of the many varieties of colors and styles of the insects in A Bug's Life. The scenery was more basic in Antz. It's funnier than Antz, too. So, for pure enjoyment, I recommend this movie over Antz.

Featured Review 3 - Antz (Rating: ***)

Antz is a very good animated spectacle that would be good for the whole family. I liked how the ants came in different sizes and colors depending on which class they are (worker, soldier, queen, etc.) The story revolves around a worker ant named Z who gets disenchanted with the whole boring worker routine. He trades places with a soldier ant friend of his, and gets to do battle with the termites. His ultimate plan is to get close with the princess ant. Ultimately, he discovers treachery from within his colony! The story is kind of trite, but the dialogue captures the conversations and feelings between the ants well. The shortness of the movie made some parts seem trimmed, but it's also nice for a movie to be a little shorter for a change.

Featured Review 2 - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Rating: ***1/2)

This movie is not quite as good as the original three, but it still has some Star Wars magic after all these years. Cinematically, the atmosphere in the movie isn't as enchanting as the atmosphere in the origninal three movies. Also, the characters don't have as much chemistry. The special effects are amazing, especially in the pod race. Jake Lloyd does a great job as Anakin, and Natalie Portman makes the most of what she's given in her parts. The tax dispute was a nice idea, but they could have expanded on it more. The opening scroll-up description puts you in a Star Wars mood from the beginning, like the scroll-ups in the originals did. The light saber scene at the end is one to watch, as it's almost as good as the Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker one. I found Jar Jar to be a humorous character, especially when he used his tongue. Many adults could enjoy this movie, but the extra characters do make it marketed for children - even more than in the originals.

Featured Review - There's Something About Mary (Rating: ***)

With Cameron Diaz, one of my favorite actresses, giving a fun performance as Mary, I definitely enjoyed this movie. Sure, the comedy isn't conventional, but it's very clever. Take the hair scene, the sweeper scene, the zipper scene at the beginning, for example. The other performances are also nicely done. In this movie, many different guys compete for Mary's love, each being discovered as being obsessed with her. I would recommend this movie for people at least 13 years of age, but of course children of the same age can be ready for different experiences. There are a couple very dark comedy places, like when the rider in the car is found dead.

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