Mission: Impossible II

Grade: B-

Reasonably pleasant summer action flick, far better than the latest James Bond installment, but still lacking any real suspense or originality. While this one has a decipherable plot (unlike the first movie), it is also an old and tired one – there’s nothing that you don’t see coming a mile away, including an ‘is-he/is-he-not dead?’ ending so obvious the screenwriter should be slapped. Woo’s direction is a major problem here – the film simply is not as important as he would have us believe, with monotonous slow motion shots (what is this, The Matrix?) and Indian/Hinduesque music (which is quickly becoming offensive pop culture used far too often in today’s films, most notably Gladiator and Any Given Sunday), telling us how deeply spiritual the film really is. What has always separated MI from other action movies is its intelligence, sadly missing here. It’s just another action flick in a long line. Cruise, however, is so damn sexy that he could make any material work for at least a couple of hours, which he does here. Worth seeing for Cruise. End of story.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0120755/

Small Time Crooks

Grade: C+

A lesser Woody Allen movie, sweet, pleasant and occasionally haha funny (though never belly laugh funny), the movie is also as predictable as can be, and overacted terribly by schticky Allen and over-the-top Tracie Ullman. Nuanced and subtle performances can be funny too, guys. Many of the funniest minor characters appear in the first half of the movie and disappear completely from the second half, leaving us with a boring Hugh Grant performance taking up film time instead. If it’s raining outside and you need a way to pass 90 minutes, I’d suggest renting Love and Death and staying at home instead.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0196216/

Hamlet

Grade: A

Something may be rotten in the state of New York in the year 2000, but it sure isn’t this brilliant movie. Stunningly conceived, beautifully acted, with a screenplay perfectly edited down to an hour and fifty minutes, this is the most accessible version of the story I’ve ever seen. Favorite scenes: Hamlet’s “too be or not too be” soliloquy delivered at a Blockbuster Video store, pacing in the Action Video section with an action film playing on a video monitor in the background; Hamlet’s break-up with Ophelia, his previously confused dialogue finally explained in this version when he finds a bugging device on her mid-scene; and a brilliant TV news ending. Nothing but Bravos for this thrillingly current tale of murder, madness, and retribution…set against a world of corporations, computers, and impersonal recorded voices, where violence is accepted as little more than a parental warning on television or a passing mention on the news.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0171359/

Center Stage

Grade: C-

Who knew there were so many hetero story lines in a single dance company? Must be swell to be the token black, gay, male in the company, huh? Especially when you get to comfort the hetero girls, look longingly at all those straight boy dancers, and even sprain your foot so you can’t even go on and perform. One could excuse this 20 years ago – maybe -- here it’s downright offensive. It doesn’t really matter though, because this one is so full of stereotypes – the pushy mother living her dream through her bulimic daughter, the principal dancer who seduces the ingenue and then treats her like crap, a ballet that couldn’t possibly work in a real ballet – pretty drecky, even all those cute straight boys don’t help. And why, oh why, did they rip off so much (including music and ballet segments) from “The Turning Point.” which just forces comparison? And doesn’t come out on top.

More Movie Info: http://chevy.imdb.com/title/tt0210616/