Pearl Harbor

Grade: C-

It never ceases to amaze how Hollywood can spend over a 100 million dollars without bothering to have a decent screenplay first. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of the fictional romance set against real life disaster genre, but this one never rises above the subtlety of a John Wayne movie. A boring three-way romantic conflict, embarrassingly bad dialogue – lines like “I fear we have done nothing more than awoken a sleeping giant,” delivered by a Japanese admiral, “It’s the J J J J J J J J J J J aps,” delivered by a soldier with a stutter, and “Gentleman, look to the person next to you. A month from now, either he’ll be dead, or you’ll be,” delivered by a really clunky Alec Baldwin – and paint-by-numbers melodrama, including exploding “dud” missiles, a plane battle that’s only missing Darth Vader and the Death Star for George Lucas to be able to sue, the Japanese tearing an English calendar to display it’s December 7 (What is this, “1776?”) and of course, the dead hero who isn’t really dead. Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett are muscled cuties, but this is a three hour movie for god’s sake. Oh yeah, there’s also this big attack that takes place in Hawaii during the film as well, but the filmmakers don’t seem all that interested in that story at all. They could easily have just left it out altogether.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0213149/

Moulin Rouge!

Grade: B-

I give this one a great deal of credit for being so audacious and avant-garde in its delivery, even if it doesn’t quite always hit the target. Often visually stunning, yet just as often visually busy for no discernible reason, with a quick-cutting editing style that hurts the eyes rather than astound them. The real surprise here is Ewan McGregor, who is fabulous – handsome, charming, sweet and sexy, with a surprisingly terrific singing voice. Nicole Kidman, not one of my favorites, does well here also. The conceit of using modern music alongside new material is at first funny and fun, then amusing, but ultimately tired. The love story is surprisingly conventional, yet McGregor is so wonderful you truly buy into his longing, joy and ultimate torment. Liked this one, and wanted to love it, but it’s simply too messy and confused to have fulfilled its promise.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0203009/

Startup.com

Grade: B+

You just have to think back a few years when we all – myself included – found it wondrous any time someone we knew was going to a dot com. We all knew it meant millions pouring through the door, the future for entrepreneurial spirit. Boy, did we have it wrong. This is a small gem, a “descent into greed” for our time. We see the startup, the growth, the beautiful new offices, the self-impressed aggrandizement, the in-house bickering, the layoffs, the bankruptcy. The crash seems destined from the start, yet didn’t even the filmakers think they were in on the ground floor of self made millionaires. There’s nobody to really root for, or even particularly like – in fact, it’s kinda sorta fun to seen these guys crash and burn, which says as much about us as it does about them.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0256408/

About Adam

Grade: B+

Surprisingly intriguing, sexy, and entertaining movie about three Irish sisters and their differing romances with the same man. Outwardly a frothy comedy, this one has surprising depth as it observes the inter-relationships of these sisters, their contempt, competition and caring for each other, and their uncanny ability to project all their needs onto this single man, who is more than happy to fulfill their fantasies. Yet even Adam, wonderfully played by an extremely charismatic and sensual Stuart Townsend, is also more than he appears. Not simply a man playing games to get laid, he seems to take genuine pleasure and delight in being what people around him want and need him to be. This one is a really nice character study, with a well-designed screenplay that moves back and forth in time from several different perspectives -- Far more thoughtful and complex than at first glance.

More Movie Info: http://imdb.com/title/tt0199314/