25 Words or Less: Bite Sized Reviews

Who needs a meal when you can eat a bucket of popcorn?

BETTER LUCK TOMORROW

(Justin Lin, 2003) Despite the misplaced hiccup of ultraviolence near the end, this Asian American POV flick — directed by UCLA film alumnus Justin Lin — is worth checking out.

– Xtian

Daredevil

(Mark Steven Johnson, 2003) Better than Batman (remake), but not as good as the first half of Spiderman (also see X2 review).

– Demon

DREAMCATCHER

(Lawrence Kasdan, 2003) A penisy-looking alien makes its victims burp and fart blood. This pointless movie made me do the same.

– Demon

THE GOOD THIEF

(Neil Jordan, 2003) Nolte plays, well, Nolte. Opulent and well crafted thriller with first rate acting and characters.

– Demon

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

(Chris Columbus, 2002) Appealing kid cast, nifty magical universe. I like the books better, though.

– Hexagram

THE HOURS

(Stephen Daldry, 2002) Why do actors who alter their appearance get labelled “brave”? Anyway, the very brave Nicole “Cruise” Kidman sizzles in this interesting downer of a film.

– Xtian

IDENTITY

(James Mangold, 2003) And Then There Were None (but were there any to begin with?) Bogus plot twist, still a lot of fun. Stay for the last two minutes.

– Hexagram

LAUREL CANYON

(Lisa Cholodenko, 2002) Hollywood rule #1: never write or direct a “personal” film. Instead of being grand, this “huh?” flick crossed over Sunset Blvd. and became Crescent Heights.

– Xtian

THE MATRIX RELOADED

(Andy and Larry Wachowski, 2003) Fractured plot line and feckless bits of philosophy punctuated by banal fly-by-wire fight sequences make for an altogether ambivalent and unsatisfying sequel.

– Dr. Mangrove

Agent Smith: determinism; Morpheous: fate; Neo: freewill. Audience: what the f***?

– Demon

MAX

(Menno Meyjes, 2002) Disturbing, thought-provoking depiction of young Hitler at cross-roads: artist under the mentorship of a Jewish art dealer - or politics…

– Dr. Mangrove

A MIGHTY WIND

(Christopher Guest, 2003) The straighter Eugene Levy plays a character, the better. He smelt it, but didn’t dealt it. A winner! Give this film two Glade Plug-ins up.

– Xtian

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

(George W. Bush, Inc., 2003) Another successful propaganda piece from the makers of Operation Just Cause and Desert Storm. Americans bought it. The rest of the world: thumbs down.

– Demon

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS

(David Dobkin, 2003) You’re either with Jackie Chan, or you’re with the terrorists. Mr. Chan defeats the Axis of Evil, turn-of-the-century style.

– Xtian

SPIDER

(David Cronenberg, 2003) The scariest part of this movie is the part where it drags on and on. Oh wait, that was the entire movie. Great visuals though.

– Xtian

SPIRITED AWAY

(Hayao Miyazaki, 2003) Sheer animated genius. Enough eye candy to give you eye-diabetes. Bland Disney dubbing not so good. I’ll get the DVD and watch it in J-nese w/subtitles

– Hexagram