Fight Club — A crazy fucking psychological masterpiece — 10*/10

• Overall: This is very different from most of what you have seen before. It's a great mix of psychotic, fighting and socio-philosophical revolution.
• Who is it for? Everyone, unless you don't like violence or some blood.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/
• Known actors: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter and Meat Loaf.
• Style: Violent psychological drama.
• Story: You get dragged in the dredge of this pathetic life and then up through the muck to finally stand in the shadow of mayhem and revolution. It's full of gripping events, confusing situations, fighting and psychotic behaviors.
• Ending: The big reveal is just as interesting the tenth time you see it as the first time, but the first time is quite the ride.
• Dialogs: Gripping, sincere.
• Characters: Incredibly well developed and extremely interesting.
• Acting: Astounding.
• Visuals: A sickly green which envelops you and sink you deep in the story. It's dirty. It's crude. It's perfect.
• Special Effects: The effects on the buildings at the end are getting a bit old, but by then, you don't care, because you're totally in it.
• Camera Work: Superb.

Eyes Wide Shut — Another dramatic masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick — 10*/10

• Overall: To most, it will look like an erotic drama when in reality it's a critique of the rampant conservative ideologies that everyone is running after.
• Who is it for? Those ready to be catapulted, slowly. Everyone should at least give it a try.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120663/
• Known actors: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Rade Serbedzija, Vinessa Shaw and Leelee Sobieski.
• Setting: Opulent society.
• Style: Dramatic and stark with a slow-developing intrigue and a simmering suspense.
• Pacing: Slow. It feels like pulling out a strong and healthy tooth while under local anesthesia.
• Intro: Very smooth and with a solid dose of reality within a posh environment.
• Story: It's like going down the rabbit hole with Alice, things get crazier and crazier and only a good slap in the face can end it all. Reality can be scary to those who keep their eyes shut so tightly and Stanley Kubrick proves it here.
• Ending: What better ending is there than 'fuck'? Genius.
• Dialogs: Strong, realistic.
• Characters: Deep and well thought out.
• Acting: Superb. Perfect.
• Visuals: Beautiful.
• Score: Somber and mood enhancing.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace — Great despite its flaws — 8*/10

• Scenario: Captivating story with lots of action and details. Although there are things that diehard fans of the original trilogy (read my review here) might not like, I think George Lucas really took the time to transpose his tale into modern cinematography. Gone are sexism and plastic clichés. However, this chapter also introduced the Gungans that tend to only by liked by kids, especially Jar Jar Binks. That being said, it's still great entertainment.
• Known actors: Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sofia Coppola, Keira Knightley and Terence Stamp.
• Visual & sound: Incredible soundtrack by the masterful John Williams. Great special effects for the time that are still good.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/
• Who is it for? The fans of the series as well as anyone looking for a good sci-fi, just don't take it too seriously.

She's All That — Straight out of the mold for some light entertainment — 6*/10

She's All That is an easy teen romance. The usual trappings are all there, nicely made, but predictable. Beside that, it's real problem are a few filler scenes that aren't done that well. The end is slightly better.

For a brainless movie night.
6*/10

Mansfield Park - Delightful with a touch of dark - 8*/10

Mansfield Park fits impeccably well with all the other Jane Austen films. It is the same witty intellectual scenario with a touch of darkness woven into it set around 1800 in the English upper class.

A must for Austen film fans or those who like light romantic intrigue of the time.
8*/10

The Mummy - An adventure for all - 7*/10

The Mummy is a adventure flick where you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride. It's funny, has some good acting, roller-coaster actions, and nice special effects. Think Indiana Jones, but without anything serious. Very entertaining.

For everyone.
7*/10

American Pie - Solid and funny teen point of view - 8*/10

American Pie was a revival of the teen genre. It threw away the jocks versus geeks theme for something more real, mainly how clueless and single minded we can be when we're adolescents. The focus is mainly on the guys' obsession about sex, but the finale, the last quarter of the flick, gives a much more sensitive, more touching and sweeter tone to the production. It's funny, with some exaggerations, but nothing over the top.

It's great entertainment, a solid teen perspective, and thoughtful.
8*/10

Jawbreaker — Entertainment in a murderous teen world — 7*/10

Jawbreaker is a teen movie about image, deceit, manipulation, and murder.

The good. Very interesting story and characters. Nice intrigue. Well done evil plan. A teen flick with it's own dark-glamour style.

The actors. Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, and Judy Greer are great. I have to mention though, that Ethan Erickson is hilarious in a straight face kind of way as the dumb jock.

The bad. A bit over-glamorous, but it fits the flick. Serves us some clichés.

The ugly. Zack is too simple a character.

The result. A nice teen movie that can be watched by anybody considering the seriousness of the subject.

7*/10

The Virgin Suicides — Drama can come from the best of intentions and the worst — 10*/10

The Virgin Suicides is the first film by Sofia Coppola, and what a debut. Low key, yet very poignant.

The good. Excellent acting, nothing over dramatic, but you can feel the depth of the trauma. Great score that accompany the mood to put us right there with them. The editing, the pacing, and the introduction meld us into the story. A scenario that rivets our interest even though very little happens.

The actors. This movie has put Kirsten Dunst on everybody's map, as she shows her talent. The parents played by James Woods and Kathleen Turner are incredibly well interpreted. Josh Hartnett is spot on as the hot stuff of the school. And Danny DeVito is perfect in his small cameo as a psychiatrist.

The bad. Not suited to everyone, because it is low key and very sad.

The ugly. Nothing.

The result. A must see if you're not repelled by life's drama.

10*/10

Any Given Sunday — Can make anyone appreciate professional american football — 9*/10

Any Given Sunday is the best football movie ever made, a master piece by Oliver Stone.

The good. Perfect editing. The way the images are melded just sucks you right in. Great photography. Excellent score and music. Superb football action. Razor sharp dialogs. Complete characters. Solid cast that fit incredibly well together. Very involved story with a good number of sub-story, all interesting and well developed. Nicely paced scenario, with good emotional breaks and powerful action scenes. It's a long film with lots of meat and every minute is worth it, they even used the final generic to pitch us the epilogue. Nicely done. Great ending.

The actors. Al Pacino is playing his best role here. He gets away from his usual angry almost psychotic roles into a more mellow and near sentimental human being, but still very much troubled and imperfect. Cameron Diaz, for once, plays a hard nut to crack, tough, nowhere near nice and she does it extremely well. Dennis Quaid plays the hero, again, and does it superbly as he always does. Jamie Foxx does his thing as the cool and bitter professional athlete.

Now for the smaller roles that round up this flick and elevate it to greatness. LL Cool J plays the money grabbing star to perfection. Matthew Modine plays a institutionalized game-first team doctor who faces Aaron Eckhart as the do-gooder in a battle over the health of the player. Jim Brown is the perfect tough defensive coach with a heart of gold and a head full of the glory days. Lela Rochon is the sweet intelligent life partner of the third string quarterback. Lauren Holly is the hateful witch trying to control her legendary husband. Lawrence Taylor captures our attention as the bruised captain and keystone of the defensive team. Bill Bellamy plays a young receiver. And Andrew Bryniarski denotes himself as the rough angry offensive line man.

The bad. The opposing team design. The costumes look like they were done last minute, not part of a professional football league.

The ugly. Nothing, it's near damn perfect.

The result. A football movie that's so well made, anyone can enjoy it. See it.

9*/10

Dogma — A surprising comic adventure about angels and demons — 9*/10

Dogma is a comic adventure movie with an incredible alternative mythology of the catholic church. Kevin Smith finally came into his own as a writer-director with this piece.

The strength of this movie is based on the very detailed and extremely imaginative ideas developed for this new set of hell, heaven and earth. The dialogs and situations are very funny. The story is highly entertaining, captivating, and full of interesting plot developments.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon each delivered us great performances, especially when being wrathful or witty. That probably set into motion their future collaborations. Linda Fiorentino played her role as disillusioned christian given an unlikely task very well, even more so in her emotional explosion which was very powerful. Alan Rickman was hilarious as the complaining neat freak. This is the type of role I think he's best with, the funny sarcastic kind. Chris Rock is just as funny, doing his thing, blacking up christianity. Salma Hayek plays one of her funniest role with nice flair. Jason Lee is as his best in playing a mouthy plotting evil guy. Now, this star studded cast doesn't even end there. There's also Janeane Garofalo, George Carlin, and Alanis Morissette in a surprise supporting role of no little importance.

Now, the only thing negative I would have to say, is that the CG and some of the set are not up to part with the rest of the movie. They're more than acceptable, but the rest is so good, that you can see the difference.

For great entertainment, see it.

9*/10

The Thomas Crown Affair — Stealing high stake loot for fun, then seducing your opponent — 7*/10

The Thomas Crown Affair is an impossibly rich man stealing an extremely valuable painting with an elaborate scheme. It's your typical gentleman heist story, but with a sexy hard ass insurance investigator romance, and a sensible slightly overreacting cop. It's fun, exciting, surprising, and peppered with action.

Good acting. Pierce Brosnan is perfect as the ultra confident Wall Street success. Rene Russo plays an incredible hard ass and very sexy bounty hunter. Denis Leary is completely relatable as the twitchy cop. Rich settings, interesting dialogs, captivating story, and nice stimulating score.

There's a few small logical flaws in the scenario, but they are easily overlooked.

It's good entertainment, watch it.

7*/10

Toy Story 2 — An even better story about toys' secret life — 10*/10

Toy Story 2 follows up in the steps of a great vision, Toy Story, with the same attention to quality and even better animation rendering. This time, they brought in a bit more drama and adventure. They bring very close to home some very difficult things for a toy, namely when discarded by a beloved child or never being own by a child.

Even with this added drama, it is still just as fun and well done. Our characters go off the deep end and into the city to rescue their friend. The story is captivating, and you'll be reunited with all our favorite characters.

If you liked the first installment, you'll love this one.

10*/10

10 Things I Hate About You — Fun teen romance with interesting plot ideas — 7*/10

10 Things I Hate About You is a teen movie with some nice spunk. It is set in a language that most adolescents will associate with. The themes correspond to that group age and are not dealt with in an adult manner, tone, or perspective. Neither are they rendered in a puerile or slapstick way. Overall, it's an excellent balancing act.

The characters are interesting and well portrayed. The story captivating, the dialogs believable, the romances sweet and simple. The laughs are aplenty and well orchestrated. The music is well chosen, energetic, and youthful. Finally, the sets and wardrobe are realistic and colorful.

It is an easy watch.

7*/10

The Matrix — The domination of the machine, the enslavement of the humans — 10*/10

The Matrix, the first installment of the trilogy, is a master piece, not so much in terms of movie mechanics, but in terms of story telling. The ideas it brings, not the concept of the domination of the machines, but how that domination is achieved, are stupendous. They are mind breaking.

The first time I saw that film, I didn't know what I was going to see, and it felt like a punch in the guts. I consider myself lucky, because that is a rare thing. Still, it is a piece to catch anyone's breath.

The soundtrack is one of the best ever, bar only The Crow. The costume are perfectly tailored and adapted to the tone of each environments. The mood is excellent, at all time. They even applied a greenish tinge when they are in the matrix, a blueish one in the cold real world, and you'll see only normal colors when they are in the training programs.

The action and suspense will keep you wanting more, the story will light up your mind, and the fight scenes will push you to the edge of your seat.

Some special effects, mainly the CGI, are not aging very well, but the work is still acceptable today.

This is probably one of Keanu Reeves' best performance. He's not a great actor, but the role fits him well. His performance as well as Carrie-Anne Moss' are not as good in the following installments. Hugo weaving is just perfect for the role. Personally, I can't see him playing in any other movie without seeing Agent Smith.

The other installments of the trilogy are barely good enough to tell the rest of the story, and are not even close to the quality of the first one. I will not be reviewing them.

10*/10

American Beauty — A positive drama about life and making the most of it — 10*/10

American Beauty is the kind of movie that really makes you think about life, about your life, and those around you.

This movie is above any reproach. Those who don't like it, don't like thinking about life or themselves. The only reason not to see it is because you would like to see a movie to escape and this is just the opposite. Still, it has a positive message, so it's a positive kind of drama, and dramatic it is, even slightly dark at time.

I could just list every aspect of the movie one by one and say it's excellent: acting, characters, camera shots, editing, soundtrack, story, dialogs... but I'm not going to waste more words on perfection.

Just see it.

10*/10

Never Been Kissed — High school drama and rejection observed from the outside — 6*/10

Never Been Kissed plays on the angst of the teenage reject, the need to be cool, how it translate to adulthood, and how one can escape from it. High school is isolated from the real world, yet it has impact on your life beyond it. That's what's presented in this piece.

The story has some interesting twists, and some nice take on some elements, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table. All the teens are played by mature adults, which kind of breaks the mold. That's the usual practice, however, in this case, it is pushed a bit too far. I guess it's to make Drew Barrymore's undercover character seems more believable.

The whole movie is over done with clichés, and none so bad as Drew's persona. They even start her as a really unattractive person, which she's not.

What makes the film any good is the fact that it's funny, and that you root for the main character who transform in a beautiful swan. Costume and makeup are responsible for the metamorphosis, all Barrymore had to do, was to tone down the awkwardness according to the scenario.

It's entertaining, but don't expect too much beyond you're usual romance. The "lie" even rear its monstrous head.

6*/10

Galaxy Quest — A lot of sci-fi fun for the whole family — 7*/10

Galaxy Quest is science-fiction movie wrapped in a parody of the Star Trek TV series phenomenon. The comedic appeal of this film is without doubt, but if you know what a Star Trek convention can be like and all it entails, it's doubly hilarious. This piece makes fun of the fans, the actors, all the paraphernalia surrounding them, as well as those milking it for all its worth.

That being said, it's only half of what you're going to see, because you'll have a true sci-fi flick on your hands, with special effects, space ships, exotic planets, scary aliens and creatures.

It might not have a very complicated story, but really it's a character movie, and based on that, it's quite a success. Tim Allen was made for this role, it fits him like a glove, and you can see that Sigourney Weaver is having a blast playing a role that is so unusual for her.

See this movie, and entertainment and laughter will fill your evening.

7*/10

The Sixth Sense — A powerful suspense with an intriguing story — 9*/10

The Sixth Sense has a powerful suspense to its story, with eloquent visuals, and great acting.

You will be immerse in the drama right away, even if I consider the opening the weakest part of the movie. At first, the subject matter is pretty innocuous and Bruce Willis easily carries you into the thick of it with Haley Joel Osment along for the ride. The boy's role then turns quickly into the linchpin of the suspense, with a number of nerve jarring surprises.

Once you're over the horror hill, and you think the movie is over, there's the final piece of the puzzle waiting for you. The only real downside of the whole thing, is that once you know the ending, it looses a bit of its luster, but I still enjoy watching it on a regular basis.

A must see. Enjoy.

9*/10

Cruel Intentions — High society teens ruining the reputation of others with sex and deceit — 10*/10

Cruel Intentions is the perfect romantic drama. This fruit did not fall far from the Romeo & Juliet tree. Romance, love, plots, and drama are all turned modern and splendidly rendered. Add to that a great soundtrack, beautiful shots, tension, hot eroticism, sex, and you get the perfect mix for that type of flick.

All the actors are playing their best game, without exception. The story line is gripping, interesting, and it delivers without fail. The twists are numerous, non-repetitive, and scandalous.

This movie showed everybody that Sarah Michelle Gallar could play anything, because this role is as far from the vampire slayer as you can get.

A must see.

10*/10