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Reviews
A Dream in Hanoi (2002)
Waiting for Bill
Good documentary about an American theatre group who travels to Hanoi to perform "A Midsummer Nights Dream" in partnership with a Vietnamese theatre group. Those who enjoyed the HBO series "Project Greenlight" will like this clash of styles and cultures which was ultimately funny and touching. American and Vietanmese actors must work together during a bilingual play despite not speaking each other's languages. The only problem I had was that some of the actors felt like they were "acting" when being interviewed for the documentary. Overall, this is a feel good film that could have some success in the art houses.
P.S. The film reminded me of Waiting for Guffman when the theatre troupe got news that Bill and Hillary Clinton may be attending opening night. An energy is added to the film (will they show or not)
Jimmy Zip (1999)
Horrible movie
This is a bad movie. I think that the good reviews on IMDB have come from those involved in the making of the movie. The acting is the worst part of the film as everyone's efforts seem amateur. Rent "Fresh" to see a much better movie about a teen caught up in a criminal lifestyle. Very poor effort.
Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
Stay Away, this movie is horrible.
I went into this movie without high expectations. I was just looking for a cute, funny movie for a Saturday night. This is the worst movie I have seen so far this year. It starts out pretty good with a spoof of the backstreet boys then goes downhill from there. The main problem I had was that the movie was not funny at all. Rachel Leigh Cook and Rosario Dawson are likable actresses but they get terrible lines to work with. The worst character (among many) is Bambi played by Tara Reid. She plays a dumb, ditzy blond who was supposed to be the "funny" character. Tara was a big mistake in casting, she can't deliver her lines and she has the most anoying voice on screen today. Also, I have never seen so many products advertised in a movie. It is very distracting. The directors seem to think they can get away with all of the product placement because the plot is about the government marketing to teens to boost the economy. Well, it doesn't work and neither does the movie. 4 out of 10 One positive note: The movie does have pretty good original music.
Hannibal (2001)
Interesting Sequel. Very Bizarre.
This movie felt as though Jerry Bruckheimer was producing and Oliver Stone was directing. It is an audacious big budget movie. The real director of this movie is Ridley Scott and I have to applaud him on getting this type of movie made. It will definitely not please everyone. Julianne Moore won me over as Clarice. I could not picture Foster as Clarice in this movie. But this is Hopkins' movie. He gets to splurt out all the cool lines. Warning to those can't handle gore, this one has quite a bit of it.
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Not that good! Can't believe all the hype.
The fight scenes are so ridiculous. Every scene revolves around setting up the next showdown. Michelle Yeoh has a great screen presence that is wasted. The movie has very little character development. The relationship between Michelle and Chow is not explored enough. Also, there is a twenty minute side story in the middle of how Zhang Ziyi's charachter met a rebel and fell in love with him. When they get back to the main story they barely touch the relationship between the two young stars. Instead they have Zhang beating up a bar full of men to wow the audience. I guess I am the only one who doesn't have this on my top ten list. Almost Famous and Wonder Boys are much better films that develop there characters. I didn't hate this movie, I just went into it with higher expectations.
Whiteboyz (1999)
Waste of time
This is a horrible movie. Three stupid white kids who want to be gangster rappers do drugs and dream of moving to the big city. The way the kids act is embarrassing to their family and friends. Their fantasy world of living the thug life comes crashing down when they take a trip to Chicago. This movie is extremely uneven with a slapstick beginning and serious ending with music videos direction sprinkled throughout. This is not funny or dramatic just silly. I don't think I have ever rolled my eyes more while watching a movie.
What Women Want (2000)
If this is what women want I feel sorry for them.
My expectations were not high entering this movie. I was looking for comedy with a silly plot that could make me laugh. I did not get that. I chuckled a few times in the movie, but not nearly enough. The teenage girls next to me seemed to enjoy it much more. The movie starts out slow with a stupid introduction of how Mel became a womanizer because his Mom worked as a showgirl. After Mel discovers that he can hear what women think the filmakers play that joke til the end of movie. Mel Gibson gives does a good job with the material he has. Tomei is wasted in a bit part. Helen Hunt is the leading lady in another movie starring a big name actor this year (Dr. T and the Women,Pay it Forward,Castaway). She does a decent job, although I think other actresses would have been better. Maybe they were too smart to take the part. There is a subplot about how Mel's daughter (little Crissy from Growing Pains)hates him and plans on losing her virginity on prom night. There a many useless subplots that make this movie clock in over two hours which is way to long. Well, as you can see I didn't like it. 5 out of 10