X-MEN: THE LAST STAND

“I’m The Juggarnaut, BITCH!”

The original X-MEN, released in the summer of 2000, was a relatively important movie in a few ways. It revived the boom of film adaptations of super heroes. The genre had declined severely after Warner Brothers released BATMAN & ROBIN in 1997, which was considered by many to be the worst movie in a long time. The film brought in a little over $100 million in the U.S., a little more than half of it’s predecessor BATMAN FOREVER’s take two summers before. The question arose in Hollywood, if Batman, arguably the most famous of super heroes, could not be sold, then who could?

Director Bryan Singer took over the X-MEN project, and it was a gutsy choice by Fox. He had two movies under his belt, and THE USUAL SUSPECTS was the only memorable one (it was also made five years ago). The executives at Fox handed him a $75 million budget, modest for the time of film, and gave him a cast of mainly unknowns. How Singer made such a mark in Hollywood without receiving hardly any credit for it is somewhat stunning. His casting of Hugh Jackman as the morally conflicted and immeasurably cool Wolverine paid dividends. The film was a success, and it spawned a sequel three years later that delved deeper into the story of the X-MEN and gave the fanboys what they wanted: more action.

A universal sigh of despair hit the internet about about two years ago as Bryan Singer decided to leave Fox and the X-MEN series, which had already began production on a third film, to head to the Superman camp. A replacement was hired in spring of 2005, but yet another replacement was needed as the would-be director had to leave the project. Fox chose Brett Ratner, whose credits include the RUSH HOUR series, to take over the reigns of the unsteady film. His instructions were to just not screw up what Singer had started, and do it quickly; he had eleven months to finish the product for a Memorial Day 2006 release.

Not being an X-Men fan myself, I went into X-MEN: THE LAST STAND without expectations other than wanting a visual feast and nothing too hard to understand. If this was Ratner’s goal, he succeeded. The film is a lean hour and forty-four minutes, a half-hour shorter than X2. The fact that the film is only 104 minutes is surprising considering how much more Ratner and screenwriters Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg bit off than they could chew.

The biggest of X3’s story line features a cure being found that eliminates the mutant gene found in every single mutant in the world. Yes, every single one, no matter what type of mutation they have (be it if they can run through walls or walk on water). Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his X-Men want the good intentions of the antidote to be seen by everyone: the treatment is voluntary and is intended to do good (such as curing a man covered in blue skin and fur). Magneto, the X-Mens’ archenemy, believes that there is nothing to cure in mutants and that the government is trying to exterminate the mutants.

Another plot arises when Jean Gray rises from the grave. She returns to THE LAST STAND as Phoenix, a mutant whose powers are greater than anyone can imagine. Her powers have been harnessed up until this point, but now she just wants to have some fun I guess. She lifts a lot of things up, makes a lot of things explode, and has a detached psychotic look in her eyes. I sat back and took it in, absurdity and all.

The film doesn’t really have an intelligent bone in its body other than Magneto’s story line. I wondered while he was moving the Golden Gate Bridge to connect it to Alcatraz (no joke), whether or not he was a terrorist. He goes against everything the government says violently, and he kills anyone who gets in his way of destroying the “cure”. Other than that, the story is lacking. Human touches are sprinkled on the movie throughout, and in all truthfulness spread out a little too far (again, Ratner bit off more than he could chew in 104 minutes). The shaky script is easily forgotten when the tremendous action scenes burst on to the screen. They are nothing mind-blowing conceptually, but they are too damn good looking not to enjoy.

The warm weather is just around the corner, and that is Hollywood’s cue to release their biggest, loudest, most absurd, and most entertaining movies of the year. I am but a simple sixteen-year-old, and I can’t help but love them. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND is everything an action movie should be (sorry for the cliché): big, loud, absurd, and entertaining.

B+

THE DA VINCI CODE

"You ask for what would be worth killing for. Witness the biggest cover-up in human history."

About a year and a half ago rumors started flying around about bringing THE DA VINCI CODE, Dan Brown’s ludicrously popular recent novel, to the big screen. The book had been as controversial as any in the past half-century, and it was exceptionally entertaining as well. The news started trickling in about the cast a few weeks later, and I became extremely interested in the project. As it turns out, Tom Hanks, whose popularity I don’t have to delve into, was to play the lead role of Robert Langdon, alongside two of France’s most popular actors, Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou. It was to be directed by Ron Howard, who won a Best Director’s Oscar for 2001’s A BEAUTIFUL MIND, and would be penned by Akiva Goldsman, who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for bringing A BEAUTIFUL MIND to the screen. All the pieces were there to make a great movie, a controversial movie that could reach out and grab hold of the masses’ minds due to being based on the single most popular novel of its time. The fact that the film fails on almost every level is even more disappointing due to the years of buildup.

The plot is well-known by now, with the story starting with a bang. The curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris, Jacques Sauniere (Jean-Pierre Marielle), has been viciously murdered in one of the museum’s most famous rooms, where the Mona Lisa and the Madonna on the Rocks hang. Robert Langdon (Hanks), a Harvard professor of Cryptology and Symbology, is teaching at a seminar in Paris and has been called by the police to help in their investigation of the murder. It seems that Sauniere, who apparently “had about twenty minutes to die after being shot” has left clues to inform who his killer is. Langdon has been called in not only to try and crack the codes but because Sauniere wrote in his own blood on the floor to find Langdon. He is now the most wanted man in the world, and Captain Bezu Fache (Reno) of the Paris Police Department feels it is necessary to take every possible measure (legal or illegal) to find him. Langdon then escapes with the help of a French investigator named Sophie Neveu (Tautou), who was the granddaughter of Sauniere.

This is the point where the film falters. Where the novel hit the ground running and never stopped after Langdon and Neveu escaped the Louvre, Howard’s film feels the need to stumble on to the ground, run for a few minutes, and then spend ridiculously long stretches of time making historical monologues. Hanks may be the most disappointing part of the film, as he lists off these monologues without emotion and not trying very hard to cover up the fact that he knows these lines of the top of his head (that is what acting is, right?). His character has no back story other than that he fell into a well as a child and has been claustrophobic ever since, and this event is played back in a grainy, dreamlike memory sequence. Neveu isn’t given any justice either, with the only back story she receives being a few memories of how her parents died when she was young and how she went on to live with her grandfather for a time.

The biggest ray of light in the film comes when Langdon and Neveu reach the house of an old friend of his, an eccentric old man living in a magnificent French mansion named Leigh Teabing. Teabing is played by Sir Ian McKellen, who is the only one in the picture who shows any sign of life or emotion, and the only one involved who looks like he isn’t about to crumble under the pressure of being in the dullest adaptation of the greatest thriller in years. Teabing is a Holy Grail historian (The Grail is one of the central plot lines), who tries to help Langdon and Neveu figure out who murdered Sauniere and why he would leave such extravagant clues about a seemingly unbreakable code in his last minutes. If you don’t want to read one of the biggest controversies in history, please don’t read the rest of this paragraph. It seems that, according to Langdon and Teabing, that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, and had a daughter. The Catholic church has covered this event up throughout history in fear of Jesus’ divinity being questioned and Catholicism possibly dying out. It is also believed by Teabing that the Holy Grail is not a cup or goblet as many people believe, but rather the sacred tomb of Mary Magdalene herself. This was the point of the book where my jaw dropped and my eyes grew wide. In the movie, though, this was the point where I was slapping my face to keep me awake. Langdon and Neveu look on at Teabing as he relates to them the biggest cover-up in history, and they do so with glazed-over eyes and a look on their face that says “Ohhhhh. Okay.”

A little life is then injected into the story as the albino monk (yes, an albino monk) who was assigned by the Vatican to kill Sauniere reaches Langdon and Neveu in order to kill them and destroy all information that could be used to exploit the Catholic church. He is promptly beaten up by Teabing however, who I have to say is about seventy years old and on crutches. Again, this part of the story was thrilling in the novel and kept its readers on the edge of their seat for pages, while the suspense is reduced to almost nothing in the film. There is a hint of action, and then Langdon and Teabing continue to throw historical monologues back and forth at each other while on the run, while Neveu sits back patiently and waits her turn to slap the murderer of her grandfather.

I won’t delve any further into the plot, because it does reach a climax, and a good one. However, I will say that the climax in the book will make one’s palms sweat, the hair on their back stand up, and their jaw drop. In the movie the only thing standing up will be the viewer trying to not fall asleep. Perhaps in my opening paragraph I criticized the movie too much. I said it fails on almost every level, which isn’t really true. It disappoints on every level. Where there was mass controversy in the books Howard has chosen to go with the controversial angle, but dumb it down a bit and take some of the edge off (the fact that the acting is wooden and there is no awe in anyone's eyes doesn’t help either). Where there was a romantic spark between Langdon and Neveu in the novel there is a kiss on the forehead and a hug. When there was gripping suspense at every turn of the page, there is boredom. It’s just very disappointing.

C

CITY OF GOD

"It was like a message from God: 'Honesty doesn't pay, sucker'."

Once in a great while an entertaining movie hits you with the dramatic force of a punch to the face. Fernando Meirelles’s CITY OF GOD (CIDADE DE DEUS) is such a film. From the incredible, frenetic, eye-popping first scene involving a gang of teenagers running after a chicken (and yes, shooting at it as well), the film never stops moving. Meirelles has crafted one of the finest first feature films in all of history, a film whose entertainment values are as equally resounding as its dramatic values.

City of God takes place in the slum outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main character and main character is a boy who grows into a man over the course of the film. His name is Rocket, and the world he knows is one of crime. He comments in the beginning of the film that ‘while the slum was only fifteen miles from Paradise (Rio), you could feel the heat from hell walking through every street, sitting in every building, and looking at every person’. This statement becomes truer than anyone watching would have suspected. Meirelles covers dozens upon dozens of characters over the course of the film, cutting back and forth in time to reveal the back stories of every major player in the City of God. Because of this the audience feels a connection with that is rare in today’s cinema. It is hard to mold characters who seem alive in a movie, characters who reflect life on Earth perfectly. Meirelles not only does this, but he does this for dozens of characters spanning two decades.

Rocket tells the story of life in the slum starting with his brother. The two of them and the kids in the neighborhood are playing a simple game of soccer when Rocket’s brother and his two friends ditch the game and rob a gas truck, really for the fun of it. Things get out of hand that night when the gang goes out with a boy named Lil Dice, who is Rocket’s age. It is clear from his introductory shot to the film that Lil Dice calls the shots in the CITY OF GOD. He, at the age of seven, organizes a plan that has the four of them robbing a hotel and making sure nobody leaves the building to inform the cops. Lil Dice shows his uncontrollable bloodlust by executing everyone in the hotel, and then takes off with the cash.

Rocket and Lil Dice first cross paths a few months later when Lil Dice murders Rocket’s older brother, who is trying to leave the slum in hopes of a better life. They will run into each other again, years later, but not after walking down very different paths in life.

After stepping back and taking a look at the film, one can see that the two main characters are really quite like most other teenagers, living everywhere in the world. They both have hormones that control their actions, but to different degrees. They are both given opportunities thanks to the CITY OF GOD, but accept these opportunities in different ways. Rocket wants to become a photographer so he and the city can receive some recognition for what is happening in the slum; how the gangs rule the streets, the cops abandon them, and how most people want to leave the violence for a better life but can’t. Lil Dice, who now demands to be called Lil Ze, is similar to other hotheaded teenagers who want things their way. Ze just happens to have an unending supply of guns and money from drugs, and doesn’t shed a tear when he kills anyone.

Lil Ze’s rise to power begins by killing off his competition. He goes to a dance club with envious eyes one night, seeing the diamonds, gold, and women that are all over the biggest drug dealers in the slum. He tells his friend that he wants this, all of this, for himself. By the same time the following night, he has killed off all the men he had so enviously watched and is now more powerful than anyone else in the CITY OF GOD.

Meirelles’ shaky camera-style of cinematography works extraordinarily well in CITY OF GOD. Often times this style is used to make jaggedly-edited action sequences seem more realistic, but in CITY OF GOD it serves a better purpose. The viewer feels as if they are another person living in the slum, and everything that happens there affects them. The violence is hard-hitting, brutal, and comes often. Sometimes we feel it is justified, while other times we hate it but know that it is something that we just must accept. A thought crept through my head after a particularly hell-like scene involving Lil Ze. I said to myself, “somebody has to kill that guy”. It was then, I believe, that the film was its most transcending and had reached its dramatic peak. I cared for the characters safety as much as they did, and I felt like I had been drag through hell, as the characters living in the slum feel like throughout life.

On a technical level CITY OF GOD is breathtaking. Every performance is spot-on accurate; many of the actors used in the film were from the slum itself. The frenetic, kinetic direction is mind-blowing and adrenaline-pumping (I’m sorry to use the cliché, but it really is), and the shaky camera-style cinematography captures the essence of hell that all the characters in the film feel. What may be most impressive about the film is its screenplay, and how it encompasses the lives of dozens of people from childhood to manhood, and manhood to death in the CITY OF GOD over more than a decade of time. It chronicles how violence affects them and establishes its characters well, making them three-dimensional with relatable personality flaws (they may be of greater proportion, but they are the same flaws most other people share). I can not say any bad words about City of God. It is an exemplary, incendiary, and heartfelt film that will be considered one of the greatest crime pictures of all-time one day, and that day may not be far off.

A+

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3

"Who are you? Do you have a wife? A girlfriend? Whoever she is, I'm gonna find her. I'm gonna hurt her. And then I'm going to kill you right in front of her."

The first two installations of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series were a kind of revelation in themselves. Neither was gushed over by critics, nor by audiences. Neither boasted extraordinary budgets, and there were already and have since then been bigger marketing campaigns. For some reason or another though, they make money. Boatloads. Truckloads. The first two “M:I” films each broke the record for largest opening weekend gross at the time of their release, and because of this, their parent company, Paramount Pictures, is able to throw a lot of money around on the third Mission: Impossible movie, and it shows. In fact, they gave director J.J. Abrams (the creator of TV’s LOST and ALIAS) the biggest budget in history for a first time director, $150 million. It shows.

What I’m trying to get at is that M:I 3 is very like its predecessors. It has Tom Cruise in the role that may define him, IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, has extraordinary stunt work, attempts (not particularly valiantly) to add a three-dimensional love story, and overall, its a hell of a lot of fun while it lasts. Oh yeah, it too will make truckloads of money.

The scenario in M:I 3 is that Hunt is now settled down. He has had enough of the glory days (for the first ten minutes of the film, that is), and is in love with a Virginian nurse named Julia (Michelle Monaghan). He tells her that he is a traffic control engineer, and she buys it, sort of. Meanwhile, he is really training future IMF agents, his protégé being a girl named Lindsay Ferris.

Ferris is kidnapped while on a mission in Berlin, investigating a weapons dealer named Owen Davian. Davian is the best at what he does, as is Hunt, and it is very entertaining when either is on screen (although Davian is given very little actual screen time). Davian is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who gives a terrific performance similar to that of the vintage James Bond villains: genius, crazy, rich, cocky, and always planning. He brings an intensity and class to the performance that could have easily been turned into a self-mockery, and may be the brightest light in the entire film (as well as the only memorable performance).

It should be common knowledge though that not many people go to the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies looking for great performances, and neither do I. The stunts, explosions, and the sight of Tom Cruise running around while everything that could go wrong does is why millions of people see them. The film is technically superb, with several action sequences that will leave people riveted to their seats. The pinnacle action scene is a battle of sorts of a bridge, featuring Hunt duking it out with a helicopter full of guys with machine guns, several explosions, upturned cars, an inconvenient fifteen-foot hole in the ground, and a drone plane. What impressed me most was Abrams’ ability to weave through these scenes with a sense of continuity instead of the usual several-cuts-per-second style used by most directors in modern Hollywood. He lets the audience see the action unfold from one perspective instead of causing nausea with jagged editing.

The plot, other than the basics that Julia is kidnapped by Davian, and that Cruise has to find her and make a deal with Davian to get her back, is rather hard to explain. The surprisingly stellar and entertaining supporting cast includes Luther Strickell (Ving Rhames), who returns as Hunt’s partner in action, the tech whiz who makes sure Hunt doesn’t do anything to crazy without telling him first. Maggie Q, Jonathon Rhys Meyers, and Simon Pegg all play roles as fellow partners, and Laurence Fishbourne and Billy Crudup are Hunt’s bosses. As the number of plot twists mounted I remembered the saying that says “to fool someone once is good, to fool them twice is bad, and to it three times is genius”. This quote does not say what happens after the third plot twist. There are also enough plot holes in M:I 3 to drive every truck, car, helicopter, and boat that explodes through.

Overall though, I really have no complaints. The story may lack a strong emotional backbone, which is an element Abrams really wanted to touch on, but that is forgivable. M:I 3 delivers exactly what it promises, which is a good time that has a story line that is easy to understand but not stupid, terrific action, a menacing villain, and some very good looking people. This is the perfect film to start off summer, and it will reflect in the box office.

B+

UNITED 93

"Hi mom, its me... this really kind woman handed me the phone and told me to call you. "

After leaving the theater I saw UNITED 93 I felt an eerie feeling. Something was not quite right in my, and I was very shaken up, perhaps more so than I've ever been after any movie I've ever seen. There was something wrong with this film, I thought to myself. Whatever that this was, I couldn't put my finger on it. Looking back on the film, I realize now that the eerie feeling I had in the pit of my stomach was from the film's absolute perfection. The reason I couldn't place my finger on what was wrong with UNITED 93 was because, well, nothing was wrong with it. The film is without a single flaw or misstep. It may in fact be the film that does what intends to do more perfectly than any other film I've ever seen.

Director Paul Greengrass's vision is inspired, respectful, and in its own right extraordinary. From the very first moment of the film, he puts the audience in the shoes of everyone onboard United Flight 93. Non-name actors are used to give the film a more realistic feel, and these people are really a genuine reflection of life. As in the real world the passengers barely communicate with each other, other than the pleasantries of exchanging information such as occupations, reasons for being on the flight, and the weather. There is no background stories for any of the characters because in all likelihood none of the passengers knew anything about the people they were flying with.

Other than the controversy that arose due to the argument that it might have been too early to make a 9/11 film (which would have happened to any film regardless of the time period, United 93 was just the first released in theaters), debate raged over the portrayal of the terrorists who overtook United 93. The beginning frames of the film show the terrorists in their hotel rooms ceremonially praying and shaving off all of the hair on their body. They pray in every moment of solitude for strength and protection from God, and the lead terrorist is heard saying “I love you” to someone on a cell phone before he gets on the plane. Greengrass, who wrote the script for UNITED 93, does not portray these men as monsters, but as men who were doing what they believed was right according to their religion. Whether they were monsters or martyrs is a debate that will in all likelihood never end.

Along with the story line of the members of Flight 93 is the story of the men and women working at the FAA and the air control traffickers. It was the Director of the FAA’s first day, and a day that he’ll never forget. He, as well as other members of the government who worked on the ground that day, plays himself. Again, Greengrass uses the actual people involved in the tragedy to make the film more realistic. He also wisely avoids any conspiracy theories that arose after 9/11 about the government, religious groups, terrorists, or anything else really. The scenes on the ground take place in real-time, and the audience watches the most horrific day of this generation unfold as the workers in the FAA did. Several planes are thought to have been hijacked that actual were not. After the first plane hits the World Trade Center, it is suspected, and then incorrectly confirmed by the government to be a small one-man plane. A plane goes off the FAA’s radar over New Jersey, and then the World Trade Center is hit again. Everyone in the picture’s eyes open in shock when the plane that disappeared over New Jersey resurfaces over Connecticut. The military wages war with itself over whether or not the rules of engagement allow any planes to be shot down. When fighter jets are finally scrambled and are in the air the audience finds out in horror that none of them are armed.

On board the terrorists take over the plane, which comes as no surprise to anyone, but is still emotionally shocking. One of the four terrorists straps a bomb around their chest, while another stands next to him, and a third slits the throat of a passenger to ensure the passengers that this is not a laughing matter. The final terrorist kicks down the cockpit door and takes control of the plane, killing the pilots.

The sudden burst of action after the flight-like calm is devastating. Anarchy ensues onboard, as the passengers run to the rear huddled together. One sees the pilots being dragged out, instilling even more fear because they had possibly believed that all of this was a hostage situation that they would all live through. One passenger relays the message from a relative that the World Trade Center had been hit. The emotion overflows in the last fifteen minutes of the film. The infamous phone calls to loved ones are made, and everyone realizes that it is now or never. They are not going to make it off the plane if the continue to sit in the rear of the plane hoping someone else will save them. Todd Beamer’s famous “Let’s Roll” speech is played out, but not in a heroic tone, but more a tone of desperation. A ragtag, last-minute plan is made, and the passengers, who sat down as a group of individuals, rise as a united body. There is a spark of hope in the pit of the audience’s stomachs, as the heroes aboard that plane rush through the aisle to the cockpit. The most haunting moment of the film comes when it is realized that although this is a movie, it does not have a happy ending.

Some people question why this movie was made. No questions were answered with any certainty or validity. There was no character development. There wasn’t a standout performance or line of dialogue. The reason that this film was made was for audiences to remember 9/11. Not that over 3,000 American lives were lost at the World Trade Center, but that there were forty men and women who sacrificed their lives so that another event similar to the World Trade Center would not happen. Because art is a meditation of life, and there is decency and heroism in this film, it can be concluded that there is something to be fought for in the real world. That is why I believe Paul Greengrass made this film, and that is why it is such an important masterpiece, one that may define this generation.

A+

INSIDE MAN

“That thing you’re suckin’ on, it ain’t no pina colada.”

Perhaps no film released so far this year has had the potential to be great as much as Inside Man. Spike Lee’s first true venture into mainstream blockbuster Hollywood ends up being a fine, average picture, disappointing considering the acting and writing talent that went into it.

INSIDE MAN is a heist picture that starts off ingeniously. Dalton Russel (a superb, chillingly efficient Clive Owen) is the leader of a team of bank robbers who assemble to rob Manhatten Trust Bank. Russel Gewirtz’s remarkable first-time script wastes no time establishing how smart and in-control these bank robbers are. They use a type of flashlight that blinds the camera, have all of the hostages dress in identical jumpsuits, and call each other variations of the name Steven to avoid any recognition afterward. They are seemingly always one step ahead of the cops and the hostages.

Denzel Washington plays Keith Frazier, the police officer who already has enough on his plate at home with a girlfriend who is eager to have him propose to her, and is assigned to negotiate with the robbers, who have demanded two buses and a jumbo jet within 12 hours, or else. Frazierepitomizes the movie: eloquent, intelligent, undeniably cool, and unsure of how to approach his situation.

The supporting characters are all terrific as well. Jodie Foster plays a power broker brought in to handle a dicey situation involving The chairman of the bank's board of directors, controlling entrepreneur Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), who may or may not have interests at stake. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Frazier’s partner, who freely admits he does not entirely understand the situation, and questions Frazier’s security about it all.

Ultimately it is Spike Lee’s direction that betrays the film. No matter how many measures he takes, he is not able to create a truly suspenseful atmosphere, or give the audience a payoff that does justice to the rest of the superb script. It shouldn’t come as any real surprise after the film is over why Lee was so hesitant to get to the end, and took so much time getting to the ending. It is unfulfilling.

INSIDE MAN is much better when broken down into its component parts than when examined as a whole. Its terrific acting and script make it a good, fun movie, but its lack of a suspenseful atmosphere may leave some with a disappointing taste in their mouths.

B

Reviews

16 Blocks
21 Grams
25th Hour
300
A Prairie Home Companion
A Scanner Darkly
Band of Brothers
The Battle of Algiers
The Black Dahlia
Blood Diamond
Borat!
Brick
Cape Fear
Cars
Casino Royale
Children of Men
Cinema Paradiso
Citizen Kane
City of God
Click
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Crank
The Da Vinci Code
Déjá Vu
The Departed
Downfall
Dr. Strangelove
Dreamgirls
Elephant
Employee of the Month
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Flags of Our Fathers
The Fountain
Ghost Rider
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The Good Shepherd
GoodFellas
Grindhouse
High Noon
Inside Man
Jarhead
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
The Last Detail
The Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Manhattan
Memento
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible 3
Modern Times
Mulholland Dr.
Nacho Libre
Nashville
Natural Born Killers
On the Waterfront
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
The Player
Poseidon
The Prestige
The Pursuit of Happyness
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rashomon
Saving Private Ryan
Snakes on a Plane
Snatch
Superman
Superman Returns
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Thank You For Smoking
The Thin Red Line
Unforgiven
United 93
The Untouchables
V for Vendetta
World Trade Center
X-Men: The Last Stand
You, Me & Dupree
Zodiac

Everything

1. 101 Dalmations (B+)
2. 1o1 Dalmations (Live Action) (B-)
   
3. 12 Angry Men (A+)
4. 13 Going on 30 (C)
5. 16 Blocks (C)
6. 1408 (B)
   
7. 2 Fast 2 Furious (C)
   
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (A+)
9. 21 Grams (A+)
10. 25th Hour (A-)
11. 28 Days Later (A)
12. 28 Weeks Later (B)
    
13. 300 (A)
    
14. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (B)
15. 8 Mile (C+)
16. A Beautiful Mind (A-)
17. A Bug's Life (B)
18. A Christmas Carol (A)
19. A Few Good Men (B-)
    
20. A History of Violence (A)
21. A League of Their Own (A-)
    
22. A Prairie Home Companion (A)
23. A Scanner Darkly (A)
24. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (C-)
25. After the Sunset (C+)
26. Air Bud (B-)
27. Air Force One (B)
28. Airplane (A)
    
29. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (A)
30. Aladdin (B+)
31. The Alamo (C)
32. Ali (B-)
33. Alien (A+)
    
34. Almost Famous (A)
    
35. American Beauty (A+)
36. American Graffiti (A)
37. American History X (A-)
    
38. American Pie (B)
39. American Pie 2 (B)
40. The American President (B-)
    
41. American Wedding (C)
42. The Amityville Horror (B)
43. Analyze This (B-)
    
44. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (A+)
45. Angels in the Outfield (B+)
    
46. Anger Management (B)
47. Any Given Sunday (B)
    
48. An Inconvenient Truth (B+)
49. Apocalypse Now (A+)
50. Apollo 13 (B+)
51. Armageddon (A-)
    
52. As Good As It Gets (A-)
53. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (A-)
54. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (A-)
55. Austin Powers in Goldmember (A-)
    
56. The Aviator (A)
    
57. Babe (B-)
58. Babel (B)
59. Baby Geniuses (F)
60. Back to the Future (A+)
61. Back to the Future Pt II (B+)
62. Back to the Future Pt III (B+)
    
63. Bad Boys (B)
64. Bad Boys II (C-)
65. Bad Santa (B)
66. Balto (B)
67. Bambi (B)
    
68. Band of Brothers [HBO Miniseries] (A+)
    
69. Batman (B+)
70. Batman Returns (D)
71. Batman Forever (C-)
72. Batman & Robin (F)
73. Batman Begins (A-)
74. Battlefield Earth (F)
    
75. The Battle of Algiers (A+)
76. Beauty and the Beast (A)
77. Being John Malkovich (A)
78. Beverly Hills Cop (A)
79. Beverly Hills Cop II (C)
80. Bicentennial Man (B+)
81. Big (B+)
82. Big Daddy (C-)
83. Big Fat Liar (B-)
84. Big Momma's House (C+)
85. Billy Madison (B+)
86. The Black Dahlia (C-)
87. Black Hawk Down (F)
88. Blade (B)
89. Blades of Glory (B)
90. Blank Check (C)
91. Blood Diamond (B)
92. Blue Streak (C+)
93. Bonnie and Clyde (A+)
94. Boogie Nights (A)
95. The Boondock Saints (B+)
    
96. Borat (A+)
97. Born on the Fourth of July (A)
    
98. The Bourne Identity (B)
99. The Bourne Supremacy (A-)
100. Bowling for Columbine (A)
101. Brick (A-)
102. Bridge to Terabithia (B)
     
103. Brokeback Mountain (A+)
104. Bruce Almighty (B)
     
105. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (A)
     
106. Cape Fear (B+)
107. Capote (A)
     
108. Cars (A)
109. Casablanca (A+)
110. Casino (A-)
111. Casino Royale (A-)
112. Cast Away (B+)
     
113. Cellular (B)
114. Changing Lanes (A-)
     
115. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (A)
116. Chicken Little (C)
117. Children of Men (A+)
118. Chinatown (A+)
119. The Chronicles of Narnia (C)
120. Cinderella (B)
121. Cinderella Man (A)
     
122. Cinema Paradiso (A+)
     
123. Citizen Kane (A+)
124. City of God (A+)
     
125. Click (D+)
126. Close Encounters of the Third King (A)
127. Coach Carter (B)
128. Cold Mountain (A-)
     
129. Collateral (A+)
     
130. Commando (B+)
131. Con Air (B)
     
132. The Constant Gardener (D+)
133. The Core (C+)
134. Corky Romano (C+)
     
135. Crank (B+)
136. Crash (B)
137. Cry Wolf (B+)
138. Cube Zero (D-)
     
139. Daddy Day Care (C-)
140. Dante's Peak (C-)
     
141. The Da Vinci Code (C)
142. The Day After Tomorrow (B+)
143. The Day the Earth Stood Still (A)
144. Deep Impact (B)
     
145. Déjá Vú (B+)
146. Demolition Man (C)
147. The Departed (A+)
148. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (C)
     
149. Die Another Day (C)
     
150. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (B+)
151. Dogtown and Z-Boys (A)
     
152. Do the Right Thing (A+)
153. Downfall (A+)
154. Dreamgirls (A-)
155. Dr. Dolittle (B-)
156. Dr. Dolittle 2 (C-)
     
157. Dr. Stangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (A-)
158. Dude, Where's My Car (C+)
159. The Dukes of Hazzard (C-)
160. Dumb and Dumber (B+)
     
161. Easy Rider (F)
     
162. Elephant (A+)
163. Elf (C+)
164. The Emperor's New Groove (A-)
     
165. Employee of the Month (C-)
166. Enemy of the State (B)
167. Equilibrium (C)
168. Erin Brokovich (B-)
     
169. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (A+)
170. Eurotrip (B)
     
171. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (A+)
172. Exit Wounds (C-)
173. Face/Off (C+)
174. Facing the Giants (B-)
     
175. Fahrenheit 911 (B)
     
176. Fantastic Four (C+)
177. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (B-)
     
178. The Fast and the Furious (B-)
     
179. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (B+)
180. Finding Nemo (A-)
     
181. Fight Club (A+)
     
182. Firewall (B-)
183. The Firm (B-)
184. First Blood (B+)
     
185. Flags of Our Fathers (C-)
186. Flatliners (B+)
     
187. Flubber (B-)
     
188. The Fountain (A+)
189. Forrest Gump (A+)
190. Frailty (A-)
191. Friday Night Lights (A)
192. The Fugitive (A)
     
193. Gangs of New York (A-)
194. Garden State (A-)
     
195. Garfield 2 (C+)
196. Get Shorty (B+)
     
197. Ghost (B)
     
198. Ghostbusters (C+)
     
199. Ghost Rider (D)
200. The Girl Next Door (B+)
     
201. Gladiator (A)
202. Glengarry Glen Ross (A)
     
203. Glory (B)
     
204. The Godfather (A+)
205. Godzilla (C+)
     
206. Goodfellas (B)
207. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (A+)
208. Good Night, and Good Luck. (A-)
     
209. The Good Shepherd (A)
210. Good Will Hunting (A+)
211. Grand Hotel (A-)
     
212. The Green Mile (B+)
     
213. Gridiron Gang (B)
214. Grindhouse (A)
     
215. Groundhog Day (A-)
216. Half Nelson (A)
     
217. Half Past Dead (F)
     
218. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (B)
219. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (B)
220. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (A-)
221. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (A)
222. Heat (A+)
223. Hellboy (B)
224. Hercules (B)
     
225. Hidalgo (D-)
226. High Fidelity (A-)
     
227. High Noon (A)
228. Hitch (B)
229. Hollywoodland (B)
     
230. Home Alone (B+)
231. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (B)
232. Home Alone 3 (C)
     
233. Hook (C-)
234. Hoosiers (B+)
235. Hot Fuzz (A-)
     
236. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (C)
237. Hulk (D)
238. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (B)
239. The Hunt for Red October (B)
     
240. Hustle & Flow (A-)
     
241. The Incredibles (A+)
242. The Indian in the Cupboard (C)
     
243. I, Robot (B+)
244. Independence Day (B)
245. In Good Company (B+)
     
246. Inside Man (B)
247. In the Line of Fire (A-)
     
248. The Iron Giant (A)
     
249. The Island (B)
250. The Italian Job (B)
251. It's a Wonderful Life (A)
252. Jackass: Number Two (A)
     
253. Jarhead (A-)
254. Jaws (A+)
     
255. Jerry Maguire (A)
256. Jesus Christ Superstar (A)
257. Jingle All the Way (D)
     
258. John Q. (B)
259. Joy Ride (B+)
     
260. Jurassic Park (B+)
261. Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World (D)
262. Jurassic Park 3 (D)
     
263. The Jungle Book (A)
264. The Karate Kid (B-)
     
265. Kill Bill Vol. I (C)
266. Kill Bill Vol. II (A)
     
267. Kingdom of Heaven (C)
268. King Kong [1933] (A)
     
269. King Kong [2005] (A+)
270. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (A)
271. Knocked Up (A+)
     
272. LA Confidential (A-)
273. Land of the Dead (C)
     
274. The Last Detail (B)
     
275. The Last King of Scotland (A-)
276. The Last Samurai (A-)
277. Layer Cake (B)
278. Legally Blonde (B-)
279. The Legend of Bagger Vance (A)
280. Lethal Weapon (A)
281. Lethal Weapon 2 (B)
282. Lethal Weapon 3 (B)
283. Lethal Weapon 4 (C+)
284. Letters from Iwo Jima (B+)
     
285. Liar Liar (B)
     
286. The Lion King (A+)
     
287. Little Children (A)
288. The Little Mermaid (B+)
     
289. Little Miss Sunshine (A)
290. The Longest Yard (B+)
291. The Lookout (B)
     
292. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (A+)
293. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (A+)
294. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (A+)
295. Lord of War (A-)
     
296. Lost in Translation (A+)
     
297. Lucky Number Slevin (B+)
298. Madagascar (C+)
299. Magnolia (C)
     
300. The Majestic (C)
     
301. The Manchurian Candidate (B)
     
302. Manhattan (A)
303. Man on Fire (B-)
     
304. March of the Penguins (C+)
     
305. Mary Poppins (A)
     
306. M*A*S*H (A)
307. The Mask (C+)
     
308. Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World (C)
     
309. Match Point (A-)
     
310. Matchstick Men (A)
     
311. The Matrix (A+)
312. The Matrix Reloaded (A)
313. The Matrix Revolutions (A)
314. Me, Myself, and Irene (C)
     
315. Mean Girls (B+)
316. The Medicine Man (C-)
     
317. Meet Joe Black (B+)
     
318. Meet the Parents (C+)
319. Meet the Fockers (B)
     
320. Memento (A+)
321. Men in Black (B+)
     
322. Men in Black II (B+)
     
323. Miami Vice (A)
324. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (A+)
     
325. Million Dollar Baby (A+)
326. Minority Report (A)
     
327. Miracle (B)
     
328. Mission: Impossible (B)
329. M:I 2 (B)
     
330. M:I 3 (B+)
331. Modern Times (A)
332. Money Talks (B-)
     
333. Monsters, Inc. (B+)
334. Mouse Hunt (B)
     
335. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (B-)
336. Mr. Holland's Opus (B)
     
337. Mrs. Doubtfire (C)
     
338. Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (B+)
     
339. Mulholland Dr. (A+)
340. The Mummy (B-)
341. The Mummy Returns (B-)
     
342. Munich (A)
343. Music & Lyrics (B)
344. Mystic River (B-)
     
345. Nacho Libre (C)
346. Napolean Dynamite (C)
     
347. Nashville (A+)
348. National Treasure (B-)
     
349. Natural Born Killers (B)
350. The Negotiator (B-)
351. Network (A)
     
352. Next Friday (D-)
     
353. Not Another Teen Movie (B)
     
354. The Notebook (B)
355. Notes on a Scandal (A-)
     
356. Nothing to Lose (C+)
     
357. Ocean's Eleven (A+)
358. Ocean's Twelve (B)
359. Ocean's Thirteen (A)
360. Oldboy (A)
     
361. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (B)
362. The One (D)
363. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (A-)
364. On Golden Pond (A)
     
365. On the Waterfront (A)
366. Orange County (B)
367. Osmosis Jones (B-)
     
368. Out of Time (B)
     
369. Over the Hedge (B)
370. The Parent Trap (B-)
371. Pan's Labyrinth (B)
     
372. Passenger 57 (D)
     
373. Pearl Harbor (B-)
     
374. The Pelican Brief (B)
375. The Perfect Storm (B)
     
376. Phone Booth (B)
     
377. Pirates of the Caribbean (A)
378. Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (C-)
379. Planet of the Apes [2001] (C)
     
380. The Player (A+)
381. The Polar Express (A-)
     
382. Poseidon (C)
383. The Prestige (A)
384. The Prince of Egypt (A-)
     
385. The Princess Bride (A-)
386. The Princess Diaries (D)
     
387. Pulp Fiction (A+)
388. The Punisher (B)
     
389. The Pursuit of Happyness (A-)
390. The Queen (A-)
     
391. Raging Bull (A+)
     
392. Raiders of the Lost Ark (A+)
393. Rain Man (A+)
394. Rambo: First Blood Pt. II (C)
395. Ransom (B-)
     
396. Rashomon (A)
397. Rat Race (C)
     
398. Ray (A+)
399. The Recruit (B-)
     
400. Red Eye (C+)
401. Reign of Fire (C+)
402. Remember the Titans (A-)
     
403. Reservoir Dogs (A)
404. Robin Hood (B+)
405. Robocop (B+)
406. The Rock (A-)
     
407. Rocky (A+)
408. Rocky Balboa (B)
409. The Rookie (C)
     
410. The Rugrats Movie (B-)
411. Rush Hour (C+)
412. Rush Hour 2 (D)
     
413. Sahara (C+)
414. The Sandlot (B)
415. The Santa Clause (B)
416. The Santa Clause 2 (B)
     
417. Saving Private Ryan (A+)
418. Saving Silverman (B-)
     
419. Saw (B)
     
420. Scarface (B+)
421. Scary Movie (B+)
422. Scary Movie 2 (F+)
423. Scary Movie 3 (B+)
424. Scary Movie 4 (C-)
425. Scent of a Woman (B)
     
426. Scooby-Doo (F)
     
427. Scoop (B+)
428. The Scorpion King (D)
     
429. School of Rock (B+)
     
430. Seabiscuit (B)
431. The Secret (A+)
     
432. The Secret Window (B)
     
433. Se7en (A)
434. Shark Tale (C+)
435. Shattered Glass (A)
436. Shaun of the Dead (B+)
437. The Shawshank Redemption (A+)
     
438. Shrek (A)
439. Shrek 2 (A-)
     
440. Sideways (A)
441. Signs (D)
     
442. Sin City (A)
443. The Sixth Sense (C)
444. Sleepless in Seattle (B+)
445. Smokin' Aces (B)
     
446. Snakes on a Plane (B+)
447. Snatch (B+)
448. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (B+)
449. Solaris (A)
     
450. The Specialist (D)
451. Speed (A)
     
452. Spider-Man (C+)
453. Spider-Man 2 (B+)
454. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (B)
455. Spy Kids (B-)
     
456. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (B)
457. Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones (B)
458. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (A)
459. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (A+)
460. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (A+)
461. Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (A+)
462. The Sting (A)
463. Stuart Little (B+)
464. Stuart Little 2 (B+)
     
465. The Sum of All Fears (B)
     
466. Superman (B+)
     
467. Superman Returns (A)
     
468. S.W.A.T. (B-)
469. Swordfish (B-)
     
470. The Sword in the Stone (B)
     
471. Syriana (B-)
472. The Talented Mr. Ripley (A)
     
473. Talladega Nights (C+)
474. The Terminal (A-)
     
475. The Terminator (B+)
476. Terminator 2 (A+)
477. Terminator 3 (B)
478. Thank You For Smoking (C+)
479. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (F)
480. There's Something About Mary (B)
     
481. The Thin Red Line (A+)
482. The Third Man (B+)
483. Thirteen Days (B+)
484. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (A-)
     
485. Three Kings (A-)
     
486. Titanic (A)
487. To Kill a Mockingbird (A)
     
488. Top Gun (B-)
489. Total Recall (B+)
     
490. Tough Guys (C+)
     
491. Toy Story (A+)
492. Toy Story 2 (A)
493. Traffic (A)
494. Training Day (A)
     
495. The Transporter (B-)
496. Transporter 2 (B-)
497. Troy (B+)
     
498. True Lies (B)
499. The Truman Show (A+)
     
500. Turner and Hooch (B-)
     
501. U-571 (C)
     
502. Unbreakable (A)
503. Undercover Brother (B-)
504. Under Siege (B+)
505. Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (D)
     
506. Unforgiven (B+)
507. United 93 (A+)
508. The Untouchables (B+)
509. The Usual Suspects (A+)
510. Vanilla Sky (B)
     
511. V for Vendetta (A)
512. Waking Life (A+)
     
513. Walk the Line (B+)
514. War of the Worlds (A)
515. Wargames (B)
516. The Waterboy (C-)
     
517. Wedding Crashers (A-)
518. The Wedding Planner (D)
     
519. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (B)
520. The Weather Man (A-)
521. West Side Story (A-)
522. What Women Want (B-)
     
523. When Harry Met Sally... (A+)
     
524. White Chicks (C-)
525. White Men Can't Jump (B)
526. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (A+)
     
527. The Whole Nine Yards (C)
     
528. Wild Wild West (C-)
529. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (D)
530. Witness (D)
531. The Wizard of Oz (A+)
     
532. World Trade Center (A-)
533. X-Men (B)
534. X2: X-Men United (A)
535. X-Men: The Last Stand (B+)
536. XXX (C+)
537. XXX: State of the Union (C)
     
538. You, Me & Dupree (C)
539. Zodiac (A-)
540. Zoolander (B)