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RETURN OF THE JEDI (***1/2)- I am of the opinion that this is the best Star Wars movie. So much drama, and action! It's a classic.
RONIN (***1/2)- I thought this was a pretty cool movie. Robert DeNiro and that French guy, Jean Rnoe star as professional criminals trying to capture a mysterious case. The car chases are the best part of the film, by far. Overall, it is an anjoyable movie, but could have been vastly improved with just a little bit more work.
ROMAN HOLIDAY (***1/2)- another classic movie. This is kind of a "chick flick" (to use that universal label)but I still enjoyed it. It has a really sad ending.
ROMEO AND JULIET (***)-this is NOT the new one with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. This one was made in the late sixties, and is, in my humble oppinion, better. I don't know how much I can tell you that you don't already know. It's the classic Shakesperian tragedy about two "star-crossed lovers" who end up killing themselves rather than not be together. That didn't sound right, but you know what I mean. It's real sad. The guy who plays Romeo in this movie is kind of a whiner, but Juliet is quite good, as are Tybalt and Mercutio. Lots of funny costumes (multi-colered spandex pants, outrageously huge hats, etc.) but I suppose they're "period". Anyway, if you want a "Romeo and Juliet" this is certainly the one to get.
ROUNDERS (***1/2)- Matt Damon and Edward Norton (from Fight Club!) star in this movie about the dark world of card playing. Pretty good overall, but I didn't really find it very interesting. I mean, a few parts were kind of cool, but not enough to make me want to watch it again. You should probably brush up on your poker before you rent it.
THE RULES OF ATTRACTION (**)- the worst part about The Rules of Attraction is that it tries so hard to be good. I’m sure the movie seemed like a stylish, hip and edgy black comedy while in production, but the final product looks more like an amateurish, show-offy film student flick with too big a budget. It just tries so hard to win us over that when it doesn’t, it looks like a colossal failure. The “split screen” tricks, the “fast-forward/slow-motion” effects, the “time running backward” thing, the “three-stories-become-one-story” plot which, after Pulp Fiction and Go, seems more cliché than cool, and even the “introducing the characters in a funky opening sequence” maneuver just seem ridiculous here because they serve no purpose. These stylish flairs are thrown in our face over and over until they don’t even amuse us anymore… they just seem annoying. It reminds me of a sad magician pulling every trick he knows in a vein attempt to entertain a jaded junior high school crowd (which, thanks to the “hip young cast” is probably not too far from the situation Rules of Attraction will find itself in).What worked about the Pulp Fiction plot was that everything that happened in it was tied into something else. Each scene was important in weaving together another part of the movie. Much of Rules of Attraction could have been left on the cutting room floor with absolutely no effect on the story. Example: We watch several scenes of Paul meeting his drunk, obnoxious cousin Dick and having dinner with his mother and aunt. These scenes are completely unnecessary to understanding the rest of the movie. Why are they here? True, the Dick character, played very well by Quincy Evans, is perhaps the funniest in the movie, but he serves no purpose. He’s weird and loud and makes funny faces and then he’s gone, never to be heard from again. Same with Paul’s mom, inexplicably played by Faye Dunaway. I get the impression the only reason these scenes are in the film is so that later the filmmakers can sit around and say, “Yeah, I did a movie with Fay Dunaway once.” Pointless.
If I give the movie credit for anything, it has to be for the acting. Though none of the characters are very enjoyable to watch, they are for the most part played very realistically. I especially give kudos to James Van Der Beek for taking on a role sure to shed him of his “pretty boy” image; he plays a creepy, drug dealing, womanizing, heartless jerk, perhaps the most unappealing character in a movie full of unappealing characters. Good of him to expand his horizons. I also thought that a lot of the dialogue was well written, pretty faithful to the way college students actually speak (did I mention that the entire flick takes place at a fictional, East Coast college where everyone seems to just spend all their time getting drunk and having sex with wild abandon? Yeah, well, it does).
I would not see The Rules of Attraction again, not even to make fun of it. It is painfully difficult to watch.
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (***)-a Jackie Chan movie. What more can you say? The stunts and action scenes are cool as ever, and the acting and plot are lame as ever. The odd thing about this one is that I think the charactes are actually speaking English, but the sound still dosen't really synch up, as if it was dubbed over anyway. Also, instead of the lighthearted, humorous out takes we are used to at the end of Jackie Chan movies, this one features people getting seriously injured and then taken away on stretchers. But hey, I'm sure it was all worth it. Among other things, this movie features a chase with a hovercraft, a fight involving refigerators, and a truck full of baloons falling off the top of a building. Pretty cool. My favorite part is when the hovercraft goes onto the land, and people are running to get out of the way. There is one shot where there is a guy in a wheelchair who, to escape getting hit, simply gets up and runs away. Also, the part when Jackie falls off of the hovercraft and rolls underneath a truck, and the driver says, "Are you ok?" and Jackie says, "No!" and then runs off. Oh that wacky Jackie!
RUSHMORE (*****)-as you can tell by the rating, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. The cinematorgraphy and settings are beautiful, the writing is terriffic, and the acting is some of the best I've seen in a long time. Also, it stars one of my favorite actors Bill Murray as a depressed millionare. The movie is hilarious, but also moving at some points. Definately check it out.
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