Passion of Mind ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
Demi Moore stars in this unappreciated film about a woman who lives two lives, one of which takes place in her dreams. It seems as though whenever she falls asleep, she takes up one or the other of her lives. In one, she's a widow with two young children living in France; in the other, she's a single career woman living in New York City. Both lives seem very real and interesting and the viewers are drawn into her mystery of trying to figure out which is her real life. At various times we root for each to be "the one."

This film is probably not doing terribly well at the box office but it's a worthy film with a remarkable performance by Moore. I'd say it's one of her best roles ever. If this film came to the US from France, we'd hail it as a work of art. It's beautifully decorated, provocative and convincingly real. I recommend it but you'll probably have to wait for the video or check what's playing at your local art house.

Patriot ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This film was supposed to be a summer blockbuster, but something went wrong and nobody is quite sure just what it was. It's the American Revolution again, which never seems to quicken our pulses as much as it should. And perhaps we're just a little too familiar with Mel Gibson's anger. He's Braveheart again -- the reluctant warrior forced into battle one more time. The storyline is familiar (of course), the battle scenes are shockingly horrible, and the characters are time-honored stereotypes of soldiers willing to die for their cause as they go through their paces in a predictable manner (so maybe that's exactly what's wrong with this film). Still, it's an entertaining film to rent.

Pay it Forward ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
I’ve decided not to look too closely at this one. You could totally go there and get deep with the Jesus analogies, but I think that would actually detract from the easy enjoyment of this movie, the hands-down tearjerker of the year. Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt were both brilliant in this one--I’ll nominate them next year when the Academy calls. Haley-Joel-whoever failed to impress me--a number of times I couldn’t resist offering up the easy "I see dead people!" crack to my movie-going partner when the kid flashed his earnest and scared, this-close-to-tears look. 

He did carry off the role reasonably well, though, which is as much as I’m willing to give him. In spite of some very good acting and a somewhat original story, Pay it Forward definitely commanded a hefty amount of eye-rolling, snorting, and generally oppositional behavior on the part of this oh-so-mature reviewer. The cheese-factor is high, but the grown-up actors deftly slice their way through it and turn out a quality product full of heart and integrity. I guess I liked it in spite of myself. Recommended -- see it with a good friend.

Pearl Harbor ****
reviewed by the Phantom
John Wayne would have loved this movie. It's one of those popcorn and big drink films that don't come around very often. It's World War II again but this time the US isn't doing too well, until close to the end, of course, but we all know how this story ends. It's a love story that's also rather old-fashioned and touching, just the way they used to be in John Wayne's time. As history, it's a rather shallow lesson. But the Japanese don't have anything to worry about. They are spared the usual war-movie stereotypes. Great battle sequences, all well filmed. It's engrossing and engaging, well worth the time commitment (it runs about 3 hours!). The older kids can see it as well as the adults. See it on the big screen for the full effect. (June 2001)

The Pianist ****
reviewed by the Phantom
I thought I didn't need to see another WWII film Jewish Holocaust film after Schinder's List, but I was wrong. This film is a testament to the human spirit, showing us the grim reality of the Warsaw ghetto through the eyes of concert pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman as he struggles to survive the unsurviveable. The film is based on his memoir. It's cruel, dispassionate, brilliant and haunting. Bravo to Roman Polanski for bringing us another unforgettable film.

Possession ****
reviewed by The Phantom
I rarely say this about a movie: it was better than the book! The story is complex – about two scholarly researchers looking into the private life of a dead poet. It’s an academic subject that lacks passion on the printed page. But in the movie the story flashes back to recreate the dead poet’s life and we get to visualize a passionate Victorian romance, while the living researchers are having their own love affair, sort of. The film is gorgeous, beautifully textured and faithful to Byatt’s novel. It’s a must-see for thoughtful romantics.

Prairie Home Companion ****
reviewed by the Phantom
This movie is a love letter to NPR addicts like me. I listen to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home radio program nearly every week so I just couldn't wait to see this movie. Robert Altman, the director, must be a fan too. He and Garrison created this masterpiece, the set is as good looking as the actors. It's the story of their last performance, complete with Guy Noir on the scene, silly as always. But it's Meryl Streep and Lilly Tomlin who steal the show. They sing and talk, both at the same time, nattering on about nothing, just like Garrison. I can't wait to go see it again!

The Queen ***
reviewed by The Phantom
Helen Mirren will be nominated for an Oscar for this truly intriguing performance as present-day Queen Elizabeth. She becomes Elizabeth in tone, in style and eerily, in looks and mannerisms. It's truly a brava performance depicting how the British Monarchy stumbled and then regained its balance after the death of Princess Diana. Of course, we are forced to once again witness the tragedy of Diana's death and the mourning that followed, complete with newsreel footage. It's still difficult to watch, but nevertheless, it's a story worth seeing. You will become a fan of Mirren's, if you haven't been before. FYI: Mirren is most famous for her continuing TV series, Prime Suspect, in which she plays inspector Jane Tennyson -- must-see TV.

Quills ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
We’re quickly reminded that goodness doesn’t always win, as this movie grapples with the questions of how to know good from evil and how to discern worldly temptation from divine purpose. Quills dives deeply into this perplexity and characterizes a struggle between one man’s compulsively-driven life purpose and the Word of God as interpreted by mere mortals. 

The creatively rendered persona of the Marquis de Sad serves beautifully as the center of this intriguing dispute. Does temptation necessarily lead to downfall? How far does personal responsibility extend in creating and resisting earthly pleasures? A myriad compelling questions are raised, and the choice to supply few answers positions this film amidst the realms of the brilliant. The symbolism goes deep and the irony extends perhaps a tad too far, but the overall effect is profound. Hopefully the subject matter will not detract the Academy from honoring the fabulous performances and direction.

Ray ****
reviewed by the Phantom
I loved this movie but I learned more about Ray Charles than I needed or wanted to know. I love his music and was interested to learn why he was blind, but I didn't really need to know about his personal life, his drug addiction and his sexual history, or did I? Jamie Foxx was brilliant as Ray and the movie reminded me of the "old days" when movies like this one would have earned an Oscar, or at least would be up against the likes of Kinsey. Now I'm fearing that both of these fine films will be overlooked at Oscar time due to junk movies like The Incredibles. We'll just have to wait and see.

Shakespeare in Love, ****
reviewed by Karen Dale 
Willie S., down and nearly out as a playwright, has a severe case of writer's block, while working on a play called Romeo and Ethel, which is fixed when he falls in love with an aristocratic woman, who, unbeknownst to Willie, impersonates an actor in his show, and teaches him the true meaning of passion and duplicity, leading him to realize that alas, he needs to change the name of his play to Romeo and Juliet, and all's well that ends well.

Shakleton's Antarctic Adventure***
reviewed by the Phantom
Shakleton, the failed explorer, is enjoying great popularity these days, so if you'd like to become acquainted with his great adventure in the Antarctic, mosey on down to your local IMAX theatre for a thrilling hour of entertainment. (If you don't have an IMAX nearby, check out your TV listings. A variety of stations, mostly PBS-types, will be showing this film soon.) I won't give away the details of his life here, except to say they are worth checking out. The IMAX adventure glosses over his personality (problems?) and and just gives us the highlights, so if you're interested in the nitty-gritty, read about him.

Shrek ****
reviewed by the Phantom
You haven’t seen this one yet? You’re missing out. If you need a laugh, you better get yourself on down to the movies. Yes, it's animated but it’s not just for kids. Yes, it’s a fairy tale, but again, it’s not just for kids. Most of Donkey’s lines, voiced by Eddie Murphy, will go right over the little kids heads, but they’ll be laughing anyhow. Murphy’s never been better. I think Donkey should get a nomination. And you’ll leave the theater loving ogres, especially if they sound like Mike Meyers. Carman Diaz is the princess, make that the warrior princess, who is waiting for her prince to come, but she’s willing to settle, with a little encouragement from Donkey. The extras in the film are all fairy tale characters. The storyline is wonderful. What else can I say? I enjoyed every minute of it. (6/2001) (Wanna read the Phantom's synopsis? Click here!)

Shrek2 ****
reviewed by The Phantom

Shrek and Princess Fiona are now married and it’s all lovey-dovey between them for a little while, until the inevitable happens – Shrek’s gotta go visit the in-laws. They happen to be royalty of course. How else could Fiona be a princess? She didn’t marry a prince, she married an ogre. Shrek, like most husbands, wants to stay home, hang out with his swampy friends, play in the mud and fart around, literally. Fiona has other ideas, she wants her parents to know that she’s been rescued and has made a new life for herself – with an ogre – which isn’t all that bad, since she’s an orgrette herself.

Donkey convinces the happy couple that he should go with them on their adventure to Far, Far Away, where the royals live. They take off in their garlic-shaped carriage with Donkey in the backseat, who becomes bored with the journey like any small child. His boredom antics are truly amusing and don’t stop until they reach Far Far Away which looks exactly like Hollywood, Rodeo Drive and Disneyland all smushed together.

The folks are appalled by Shrek. After all, he has horrible eating habits, loves to burp, dresses like a slob and is green, for heaven’s sake. Just like Fiona, unfortunately. They think Fiona could have done better. Dad and the wicked Fairy Godmother, who happens to have an unmarried son named Charming, who would love to be a prince, conspire to get rid of Shrek and make Fiona kiss Charming, thereby turning him into Prince Charming. Will it work?

Well, Shrek has other ideas, sort of. He and Donkey need a plan, but in the meantime are attacked by Puss in Boots, who steals the show by the way, as a would-be foe turned best buddy of Shrek. Puss is wonderfully feline, even when he’s barfing up a hairball. He’s so cute that Donkey nearly becomes green with envy himself.

The story concludes when Shrek and Fiona realize – again – that they are meant for each other even though they must overcome all odds to maintain their love. They get help this time by a giant gingerbread man and some other fairytale characters who all go wild trying to stop the vile fairy godmother once and for all. Everything gets sorted out eventually and they all end up living La Vida Loca.

Shrek, Donkey and Boots truly are cartoon characters meant for adults. The humor is a little too sophisticated for kids. Sponge Bob, it ain’t. There probably aren’t enough sight-gags to amuse them. There wasn’t nearly as much bathroom humor this time out, and only once did somebody get hit in the crotch. There wasn’t much foul language, no chase scenes, and not much in the way of the usual violence that kids seem to like. But the crowd loved it and got exactly what we expected -- loads of good-humored silliness.

Sicko ***
reviewed by The Phantom
Another Michael Moore documentary. This one is way less flamboyant than 911, but nevertheless it is definitely worth watching. It's a critique of the American Health Care System. Michael compares ours to health care systems of other countries, like the UK, France and Canada. We come up laughably short. Our health care system is the most costly in the world because we are at the mercy of the politicians, the lobbyists, the HMOs, and above all, the pharmaceutical companies, who all have their hands in our pockets. Their greed and duplicity has created a system that costs the American taxpayers billions of dollars every year for less than adequate care for most people. Those who can afford to pay the most get good treatment, but the rest of America must make some awful choices if a catastrophic illness befalls them. Even Cuba treats its citizens better than we do. It's a real eye opener.

A Simple Plan ****
reviewed by the Phantom 
Anyone planning to "just keep the money" that you found but know doesn't really belong to you should watch this simple plan turn into a complicated nightmare that twists good and evil to the point where you might even find yourself rooting for what's morally wrong to succeed over what you know is the right thing to do.

Perfect Storm  *
reviewed by Karen Dale
To start on a positive note, the book is really good. The rare phenomenon of multiple storms intersecting to create the mother of all meteorological nightmares is fascinating, and the levels of chutzpah, bravado, or plain ol’ stupidity of the fisherman who braved that maelstrom must have been staggering.  Unfortunately, the film fails to adequately investigate these interesting facets of the incident, in favor of inventing a hopelessly superficial and sappy storyline and focusing on the gaps of unknown information about the event. 

It is obvious that the creators’ goal was to produce a movie full of kick-ass graphics and exciting adventure sequences, plot and believability be damned. I found the computer-generated wave graphics to be entirely fake-looking, and I couldn’t hold back my cynical barbs every time they filmed from their blatantly-Hollywood "back-of-the-boat” set. Other giveaways as to the lack of concern for realism include deep ocean water as clear as a sandy bank in Cancun, twenty-foot waves outside and a motionless crew in the galley, and the most dysfunctional application of CPR ever to be performed on a non-plastic prototype. The latter was especially unforgivable for me, as George Clooney clearly should have been able to draw on his lengthy background of medical acting to give this scene an ounce of credibility. If you’re interested in the story, I suggest reading the book to get the accurate and truly compelling account of the occurrence. If you still feel compelled to check out the special effects, hold out for the $2 matinee at the cheap theater.

Planet of the Apes **
reviewed by the Phantom
Despite the hype for this movie, it’s mostly about the special effects, not the story. Thoughtful reviewers say this movie, like the one in the late ‘60s, contains a subtle message about our culture, having to do with wake-up calls regarding specie-ism or racism or controlling and killing animals for fun and profit. But if you talk to most movie-goers about what they might have learned from this film, they’ll just say “huh?” To most people, it’s just another adventure-thriller, summer movie with great special effects.

Poseidon (the remake) *
reviewed by the Phantom
Mayday, Mayday! for this movie. I saw this one because I remembered the first one, which was also a bad movie. This one is even worse. A rogue wave hits a gigantic cruise ship causing it to turn upside down and float in the water like that until 8 out of the thousands of passengers on board can escape into a life raft that has also escaped and is floating conveniently near the overturned ship. Unlike the first Poseidon adventure, there is no back story and we really don't care a twit whether these people live or die. They, of course, must overcome very dramatic and totally unbelievable feats of physical endurance to get to the life raft, and of course they make it just before Poseidon plunges, once again, to its watery grave. Just for the fun of it, I looked up "rogue wave" on the internet. There is no such thing unless you mean the rock band or the MySpace website. So keep cruising and don't bother looking for rogue waves when you're on the love boat..

Random Hearts *
reviewed by the Phantom
I couldn't wait to see this film starring Harrison Ford and what's her name, Kristin Scott Thomas. It was actually billed as a thriller. It was not! I guess we all know the plot by now. These two characters, who would never have met, except that their spouses were in a plane crash together. Oops! The film tries to make a story out of an ending and it simply doesn't work. The film's pace is much too slow, too much mood music (that's always a dead giveaway), too many Harrison Ford thousand-yard stares and nothing really left to say. Then the viewers, after two hours of waiting, are cheated by the only small moment surprise left to us and Dutch, the Harrison Ford character. I won't reveal that moment, so you too can feel cheated, if you accidentally rent this film, or heaven forbid, actually go to see it in a real theater.

Requiem for a Dream *
reviewed by the Phantom
This is a drug addict movie with those nauseating through-the-eyes-of-a-drugged-out-user camera shots. It’s very hard to watch. The message: don’t do drugs (duh!), and don’t watch it unless you take your Dramamine first.

Riding in Cars with Boys **
reviewed by Karen Dale
This movie was really long. What made it feel even longer was the discomfort I felt in watching this young woman with a complete lack of parenting skills and knowing the damage she was causing her neglected, angry son. However, I appreciated the discomfort because it spoke to the reality of the situation being depicted. Drew Barrymore played a very young, essentially single mom with a drug addict husband to a heartbreaking “T”. 

The story chronicles her struggles through teenage and young-adulthood, seeming to elaborate every minute and every tiny problem. It became a bit tedious, as we definitely got the point, but the correlation between our boredom and frustration as an audience served to increase our identification with this character and her messed-up child. The mother character was neither complete heroine nor total 
loser: actually, all of the characters in the story were well-drawn and balanced. And towards the end, we saw the mom-son duo begin to break from their ugly codependent cycle, which was uplifting and served as a nice reward for our patience. If you’ve got deep issues with your parents, you’ll probably love this one. (12/01)

Road to Perdition *
reviewed by The Phantom
The dictionary defines perdition as a state of final spiritual ruin, in other words, hell. So why would a person make a road trip to such a destination? This movie tries very hard to pretend that it’s got something profound to tell us about the human condition, but the plotline is pretty much explained in the TV commercials: a hit man on the road with his son. They are being chased to Perdition, which is also a small town in Michigan I think, because they are the bad guys, but they aren’t being chased by the good guys. No-no. They are being chased by other bad guys for reasons I won’t go into. And the dad is teaching his son how to be a man, sort of gangster style – the tricks of the trade, which include shooting, driving the getaway car, that sort of thing. They have father-son fun while doing it, but this isn’t a fun movie. The profound moral it teaches us: bank robbing can be fun; don’t kill people. Rent this one later. (Aug 2002.)

The Royal Tennenbaums *
reviewed by Karen Dale
Who cares about this screwed up family. The premise is that this family is too unbelievable to be real, so why would they think we'd want to spend two hours of our lives witnessing their fake antics? A royal pain in the ass.

Save the Last Dance **
reviewed by the Phantom
This is the perfect no-brainer I wanna dance but I’ve got a big problem video rental. We’ve seen this story done oh so much better before: Billie Elliott, Flash Dance, et cetera. This time the writers just changed the ethnicity of the dancers and mixed hip-hop with ballet for the dance sequences. The storyline is thin, the acting is marginally good, and the dance tries for slammin’.  It’s not great art but it’s watchable. (11/01)

Saving Silverman   *  
reviewed by Karen Dale
Saving Silverman’s basis and storyline have a lot of potential. Three guys have been the best of buds since forever, one of them gets a pain-in-the-ass girlfriend and the other two do whatever it takes to break them up. Not bad stuff. And not bad actors: Amanda Peet, Jack Black, Jason Biggs' are all real up-and-comers. The movie’s downfall was its editing. The plot was chopped up into individual comic bits that could have been blended together more naturally to keep the laughter flowing. And the timing before and after jokes was thrown off by the movie rushing to the next bit and not giving the good moments the time they needed to really take. When the same jokes that are really funny in the trailer fall completely flat in the movie, you know it’s the person who pasted the thing together that screwed it all up. Too bad.  

Scary Movie *
reviewed by Karen Dale
This movie was lucky to earn one star from me, which was based on a few scenes that caused genuine out-loud laughter.  It’s highlight is also it’s undoing, however, as this movie is really just a string of short, semi-funny bits held together by a borrowed amalgamation of recent horror movie plots. And if your age doesn’t begin with a "1", chances are low that you’ve seen all the movies on which the jokes are based. There are a few esoteric references that an older crowd might appreciate more, but it’s not worth the pain suffered in getting there. I’m not a huge marijuana fan, myself, but my guess is that this movie would probably be a fall-down riot if viewed while stoned.  

Serendipity **
reviewed by Karen Dale
John Cusack pulls this dog along by its collar. Cute premise, but ultimately exhausting when you know where it’s going but it just refuses to go there until you’re pulling your hair out. Moral of the story: If you screw with fate, it’ll screw with you right back. (12/01)

Shallow Hal *
reviewed by Karen Dale-
Sad, not too funny, and the fat-suit's not fooling anyone.

Sleepy Hollow **
reviewed by Daren Dale
See this one for Johnny Depp. He definitely makes the movie. It's surreal and creepy and more than a bit gory--very Tim Burton. The story is somewhat confusing and its hard to follow the logic at times. Stylistically and visually it's quite a feat, though, and easily fits into the genre of entertainment. And accordingly, I will recommend it as entertaining, but not a must-see.

Slums of Beverly Hills **
reviewed by Roger King
Combining the mind-numbing boredom of yet another teenage angst-filled coming of age theme with Alan Arkin's portrayal of a pathetic 90's version of a Willie Loman character, including a gratuitous scene of his Clintonesque groping of a needy family relative, this white-trash family of Jerry Springer audition rejects received all stars from the pretentious, pseudo-intellectual movie critics of the Bay Area who should be condemned to re-watch this film weekly on a double billing with The Avengers with their feet glued to one of the numerous sticky floors available locally, until they admit, although legally and technically correct, they did indeed commit a sin in recommending this movie.

Snatch *
reviewed by Karen Dale
Snatch is a crazy, violent, spastic burst of noise leaving the visceral message that lying and cheating lead to trouble, and trouble is dangerous to your health. British gangsters shoot it out in a Pulp Fiction-wanna-be jumble that’s hard to follow and more or less pointless. It’s lively and watchable, with Brad Pitts’ character and a squeaky dog adding some humor to distract from the spiraling spasms of chaos and violence.

Someone Like You **
reviewed by Karen Dale
Your basic romantic comedy. I liked the way it was set up, and the fact that the protagonist was clearly a thinking woman. The predictability sets in after about twenty minutes. Thank goodness for Marissa Tomei, who adds great life and energy to the standard shmaltz. Character motivations were unclear, and the match that was supposed to make our toes tingle left most of the audience shivering and suppressing an “eww, gross”. When the final kiss between two people who have finally found each other makes you wonder whether one or both of the actors is gay, there’s a definite chemistry glitch.

Space Cowboys ** 
reviewed by The Phantom
The guys probably like this one better than us girls. I thought it was sort of boring, even with the great cast of good old boys.

Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones *
reviewed by Karen Dale
I prefer the title “Little Orphan Annie”. If people claim that this movie comes anywhere close to the genius of the original “Star Wars”, then it can truly be said that our society has lost its critical eye for moviemaking. It’s sad, if not pathetic, that this new series even bears the name of its progenitor. Think about it -- if this movie were simply titled “Attack of the Clones”, would you ever consider camping out for tickets, skipping work to see it in its first days of release, or even paying full price? Heck no! It would be lucky to capture your attention as a Blockbuster rental. Are we so numbed and dumbed by our short attention span, technology-dependent society that this passes for quality entertainment? How very sad. Specifics: unexciting, no intrigue or suspense, all injuries are instantly remedied, dull storyline, bad acting, what happened to the underlying spirituality of Luke Skywalker's personal quest and discovery of The Force? -- and finally, what's up with those cartoonish special effects? This is drivel.