What a bomb. The only growth the character Rueben (Ben Stiller) experiences is that he gives up being obsessive about taking risks in life to hang out with Polly, the unstructured one, and live through weeks of excruciating episodes of irritable bowel syndrome.It's also a kind of formulaic romance but with the characters only promising each other that they'll - hang out (live together). If one of the criteria for romantic genre is that the main characters sacrifice something for the other - … [Read more...]

The industry is revving up for a big Valentine's Day celebration through several new films, one of them WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON.It's conventional with an innocent love triangle between West Virginians Rosalee, (Kate Boswell) and Pete (Topher Grace - That 70's Show) characters and Tad, played by Josh Duhamel. The actors play improbable people but this little fantasy works because the actors are willing and do sacrifice for the other. The actors are too beautiful to be real, but its a … [Read more...]

In America by director Jim Sheridan, is wonderful. If I had seen it before today (Jan 4) it would have made my top three for last year. This tale of a husband and wife from Ireland and their two daughters (sublimely played by real life sisters) who have lost a son and brother, Frankie, and the wonderful gift of their neighbor, Mateo, will have you in tears.The family immigrates illegally from Ireland through Canada and settles in a NY tenament full of drug addicts - and an artist, Mateo who … [Read more...]

Here is my list of favorite films of 2003, in other words, my picks for best films - out of 77 that I saw.Bend It like Beckham  #7 pickBonhoefferBruce Almighty # 8 pickCold Mountain #6 pickDirty Pretty Things # 5 pickFinding NemoGoodbye Lenin (Germany)In this WorldLast SamuraiLord of the Rings: The Return of the King #3 pickMatrix: RevolutionsMystic RiverPirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl  #4 pickSeabiscuitStation Agent #2 pickThe MissingUnder the Tuscan SunVeronica … [Read more...]