RishOut

I guess that's a pretty bold statement, but "Pearl Harbor" took me out of my seat and into the film--into the characters and situations--in a way that I've never felt before. And I've loved movies since before I can remember! I saw, back when "Titanic" or "Braveheart" came out, the reaction people had to them, and now, I've found my "Titanic." I know why they saw "Braveheart" a half dozen times. Watching Michael Bay's film, I was reduced to a child, bright-eyed and completely believing, and also forced to recognize my adulthood in the knowledge that people like my grandfather made great sacrifices in the second World War that I will never understand or appreciate. And I got to, for a short period of time, be someone I never was, who fought not just for his country, but for the love of an elegant, beautiful girl. I don't think I'll elaborate much more on any of this, as it could only cheapen the sentiment. I do suppose there will be many who didn't like the film, and mock those that did (there always are), and some of their complaints may even be valid, but there's no way anyone can tell me I didn't FEEL the joy, despair, love, and hope that I felt in that theater on May 25th, 2001.

A truly remarkable achievement: "Lost Souls" manages to turn a terrifying premise (Ben Chaplain is the Antichrist--but doesn't know it yet--and Winona Ryder is part of the group that has to stop him before he brings about the end of the world)into a dull, scareless stinker of a horror movie. Finished in 1998, it sat on the shelf for a looooooong time (and should have kept sitting there). I am usually pretty lenient on horror movies, but this was among the worst I've seen in the theater. Winona Ryder had a dazed, almost drugged look the whole time. I know I'd have to be medicated to appear in a film as awful as this one. First-time director (but long-time cinematographer) Janusz Kaminski shows us his talents lie in framing a shot and adding an interesting look to a film, but also that he should stay far away from the narrative part of filmmaking. John Hurt appears as a priest, but his role is really only created so we can be afraid of the forces the good guys are up against. The worst element of this film was how much they built up to the climax that never came. At the end, I felt I had been in one of those terrible carnival rides that you waste half the night in line for, then come out wishing you had gotten on the Tilt-O-Whirl again instead.

I expected a lesser film, just a violent man-pleasing actionfest with plenty of digital backgrounds, but was very pleasantly surprised. Well paced, well acted, and very well told, `Gladiator' is a fine, fine film, filled with fantastic set pieces, thrilling battles, and a varied array of interesting and noble characters. Russell Crowe delivers a powerful, intense performance that's sure to win him acclaim and fans (he's easy to cheer for). This was a film on a scale so grand, I can think of only a handful of films like it in the last twenty years. It was exciting, moving, and best of all, deeply satisfying. Ridley Scott should be commended.