Search for 2003

Whatever his faults as a filmmaker may be, Kevin Costner certainly understands the Western. Although Open Range is not on the same level as Dances with Wolves, it's a respectable effort that is only slightly marred by the unnecessarily protracted ...

Owning Mahowny casts an unflinching gaze into a window of addiction of a sort not often portrayed in movies. Based on the true-life book "Stung" by Gary Stephen Ross, the film chronicles the facts of the case of a Toronto bank vice president who s...

For those taking a global view of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, it's very easy to be cynical. This is, after all, cross-promotion at its most blatant. What could be more marketable that one of Disney's most popular theme...

It has been a while since Hollywood has produced a bona fide action hero, but it appears that one has finally emerged. Look out Vin Diesel, because the Rock appears ready to roll. He is the Schwarzenegger of the 2000s with a comprehensible accent....

When the filmmakers started out two films ago, the Scary Movies were funny. Since then, it has been a rapid decline through mediocrity into near-unwatchability. Absent for this third installment are the Wayans Brothers, who are replaced by David ...

I don't want to call Richard Linklater a "sellout," since that's probably as unfair as it is unkind. But The School of Rock is clearly Linklater's attempt to develop some box office clout – something he has not achieved with critically acclaimed...

Seabiscuit is the great hope of the adult movie-going audience: a summer motion picture that is not designed to appeal to teenage boys. Ordinarily, one might think it would be a risk on Universal's part to release the movie in late July, but the a...

I wanted to like this movie more than I actually did, because it addresses a couple of provocative issues head-on, without too much sugar coating. The first is the Hollywood tendency to devalue middle-age female actors, relegating them to supporti...

Spring Summer Fall Winter...and Spring is a gorgeous motion picture. Using perfectly composed shots to amplify an emotionally resonant story, the film successfully argues that "artistic" films do not have to be boring. Although few in the audience...

Note: This review contains spoilers. Those who wish to have a completely "fresh" viewing experience of this movie should return after seeing it. The concept of involving a female mystery writer in a crime is not a new plot device. In fact, fr...