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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Best ever
Fine acting, wonderful dialogue, and stirring action scenes. Eastwood, Bottoms, and Chief Dan George are unforgettable, and the plot is archetypical without being formulaic. I've seen all the classics from Stagecoach to Unforgiven, and in my opinion this is the best Western ever made.
Men of War (1994)
Exceeds expectations
A surprisingly good actioner in which mercenaries hired to attack a tropical island go native and defend it instead. Seasoned character actors play most of the important roles, and they make Dolph Lundgren look bad in the lead, but the fine supporting cast and John Sayles's clever but unpretentious script more than make up for this. B.D. Wong's sharp performance as a cagey native is a triumph of acting, especially the way he overcomes the "Tarzan/Jane" dialect he has to use, is one of the show's many unexpected highlights.
Near Dark (1987)
Truly frightening
This is the scariest vampire flick I've ever seen, and easily in the top five of scariest movies, period, I've ever seen. Stylish direction from the underrated Kathryn Bigelow (no relation to me) and wonderful acting from several of the James Cameron Travelling Players (including Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Jenette Goldstein) maximize the value of a clever script. A near perfect film.
Notting Hill (1999)
A romantic comedy that really works
This movie is a kind of scrambled clone of Richard Curtis's other great romantic comedy, Four Weddings and a Funeral. The nice thing is that for Curtis this is apparently one of his specialties, like Robert B. Parker writing a detective book, rather than something he did because his last comedy-romance fared so well at the box office. He is not feeding off his last work; he is simply doing a variation on a favorite theme. Which is to say that while Notting Hill shares many elements with Four Weddings and a Funeral, this in no way diminishes either movie, and both are quite good.
In fact, of the two, I think I might prefer this one. Julia Roberts's star power exceeds Andie MacDowell's, and Roberts is given more time to develop her character, so the romance works better here than in Four Weddings.
The one rehash of the Four Weddings format that didn't work on any level was the attempt to find another rock and roll oldie to revamp for the soundtrack and turn into a big hit. In the attempt to find what would be for Notting Hill what Wet Wet Wet's version of "Love is All Around" was for Four Weddings, we are taken through a tiresome and intrusive series of oldies and covers of oldies, the best of which (though that's not saying much) is Elvis Costello's far too faithful cover of "She."
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
A worthy successor
The best movie in the world? Nah, but it's plenty good enough. The Phantom Menace has astounding visuals, riveting action, and, while its characterizations, like Star Wars's, are thin, this one has something Star Wars didn't: major star power. Liam Neeson, Ewan MacGregor, and Natalie Portman bring gravity and magnetism to their roles.
There's more pandering to the kiddies than I'd have liked to see in this movie -- could alien sidekick Jar Jar Binks have been more annoying through most of this film? -- but there is a lot of great stuff here too. The climactic light-sabre battle in which the evil Sith Lord Darth Maul takes on two Jedi Knights is one of the best action scenes on film. It's almost on a level with the fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
Hey, I just realized. Liam Neeson was also in Rob Roy, in which he participated in another one of the best swordfights on film. Coincidence?
Entrapment (1999)
Stupid fun
Every scene is enjoyable, but if you string them all together, you get gibberish. This isn't a story, it's a collection of well told cliches that don't go well together. If it weren't for the star power of Connery and Zeta Jones, and the talent of hired directoral gun Jon Amiel, this dumb, splashy caper film would have collapsed under its own idiocy. However, because of the effort its talent put into it, it's a diverting movie.
Payback (1999)
Tough-guy fare
There used to be a whole genre of movies about tough thugs who spent more time taking punishment than dealing it out. That time is past, but if you're into that sort of thing, here's a throwback to those days. Despite Gibson's appearance here, this is no better than any of those old B-grade flicks, but it's no worse either. It's meat and potatoes action fare from twenty years ago.
Fled (1996)
Bad
Basically, the only reason to see this movie is to see Will Patton's fine performance in a peripheral supporting role. If you're not the kind of person who'd watch a bad movie because a good actor is in a peripheral role, this is not the movie for you. Even those who would are likely to get more enjoyment doing something else.
Armageddon (1998)
Check your brain at the door
Idiotic fun! If you know anything about space, it's a comedy; if you don't, it's a thriller!
Out of Sight (1998)
More fun even than the book
Generally when I've read the book first, it means I will hate the movie. Movies just seem cursory and stupid if I've read the book first. But this one was faithful to both the spirit and the facts of the book in more places than any I've ever seen. The inevitable departures from the book's plot actually made the movie more fun than the book was -- the ending softened the book, the way movie endings usually do, but didn't go overboard, the way movie endings usually do. It was still faithful to the spirit of the book even as it allowed a little more hope than the book did.
Loved it.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Nice one!
The critics I've seen have given this installment two stars and two and a half stars out of a possible four. I have no idea why they're scoring it so low. It's got action almost as good as the last one, humor almost as good as Trek IV, fine performances all round (F. Murray Abraham makes a great villain), and the exciting direction of Jonathan Frakes, who is even better as a director than he ever was at playing Cmdr. Riker. If there's any justice, Insurrection will break the movie "warp speed" barrier by making more than a hundred million dollars.
Anastasia (1997)
The next best thing to being Walt Disney
This is the best Disney animation imitation I've seen. I enjoyed it more than The Lion King, though less than, say, Beauty and the Beast or Hunchback of Notre Dame. Highlights included excellent voice casting -- Meg Ryan, Christopher Lloyd, John Cusack, and especially Kelsey Grammer and Hank Azaria -- and animation every bit as good as any Disney film. It only falls short in music: the songs aren't up to Disney standard. I won't be humming any of them an hour after the movie is over. Still, a fun film, and by no means a waste of time.