Reviews

Boys don't cry is perhaps one of the longest movies to watch. Both the content of the movie and the plot leave you begging for the end. The movie is extremely slow and this is mainly because the plot is so lacking. We get to know Brandon, but the first hour of the movie is merely a party. Party after party, leads the audience to get bored with the film, because it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. In fact, it takes at least twenty five minutes of the film for Brandon to even meet Lana. Aside from the grudging pace of the film, the content is utterly disturbing and depressing. We watch some of the most low class people. The only people that seem to shine are Brandon and Lana, and this is expressed well in the scenes where they dream about going to Memphis. Towards the end of the film, the plot picks up and so does the speed. We hope that Brandon and Lana can make it and that they dont hurt Brandon. The ending adds a major shock to this hope. I suppose that the director was aiming at creating a parrallel between Brandon as a guy in the beginning and as an uncovered woman in the end. At first we see that these people really like him as a good friend. The acting in this film is really great, and Swank is brilliant.

Nevertheless, the grudging pace and excessive depressing scenes boggled down the great performances. (6 of 10)

The Haunting is a visual masterpiece. The special effects are phenomenal, and the images are very demanding; almost too demanding. Yet the film runs into a problem that many recent films have also encountered(in contrast to the technological revolution). The film is about two girls and one guy, placed in a haunted(literally) house, for the experimentation of human fear. As time passes, and the characters discover the horrible truths of the house, and the previous inhabitants, one of the characters finds a hidden and lost connection with herself and the house. Finally she is able to free the house from the haunting ghosts and demons that had roamed the house for years. The film depends on the special effects to carry on the movie, which is a mistake to begin with. The most important part of a film is the script, which can be simplified as the plot. Not only is the haunting too dependent on special effects, and visual scare, it lacks a decent plot to accompany it. A film cannot be good without a good script, but a film can be good without great special effects. Aside from these factors, the acting wasn't too great either, and the film also fails to accomplish one of it's goals. It isn't frightening. The plot is predictable, which results in a lack of fear in the audience. The film could have been a lot better, had it simply spent more time and concentration on developing a more believable and more detailed plot. *****(5 stars of 10)

There is one thing Tom Ripley does not lie about, and that is the fact that he is very good at lying. In the early stages of the movie, when asked what he is good at, he replies honestly and nonchalantly: forging signatures, telling lies, and making impressions of other people. The movie begins with Tom Ripley(Matt Damon)lying to one, Mr. Greenleaf, as he assumes the identity of one of Mr. Greenleaf's sons colleagues from Princeton. From that point on, Mr. Ripley finds himself traveling to Italy to find Greenleafs son, Dickie(Jude Law). As the movie progresses, we watch the gradual yet ingenious identity change of Tom Ripley to becoming a friend of Dickie. As time goes on, and Tom studies Dickie, he forges a friendship, and ditches his attempts to bring Dickie home. Soon enough however, Ripley changes his identity again, and it is fascinating and compelling to see it. Through murders and lies the talented Mr. Ripley has become Dickie. The movie is a quite intelligent thriller, and it introduces a suitable idea for our time. It is a story of a man who becomes someone else, and feels that he will be better off that way. The directing and cinematography are compelling, and the story itself is fantastic. The acting is superb, especially Damon and Law(Paltrow is good too). Ripley is the villain in the film, yet the audience find themselves compelled to side with him. Because of the horrific behavior of Dickie and Freddy(Philip-Seymour Hoffman) we want Ripley to get away with it all. In the end however, Ripley finds that he is disgusted with what he has become. "I thought it would be better to be another somebody than my own nobody", is how he states it. Ripley finds that he has done wrong, yet the ending opens another undiscovered side of the talented mr. ripley. ********(8 stars of 10)

The Blair Witch Project, set an example for many movies to come. With a budget of only 36000, this film was able to create a horrifying film. This proves that money and special effects don't make the movie. The Blair Witch Project is a story of three filmmakers, who are creating a documentary. As their curiosity thickens, however, they find themselves lost in the forest of the Blair Witch. Over the next few days, they realize that they may never find their way back, and gradually their optimism disappears. The amazing part about this movie is how they are able to frighten you without even showing the Blair Witch, or having the villain pop out and scare you. In this film, the terror builds up gradually, instead of very quickly, and allows the fear within you build intensity. The final scene of this film, to me is an interesting outcome, but I will leave you in suspense.

Original, and very scary.........*******(7 stars of 10).

The Red Violin is a beautifully intertwined story following one very special violin throughout history. From Italy, to Germany, to England, to China and finally ending up at an auction in Montreal, this is a film that had me touched the whole time. The narrative in this film is very special as well, as it is told by an Italian psychic, reading a pregnant woman the future of this red violin. With each new home, this violin seems to tell a new story. And in the end, each place it has been has come to claim it back. The end is a great twist to the movie and I will let you find that out yourself. *********(9 stars)

Pelle The Conqueror is one of the best films I have ever seen. The story describes the journey of Lasse Karlsson(Max Von Sydow), and his little boy, Pelle, as they move from Sweden to Denmark. In Denmark, they hope to find a better life than in Sweden. Lasse Karlsson and his boy, however, find the Danish life brutal and hard. Finding work on a large farm, Pelle and his father struggle to survive. Pelle The Conqueror is about more than their life on this farm. It is more about the dreams of this young boy, and the inspiration, and determination he gains from his first journey. And it is at the same time about how Pelle eventually needs to move on from his father and find more from life. What a magical movie.