Reviews

Hidden in America works both as a terrific film and as an advocate for child hunger. Beau Bridges leads the way with a very real performance of a single father trying to raise two kids after losing his wife to cancer and losing his job of 16 years at an automobile plant. Bridges character deals with feelings of inadequacy as he struggles to find work and properly raise his family. His pride also tested when he meets a doctor (Bruce Davidson) who wants to help the family and when he has to take donations to battle his daughter's malnutrition. The two kids in the film (Shelton Dane and Jean Malone) are great and Frances McDormand adds a nice touch as the rough but concerned mechanic who befriends the boy Robby. I highly recommend this movie which is now available on video.

My favorite thing about The Perfect Storm is that although the characters may seem bland, they are very real. This comes through not only in the performances but in their appearance and dialouge as well. I felt like the movie really took me away to another place and deep into the dangerous but romantic lives of the fisherman. It skillfully explored the desperate and troubled lives of the characters who were both heroic but simple people trying to make money anyway possible in order to get what they could out of life. Clooney and Wahlberg were very likeable in this film and special credit to James Horner for a great score. The music wasn't terribly original but when you can write a great tune it adds a lot to the film. I highly recommend this movie; it's a summer block buster with integrity in addition to the fantastic special effects and action sequences.

Chattahoochee is a fine film that explores heroism as well as the trials of personal relationships in times of hardship. The acting is superb, especially Oldman's performance of Emmet Folley as the unstable Korean war Veteran who ends up in an abusive and unsanitary mental hospital. Dennis Hopper also does a fine job and special recognition to Frances McDormand who plays Emmet's wife. She isn't the most likeable character but she proves herself again to be a fine character actor. I appreciated the movies realism and there was no doubt about the horror and darkness associated with the institution which Oldman's character was fighting against. Watching the entire movie is worth it just to see the scene where Emmet barricades himself behind the bunk beds and begins rallying against the guards. I wasn't completely satisfied with the sound track but the music was used in the all the right places. A great film both for it's historical significance and for it's study of relationships--and also of course for it's well built up exciting moments.

Donnie Brasco is one of my favorite films. The true life FBI story proved to be very captivating and the performances were excellent. Pacino should have secured an Oscar for his brilliant character role of 'Lefty' who is struggling to move ahead in the mob. I was also impressed with Johhny Depp's successful development of the Joe Pistone character who goes from a normal guy to a foul mouthed mobster. I've always thought that Depp, although not in a league near Pacino, is one of the most under-rated screen actors and this film is one of his better works. I thought the movie had a fresh and more sensitive approach to the mafia life, and the fact that it was a true story made it even better-of course taking into consideration the seriousness of the real life situations and consequences. It's a work of true art that brings depth back to the mafia genre.

Although this film sometimes feels like yet another Braveheart, the Revolutionary war setting and historic significance give it a fresh look. Mel Gibson is superb and all of his co-stars supplied interesting characters. Especially intriguing was Jason Issacs sinister depiction of Col. Travington and Heath Ledger's convincing performance of Gabriel Martin. The battle scenes kept my interest at all times and the anti-war sentiment hit hard throughout. My only dissatisfaction was that the movie seemed to be a bit over the top and longwinded. Although the emotional outbursts were present--including feelings of revenge, love, and patriotism, which was the most effective--the overabundance of tear jerking scenes downplayed the overall impact of the movie. My personal favorite part of the movie was the fantastic score by John Williams that renewed my faith in film music, and showed that Williams still knows how to pull at the draw-strings of the audience.

Gladiator was a very exciting and captivating film, the battle scenes and characters kept my interest at all times. Russel Crowe gave an intense and convincing performance. My only complaint is that the movie seemed at times like an unofficial sequel to 'Braveheart' as it concentrated on the same idea of a would be farmer whose revenge inspires him to fight for the good of his people. In short, it is a good old fashioned epic well worth watching but nothing we have not seen before.