Lola rennt (Run, Lola, Run) (1998) - 3.5/5

Lola rennt (Run, Lola, Run) (1998)

Cool concept and idea. Is there more to it than there seems? I think so.

How wd you get 100,000 Deutschmarks ($65,000) in 20 minutes?

Notice the use of the color red: her hair, the phone, ambulance the money bag, etc.

"and then..."

SPOILERS:

The first attempt is pleading (mercy) w/ her dad which fails - Manni robs and she helps out of love, but they are caught and Lola gets shot. The father doesn't love her and stops pretending he does.

The first "pause" after failure Lola asks Manni if he loves her and then questions every way possible if it's true. How can you know? Then you just feel? etc.

The second attempt start similarly, but gets forceful and she succeeds, but then Manni is hit by an ambulance.

The "pause" is then about Manni asking what she wd do if he died. She's confident she cd stop it from happening or un-do it somehow if it did happen.

The third try is faith. The means, the happenings, etc. She gets the money and meanwhile Manni "happens" to see (via the blind woman) the man who has his money. He gets it back and hands over his gun to the man.

Lola saves a man's life in the middle of it all by her touch.

Minority Report (2002) - 3/5

Minority Report (2002)

I like the 'feel' of this movie and the visual 'tone.' The story is a big forced to me: destiny, fate, etc. But the action is pretty good and they do well at setting the mood.

I really like the idea of the story and they do a decent job at it, but it's hard to mix action and philosophy. Something like "Gattaca" does a better job though I don't mean to compare them in too many ways.

Also, they need to settle on the story - what are they trying to say?

SPOILERS:

Was the story about a guy who can't escape his fate? The forced slavery of people w/ special powers? The power to change your fate when you know what it is?

Also, did they ever resolve his son's abduction? Or was that just a side-line issue?

I don't mean to be picky, but, was he a cop before his son was abducted? If so, he wasn't very good in which case he probably wdn't have been the Precrime head guy. If he wasn't a cop, he also probably wdn't have been the Precrime head guy.

The Hours (2002) - 5/5

The Hours (2002)

This movie broke my heart into a million pieces. I bawled for a while at the end.

This movie was not only clever and original, but truly powerful emotionally. I completely bought into it and went along all the way. It was painful to watch, but so good.

Mo was asking me what it was about and there's no way I cd describe it. I think it might be able 3 women who chose life over death, but only a life they cd bear - not a true life, just not death.

If nothing else, this movie tells a very sad story (or stories) and does it amazingly well which is amazingly hard to do.

SPOILERS:

Showing the son's life and his adult life simultaneously had an incredible effect. Finding out who he was later allowed me to see him for the lost child he was.

Out of Time (2003/I) - 3/5

Out of Time (2003/I)

Very good suspence w/o being "don't go in there!" kinda stuff. Intense and fairly crafty. It was a good nail-biter nearly the whole time.

SPOILERS:

I suspected what was happening pretty early on which was kind of a bummer though it was also cool to see it from that side. There were still a couple surprises, but mostly it was just fun to watch "Matt" get himself deeper and deeper and get in and out of trouble.

I know I probably sdn't do this, but it's hard not to... he was still a bad cop. He still sdn't have done he did for her no matter what.

Not only that, but I guess he really was a bad (poor) cop if he didn't see it coming somehow. The doctor visit on Saturday, her whole insurance thing: the company wdn't buy it, it had to be changed in only a couple days, etc.

The ending also was a bummer: he wasn't going to take the money that he really cd take! and his wife was coming back - why? Although it was nice to see that it wasn't all hot and passionate "hollywood" love getting them back together - real problems.

I, Robot (2004) - 3/5

I, Robot (2004)

Good action. Interesting issues. It's not great, but I didn't expect too much given what people said.

I think it falls short of what it tried to do and I'm guessing disappointed a lot of people who were fans of Asimov, the book, etc.

Alfie (2004) - 3.5/5

Alfie (2004) Rarely does a movie turn out to be more than I think it tried to be. Several "devices" used in the movie may have been out of place or just hard to nail down, but still interesting.

Good job acting and handling sensitive situations in a mature way though appearing to be immature... if that makes sense.

Most people expecting what it seemed to be were probably disappointed and people hoping for more probably stayed away. It was a bit of both, but the ending showed how the resolution to this life isn't so clean and easy.

Rob Roy (1995) - 3.5/5

Rob Roy (1995) Probably better drama than Braveheart, but I wd say a lesser performance in other areas: politics, love and action.

Still, very good.

I had a hard time "buying" Tim Roth's performance. Not sure why - he did a great job. I just cdn't help but see Tim Roth playing a part. I think I just had a hard time w/ him in a period piece???

Jessica Lange was outstanding. She stole every scene she was in.