Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! ***

Cast: Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Topher Grace, Ginnifer Goodwin, Gary Cole, Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes
Director: Robert Luketic

When Rosalee wins a date with her favorite actor, Tad Hamilton, her secret admirer and long-time friend Pete is not too thrilled. When Tad pursues her back to West Virginia, Pete is even less thrilled. Tad quickly realizes that he is not the only one who is after Rosalee's affections, and thus a battle of sorts for her affections ensues. Both funny and sweet at times, this movie was very entertaining, even though it was fairly predictable.

The Butterfly Effect **1/2

Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, John Patrick Amedori, Eric Stoltz, Logan Lerman
Directors: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber

College student Ethan Treborn has been experiencing blackouts since the age of seven. All these blackouts happen at moments of high stress, and yet there is nothing physically wrong with him. While reading through an old journal as an adult, he discovers that he can go back to certain periods of his youth a re-live certain events, and sometimes change the past. One time, after changing the past, a childhood friend named Kayleigh commits suicide because of his actions. From then on, he becomes obsessed with making things right again, but he quickly learns that this is easier said than done. The Butterfly Effect is Ashton Kutcher's first "dramatic" role, and he does a passable job. While not a bad film, I didn't care for some of the turns the story took with the characters as children, most blatantly nasty. There are some holes in the plot, but nothing too extreme.

Big Fish **1/2

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Matthew McGrory
Director: Tim Burton

Big Fish, at it's heart, is a story on a son trying to get to know his dad as he is dying. William Bloom has never really felt that he knew his father. Throughout his life, William has heard his father's stories that were embellished to the point of being almost beyond belief. After a big blow up at his wedding, William and his father do not speak for years, only reuniting at his father's death bed. At this point William must learn to appreciate his father's stories as he tells them and then perhaps he will learn to appreciate the man behind the stories. This is a bit of a different type of movie for director Tim Burton, but manages to retain his style throughout with the surreal environments created by the stories being told. And while it is neat to look at, ultimately the story did little for me. I did not care for the father character, and since he is the main character, that is a problem. Wait for video if you want to check this one out.

Along Came Polly ***

Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown
Director: John Hamburg

Reuben Feffer's marriage is over before it begins when he catches his new wife with a scuba instructor on their honeymoon. Returning home distraught, his best friend, Sandy, drags him to a party where he is reunited with Polly, a girl he has not seen since high school. They start dating, and while attracted to each other, they are complete opposites. This is a genuinely funny movie, and Ben Stiller is in his element. Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show though, as Sandy, the one time child actor and best friend of Reuben. Funny and well worth your time.

21 Grams ****

Cast: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston, Clea DuVall, Marc Musso
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Paul is a man with a bad heart and a failing marriage. Jack is a born again ex-con who sometimes takes things a little too far. Christine is happily married and has two daughters. All three have nothing in common until one fateful day that binds them together in a way that none expect. 21 Grams is a great movie that I would hate to spoil with further plot points. It is told in a haphazard way, jumping forward and backward in time, that really works and is part of the reason for the movie's greatness. It is confusing at first, but then things start to fall together and make sense. The acting is top notch from all three leads as well -- all could easily be nominated come Oscar time.

House of Sand and Fog ****

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jonathan Ahdout, Frances Fisher
Director: Vadim Perelman

When Kathy Nicolo is evicted from her house because of a failure to pay taxes, Massoud Amir Behrani, an immigrant from Iran, purchases it for a fraction of the value at an auction. For Kathy, this house was all she had -- her husband has left her and the house was given to her by her father when he died. For Massoud, this is an opportunity to plan for the future (by reselling at four times the cost) and reclaim some of the status that he and his family had in Iran. The problem is that the tax was a mistake. By the time Kathy does anything, Massoud legally owns the house, and does not want to lose this huge deal. Kathy befriends a police officer that attempts to help her by harassing and threatening Massoud's family. The tension builds and builds, mostly due to Lester the policeman's actions, and before long the situation is at the breaking point. The acting in this movie is top notch all around, especially from Kingsley as the proud immigrant that just wants to take advantage of the American way to help his family. He should get nominated for an Oscar and could very well win. This is easily one of the best movies released in 2003.

Cold Mountain ***

Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Kathy Baker, Aileen Atkins, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Brendan Gleeson, Charlie Hunnam, Ray Winstone, Donald Sutherland
Director: Anthony Minghella

With the South on its way to losing the Civil War and he himself having just recovered from an injury, Inman desides to desert and return home to Cold Mountain, and hopefully Ada, the preacher's daughter. They barely know each other, and have not seen each other for a few years, she is his reason for living. The journey is long, but he is determined.

Ada has found herself living in disarray after the death of her father. Only the help of Ruby is keeping her alive at first, but then she begins to come into her own. She also lives, waiting for the return of Inman, and writing him letter after letter.

Some of this movie works, some does not. Inman's long journey home as well as Ada's struggle to survive are engaging, but the whole love story did not work for me. For as little time as they had together before Inman left, I find it difficult to believe that relationship would be enough to sustain either of them through all their trials and tribulations. Credible performances all around, but nothing outstanding.

THE 10 BEST MOVIES I SAW IN 2003

THE 10 BEST MOVIES I SAW IN 2003

10. Peter Pan ***1/2
9. X2 ***1/2
8. Identity ***1/2
7. Mystic River ***1/2
6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ***1/2
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ***1/2
4. Finding Nemo ***1/2
3. About Schmidt ****
2. The Last Samurai ****
1. Lost in Translation ****

Peter Pan ***1/2

Cast: Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Jason Isaacs, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Geoffrey Palmer, Harry Newell, Freddie Popplewell, Ludivine Sagnier
Director: P.J. Hogan

What a pleasant surprise! The last movie that I see in 2003 proves to far exceed my expectations and even make my top ten of 2003. This latest retelling of the story of the boy who never grew up is supposedly more faithful to the book and play than previous versions. Having never read the book, all I can say is this: it was thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. Jason Isaacs does a good job as Captain Hook and the child actors all hold their own against him. Ludivine Sagnier, however, steals every scene she is in as Tinkerbell. Especially impressive since she has no dialogue and probably did all her acting by herself in front of a blue screen! The movie is full of bright colors and fantastical images that are great eye candy. Do yourself a favor and check Peter Pan out!

Exciting new movie poster of the week...

SpongeBob SquarePants

Can't wait until Thanksgiving!

Paycheck ***

Cast: Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Peter Friedman, Joe Morton
Director: John Woo

Michael Jennings is an engineer who does top secret jobs and then has the month or two that he worked on those jobs erased from his memory. After accepting a long term (three year) job for a substantial paycheck and completing his task, he finds that the money is not there, he has sent himself an envelope full of everyday items, and people are out to kill him. Michael must put together the pieces of what is happening to him and why, with the help of Rachel, a woman whom he was involved with during the missing years. This movie was better than I anticipated, and although I still do not see Ben Afflek as an action hero, he does a passable job as the seriously confused Michael. And while this is not the best movie out there, it certainly is an enjoyable two hours.

The Cooler ***

Cast: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Rong Livingston, Paul Sorvino, Estella Warren, Arthur J. Nascarella
Director: Wayne Kramer

Bernie Lootz is a loser. He is so much a loser that he makes the people around him have bad luck. And that comes in handy in his job as a "cooler" at the Shangri-La Casino in Las Vegas. Whenever someone is getting a little too lucky in the casino, in comes Bernie, and the hot streak is over. But then a funny thing happens...Bernie finds love in a cocktail waitress at the Shangri-La, and all of a sudden, Bernie's cooling powers are failing him. This is not good news for the owner, Shelly Kaplow who is feeling pressure from a mob boss to update his business methods. William H. Macy has sort of perfected the loser guy roles, so it is no surprise that he gives a good performance as Bernie, and when things start to go right for him, you feel happy for the poor guy. Alec Baldwin does a great job as the casino owner clinging to an antiquated way of doing things. All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable little movie.