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Strangers on a Train

----The best Hitchcock? That's a tough one. Hitchcock liked to end his movies with a great action set piece scene. I was amazed at the ending, especially given the age of the film.

Guy and Bruno meet on a train. Guy laughs off Bruno's suggestion that they "trade" murders. But Bruno is dead serious. Most film school classes begin by watching this

movie. It is easy to see why. There are many classic shots here. The murder is shown through the reflection of the young girl's glasses being killed.

This movie is about tension. It is hard to describe why most of Hitchcock's movies are so memorable. You know what is going to happen in most cases. The tension building up to these moments is overwhelming. The deaths are brutal, dealing with characters you care about and then dealing with the aftermath of these murders when other movies would have moved on. Bruno commits a murder yet we almost care about him and want him to escape.

Marnie

----I would only recommend this movie to the most die hard horror fan. Hitchcock explores a side of horror to an extent that has never and may never be seen again. He explores the mental illness of one woman. I know there have been many movies about mental illness. These roles attract some of the finest Hollywood actors, often as a way to get an Oscar nomination.

Combine all those movies and it would not have near the impact of Marnie. I have been shocked by how brutal some of Hitchcock's movies were but this may be the worst of them. As entertainment this movie fails. It is dated, Sean Connery is not very effective, and the sets are quite poor. The follow up to the Birds and Psycho, Universal did not know how to market this movie and basically let it go quietly. The fact that this type of subject matter was addressed in the 1960's is still amazing.

8 Mile (2002)

----Not much to tell here. This is a widely know movie. Eminen is effective as is Kim Basinger. As a director Curtis Hanson only has two good movies(LA Confidential. River Wild).

I liked the movie. This is not a groundbreaking picture and I have no desire o see it again, but it accomplishes what it set out to do.

Swimfan (2002)

---Swimfan! This movie is just a high school ripoff of fatal Attraction. Erika Christensen is effective. I laughed at this movie when I saw the trailer. It looked horrible. That is why I rented it, for a good laugh. In hindsight its not a bad little movie as long as you have zero expectations.

The Transporter: Special Edition (2002)

----This I saw in the theatres then rented once it came out. I liked Jason Stratham in Lock Stock & Snatch. He makes the move to action hero quite well. This movie has some corny scenes yet makes up for it with some of the best action scenes of the year. Some of these scenes are unbelievable. When I saw this in the theatre the audience cheered many times. I hadn't seen that much audience enthusiasm since Crouching Tiger. The relationship between Stratham and Francois Bereand works well. Francois knows Stratham has something to hide, but he can never prove anything until the end of the movie.

Heathers (1989)

---This movie will go down as one of the movies from the 80's. That is too bad as the 80's represent the best decade in cinema. There are some true side-splitters and some parts of the movie are memorable. It is a "get what they deserve" high school movie for sure but the plot lacks a great deal of depth that might have made this a "cult classic" of a greater degree. Christian Slater is very funny and quite easy to like as a villain in this movie. Rent it but don't expect to be bowled over by this one. Its funny and worth seeing once.

Femme Fatale (2002)

----Well I can't remember this movie. How's that for a review! I think it was pretty good. I do not like De Palma movies normally. He thinks he is on the same level as Hitch and that's a no no.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Special Edition (1951)

-----I am surprised I never rented this movie before. It is considered a sci-fi classic and for good reason. This is a big budget "alien invasion" movie of sorts. It is slightly dated but very effective due to a solid story. Aliens land on Earth. They are here to warn us that their homeworld is about to destroy

earth due to her growing technology and violence. The alien is then shot. He escapes capture and tries to hide among humans.

This proves a very interesting storyline and moral movie.

The Crocodile Hunter

---Crikey this movie sucked! I love the Crock Hunter and all but I can't recommend this movie to anyone. Watch some reruns on the Discovery channel but don't waste your time here

Below (2002)

----A great premise. A sub movie/ghost story. I was a bit upset this never made it to Maine when it debuted in theatres. I would have loved to see this on the big screen. I enjoyed this. A WWII sub is a very spooky setting for a horror movie. When they had to go outside the ship for underwater repairs was another great scene. This movie

could have been a lot better.

A beautifully photographed rekindling of the classic Alexandre Dumas story. Edmond Dantès's plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand (Guy Pearce), deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantès escapes with the help of a fellow inmate (Richard Harris), cleverly insinuates himself into the French nobility and plots his revenge.

This movie was the most underrated movie of the year. A top film of 2002 unfortunately released the same time as Beautiful Mind and Lord of the Rings

---A group of French intellectuals gather each Wednesday for the dinner game, where the challenge is to bring along the most idiotic guest each can find. Pierre thinks he's found a ringer in François (Jacques Villeret), a civil servant whose passion is making architectural models out of matchsticks. But Pierre gets more than he bargained for when François becomes his houseguest -- and nursemaid!

Jacques Villeret pulls off a classic comic performance here. The second I saw him on the screen I knew I was in for a good movie. A light hearted comedy with a poignant message that all of us are can an idiot or genius depending on circumstances. Rent this movie! Most video stores will not have it unless you have a specialty video store near you.

----Three guys in their early thirties -- Mitch (Luke Wilson), Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) -- try to relive their old college glory days by moving into a large house near their old campus. There, they form an "unofficial fraternity" where current students can party. Some funny scenes here. This movie is highly overrated as man now call it one of the greatest comedies ever. It is a decent movie but falls short of any classic status.

--- This movie was nothing special.. More of a dark comedy than a drama it didn't offer many original thoughts into the drug genre of film but still gives a very moving portrayal of the life of a junkie. Both moving and funny at the same time this movie straddles the line between the humor of Trainspotting and the reality of Requiem for a Dream to give a humorous, portrayal of the life of a speed junkie. Mickey Rourke gives a fantastic performance and the rest of the cast is good as well.