19 Nov 2002

"Harry Potter" Still Missing Its Magic: "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets," and "I Spy"

By Mike Schulz

Bonnie Wright and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter & the Chamber of SecretsHARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Although I didn't care for last year's Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone, I was more than willing to greet the new Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets with an open mind.

12 Nov 2002

Eminem Delivers the Goods in the Surprising "8 Mile": Also, "Femme Fatale," "The Santa Clause 2," and "Tadpole"

By Mike Schulz

Eminem in 8 Mile8 MILE

8 Mile is the most artistically successful crowd-pleaser the movies have given us in ages, a hip-hop Rocky that, incredibly, refuses to pander.

05 Nov 2002

"Jackass" a Completely Winning Gross-Out: "Jackass the Movie," "Auto Focus," "Ghost Ship," "Formula 51," and "Moonlight Mile"

By Mike Schulz

Before our cineplexes, and this column, become completely inundated with family-oriented holiday fare such as Treasure Planet, the latest Harry Potter, and The Santa Clause 2 (which is already in release ... how is it that holiday movies, like Christmas decorations at the mall, now routinely arrive the day after Halloween?), let's take a brief look at some of autumn's more adult works, a couple of which - unsurprisingly - have already left a theatre near you.

29 Oct 2002

"Punch-Drunk Love" Is a Sandler Movie for Nobody: Also, "Tuck Everlasting," "Full Frontal," and "Igby Goes Down"

By Mike Schulz

Emily Watson and Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk LovePUNCH-DRUNK LOVE

Punch-Drunk Love is exactly what its writer-director, Paul Thomas Anderson, claims it to be - "an art-house Adam Sandler movie" - yet I can't be alone in thinking: What's the point of that? Is Anderson merely trying to show up the hacks who've directed Sandler in other films? (Again: What's the point?) All throughout, the movie is beautifully filmed, exquisitely composed, and filled with Anderson's uncanny knack for stretching a scene out longer than it should humanly run and making you hang on every delirious second of it.

22 Oct 2002

More Trick Than Treat: "The Ring" and "Abandon"

By Mike Schulz

David Dorfman and Naomi Watts in The RingTHE RING

Since she previously gave one of my all-time favorite film performances in Mulholland Dr., one of my all-time favorite films, it's going to take a lot more than a cheesy little scare flick for me to write off Naomi Watts. But it must be said that in The Ring - a horror movie by Gore Verbinski, with a script by Arlington Road's Ehren Kruger - Ms. Watts comes off as a very poor actress indeed.

15 Oct 2002

Playing with a Different Set of "Rules": "The Rules of Attraction," "White Oleander," and "Knockaround Guys"

By Mike Schulz

Ian Somerhalder in The Rules of AttractionTHE RULES OF ATTRACTION

Roger Avary's The Rules of Attraction, based on yet another Bret Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero, American Psycho) novel about soulless, loathsome yuppie scumbags of the '80s, is vile, venal, and sometimes shockingly distasteful. I loved it.

08 Oct 2002

Characters Take Center Stage in "Red Dragon": Also, "Jonah: A Veggietales Movie"

By Mike Schulz

Edward Norton and Anthony Hopkins in Red DragonRED DRAGON

Red Dragon is an entertaining, admirable adaptation of Thomas Harris' suspense novel, which was the world's introduction to everyone's favorite fictional serial killer, Hannibal Lecter.

01 Oct 2002

Witherspoon and Cast Are the Highlights in a Not-So-Sweet "Alabama": "Sweet Home Alabama," "The Tuxedo," and "Stolen Summer"

By Mike Schulz

Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, and Candice Bergen in Sweet Home AlabamaSWEET HOME ALABAMA

Just how much goodwill are audiences willing to extend to Reese Witherspoon? Quite a lot, actually, if their response to Sweet Home Alabama is any indication.

24 Sep 2002

Hawn and Sarandon Miraculous as "The Banger Sisters": Also, "The Four Feathers" and "Trapped"

By Mike Schulz

Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn in The Banger SistersTHE BANGER SISTERS

The Banger Sisters is a textbook example of the alchemy that can occur when two movie stars, stuck in a rather worthless vehicle, say, "What the hell, let's run with it."

17 Sep 2002

Williams Only Scratches the Surface in "One Hour Photo": Also, "Barbershop"

By Mike Schulz

Robin Williams in One Hour PhotoONE HOUR PHOTO

One Hour Photo has a simple, juicy premise that's just right for an art-film creepshow. The meek, late-middle-aged nebbish Sy Parrish (Robin Williams) has, for 11 years, run the photo lab at the California discount store Sav-Mart and has become inordinately fond of his regular customers, the Wilsons.

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