March Screenings:

Newsies - ** Imagine an all boy-band version of Annie. Yeah, I didn't like it either.
Fiddler on the Roof - *** A bit long and not as originaly imagined as director Norman Jewison's "Jesus Christ Superstar" but a great musical and Topol does a fine job. As much as I liked the songs, I found they started to interrupt a good story after the first half-hour.
The Accidental Tourist - *** Fine, very subtle performances and an intelligent script adaptation by Frank Galati and director Lawrence Kasdan (based on Anny Tyler's book) make this a great film to absorb.
Underworld: Director's Cut - ** Visually I still like this film and Kate Beckinsale is stunningly beautiful in the costumes but it's just silly and not in that good way "The Mummy" is.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - *** Infectious songs by the Sherman Brothers and Dick Van Dyke make this an enjoyable family adventure film. Good visual effects for it's time.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury - **1/2 No magic here, as this anime style focuses much more on visuals than plot. If you're a fan of anime and the Riddick story, it's worth a look, but if you're in the mood for good anime watch "Spirited Away", "Millenium Actress" or "Grave of the Fireflies."
Nine Months - **1/2 Decent enough effort from director Chris Columbus and it's a good Hugh Grant film. I re-watched it again because at the time of it's original release, Julianne Moore was becoming a favorite of mine after her impressive performance in "Short Cuts." Robin Williams has a great small cameo.
Van Wilder - *** I put off seeing this because, after 7 years in college, I was the *original* Van Wilder. For me this film gave me more nostaligia than laughs, but it's numerous funny performances keep the film entertaining. Beetlejuice - ***1/2 Still a favorite of mine. It holds up well after almost two decades.
The Breakfast Club - **** I watched this at least 100 times during high school and it's still great. Even contemporary "independent" films struggle to measure up. Sure this was a studio film, but John Hughes was wise enough to film it almost as a play and let the script and actors take the film where it needed to go.
The Cat's Meow - **1/2 Based on true events, this is Peter Bogdanovich's interpretation of a yacht voyage with famous figures and celebrities where a murder has occurred. The actors do their best to live up to the icons they're portraying especially Eddie Izzard and Kirstin Dunst. Additional credit should go to Izzard for playing Chaplin only a decade after Robert Downey's Oscar-nominated performance and making it distinguishable enough that I wasn't thinking of Downey the entire time. Good production and costume design.
Showgirls - 1/2 (as a film) **** (for camp value) I hadn't seen this film yet. I had no reason. I still had no reason to see it, but I did. It's so horribly wonderful. I now get the hand gesture Silent Bob gave to Jay in "Chasing Amy" after Silent Bob says he always wanted to be a dancer in Vegas.
Evolution - **1/2 Basically a remake of "Ghostbusters." Ivan Reitman must have reached the bottom of his barrell of tricks and only had enough left for a cameo by Dan Aykroyd. It has a DTS mix, Julianne Moore doing pratfalls, David Duchovny doing dry humor (which he's best at) and Sean William Scott (though not enough of him) so I was won over.
Flight of the Phoenix - *1/2 DTS mixes can get you only so far and even though the plane crash is impressively mixed, the film is ridiculous in the way it picks off it's cast members like a teen horror flick. Dennis Quaid is better than this.
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle - *** Yes, I should have written this a long, long time ago. But I didn't. Yet, I can proudly admit I thought it was hilarious and everything a road movie aimed at stoned teens and twenty-somethings should be. Hope and Crosby would be proud.
Dodgeball - *** Some good laughs and would make a good double-feature with "Old School". I don't think I can get tired of Vince Vaughn doing this type of comedies. He's the new Bill Murray.
The Princess Bride - **** I've seen this at least 100 times and it just gets better. A perfect film, and I don't say that often.
The Forgotten - **1/2 My Julianne Moore film festival continued with this horror/sci-fi/thriller. As much as I had figured it out sooner than I wanted to, it was still impressivly done and with fine performances from the entire cast. Some refer to it as a "Sixth Sense" rip-off, but it deserves more credit than that. One of those "it would have made a good Twilight Zone episode" films.
The Exorcist: The Beginning - ** I'm waiting for the Paul Schrader version. This was only slightly above average of a teen horror film. I expect more from director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2: Die Harder, The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine, The Long Kiss Goodnight) but I guess he's allowed a stinker or two. Of his work that I've seen ("Cutthroat Island" isn't one of them) this will count as his first for me.
Shaun of the Dead - *** Fantastic take on a zombie movie. I liked this better than my previous favorite zombie movie "28 Days Later" (both British... I sense a pattern) and "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" was gaining fast.