dribe

I really liked the first X-Men movie because it was intelligent and explored issues such as discrimination and racism. It also had excellent performances from Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Ian McKellan (Magneto). And who else other than Patrick Stewart could play Prof. Xavier?

That said, I loved X2: X-Men United! It improved on all aspects of the first and threw in more characters! Nightcrawler is just too cool for words and Jean Grey's powers really start to expand! The movie has a well-written script, great action and special effects, and unique and interesting characters! This is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, so go watch it!

The Matrix Reloaded doesn't even come close to the level of excellence achieved by its predecessor. It feels as if a different director made Reloaded because the meaningful dialogue, strong story, and the unique and likable characters are missing. Reloaded simply tries to imitate the greatness of the first Matrix, but fails miserably. It's obvious that Reloaded and Revolutions could have been one movie because while the first Matrix is fast-paced, Reloaded drags on and on. It moves along more slowly than Gangs of New York which is still a great film. Every scene, whether it's dialogue or fighting, feels extended and much too long. The first Matrix was deep and meaningful while Reloaded is pseudo-intelligent and pretentious. Younger fans of movies like The Fast and the Furious may enjoy the action scenes, but people looking for more should look elsewhere. The musical score is also very poor even though Don Davis returned to score it. The freeway scene is probably the only good scene in the entire film. The rooftop scene with all the Smiths could have been good, but I just don't feel comfortable or impressed watching CG characters fight (the later parts of the scene). CG characters should not replace human ones - don't the Wachowski brothers follow their own philosophy? X2 is a far better sequel than Matrix Reloaded. Definitely see that first as it improves on the first X-Men which was a great movie.

As a graduate film student, I watch hundreds of movies a year. By now, I can tell a good film from a bad one. A Beautiful Mind, as with most of Ron Howard's movies, is somewhere in between. It has some satisfying moments, but just doesn't make it all the way to home base. It's definitely an admirable effort and I did enjoy the film, but I thought it was lacking in dialogue, plot, visual appeal, and imagination. After watching A Beautiful Mind steal the Golden Globe, and quite possibly the Oscar, for Best Film from The Lord of the Rings, I have a new disliking for this mediocre film. Anyone who has seen The Insider, also starring Russell Crowe in a drama about a real-life person, should know that it is a far more superior film in every aspect. Go out and rent it now and you'll see that Michael Mann knows what he is doing. And no recent film has better dialogue than The Insider. Getting back to ABM, the performances by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly are pleasing, but Russell's character just seems to be an overly quirky and confused version of his character in The Insider. And will somebody tell me how Jennifer Connelly has managed to look the same for the past 10 years! Now that's impressive. I keep hearing critics comment on how ABM does such a wonderful job in getting the audience inside the mind of a genius and schizophrenic. How do they do it? Special effects. I was not impressed by this, with the exception of the code-breaking scene. And the entire movie is about a character that I don't really like. What caused his schizophrenia? In the movie, it is apparently John F. Nash's inflated ego. He refuses to go to classes with "mere mortals" losing their ability to be creative. He drives himself crazy because he wants to be more important than he really is. And no one even mentioned his bisexuality and divorce from his wife... Well, if you loved this movie, that's great. It's a relatively good film, much better than some of the trash that comes out these days. And I don't believe in criticizing films. Film, to me, is a wonderful and powerful art medium. I fully realize how difficult it is to make a good film and how there are an overwhelmingly large number of challenges and obstacles to juggle with when doing so. The only reason I'm writing this is because of the surprisingly high-regard people have for this movie. It's not that great, and it better not win the Oscar even though that haunting prospect seems very likely. I should also add that I have a lot of respect for John F. Nash, Jr. and all of his accomplishments. It's just that this film doesn't accomplish as much.