ashi-lance

The movie tells the story of Monty Brogan(Edward Norton), a guy who is gonna serve a 7-year prison sentence and spends his last day of freedom getting together with his close friends and family. Monty is scared of what awaits him, and suspects his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) of setting him up against the cops. The film, the first to be granted access to Ground Zero, got an excellent cast of actors in the likes of Phillip S. Hoffman & Norton along with Rosario Dawson Norton's girlfriend all gave outstanding performances. The story has no relationship with 9/11, except for being in New York, but Spike Lee smartly showcases the acting talent he's assembled encompassing situation of Manhattan post 9/11 with its healing/grieving underlying metaphor perfectly balanced with its protagonist's certain unsteady future. Don't miss the extraordinary sequences, like the big "fuck you" that Monty delivers in front of the mirror to everything he can't stand about NY, and the alternative moving finale… Plus, there is a very important sequence on the DVD, when the Russian mobsters discuss Monty's situation, that was deleted from the story.

MY RATING: 7/10

"The Crying Game" is one of those films that you see and would like even more in retrospect. The film was huge in 1992 and earned a Best Picture nomination from the Academy, with director It is a complicated puzzle that involves an IRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army) volunteer Fergus(Stephen Rea) befriending with Dil (Jaye Davidson) girlfriend of an English soldier Jody(Forest Whitaker) whom he had kidnapped. The twists and turns of "The Crying Game" are what make the film work. The movie although has flaws in several areas, but overall ranks real high on the list of other great films of the 1990s. Director Neil Jordan creates a modern-day noir, and the film scores on both the levels of plot and character evident with the fact that he won Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen along with 5 other nominations for his movie.

MY RATING: 8/10

"Wonder Boys" is that wonderful little film about writers that perhaps we've all been waiting for and has strange cast in the lead that comprises of Mic Douglas,Robert Drowney Jr. & Tobey Maguire. Michael Douglas stars as English literature professor Grady Tripp, and it's going to be the most hectic and unpredictable weekend of his life. He must deal with his wife leaving him, his affair with the chancellor's wife Sarah (Frances McDormand), his editor Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.) who's in town looking for his latest novel (which is coming in at 2500+ pages, and there's still no ending in sight), and the unwarranted advances of student boarder Hannah Green (Katie Holmes). To top it all off, his most gifted and bizarre student, James Leer (Tobey Maguire), is attached to him at the hip after learning of the young man's certain perpetrations over the last 36 hours. The movie goes downhill, unfortunately, after the "murdered pet" incident, a perversely funny scene, and the only one in this self-described dark comedy. Instead of laughing at the continuing dog scenes, you're left wondering why the animal doesn't appear to bleed, or stink. Directed by Curtis Hansen (earlier directed L.A. Confidential) the movie has been wonderfully scripted by Steve Kloves adapted from Michael Chabon's novel. Moreover, the movie won Oscar for Best Music by Bob Dylan, that was pleasure to listen to. I have no reason to explain why this movie wasn't a box office gold which it deserved to be. Whosoever was responsible for promoting this movie, shame on you as you were not able to take this movie to its actual place that it deserved.

MY RATING: 7/10