Batman Begins (2005)
Easily the best Batman movie made to date (later bested by its sequel), Batman Begins takes an ice-cold franchise and makes it red-hot again by reinventing itself. When we last left the series, Joel Schumacher had run...
Category: 2000s
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a potentially smart romantic comedy buried underneath too many layers of dumb summer blockbuster action extravaganza. If all you’re looking for is a little jocularity, a little romantic chemistry,...
High Tension (2003)
At first, I questioned the decision to release the French horror flick, High Tension, in the United States dubbed instead of subtitled, as most foreign language films released here would be. After watching the...
Layer Cake (2004)
Adapted by J.J. Connelly from the novel of the same name, Layer Cake was slated to be a Guy Ritchie project, but instead, the producer of Ritchie’s movies, Matthew Vaughn, gives himself the nod as...
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)
Ong-Bak is a breath of fresh air for martial arts fight flicks, with its refreshing balance of relentless action, raw humor, and subtle symbolism. In many ways, it is reminiscent of the pre-Hollywood Jackie Chan...
Enduring Love (2004)
In Roger Ebert’s Glossary of Movie Terms, which comes from his annual movie guide, “Roger Ebert’s Video Companion”, he lists a term called the Balloon Rule, which states, “Good movies rarely contain a hot-air...
The Third Wheel (2002)
Filmed way back in 1999, The Third Wheel was kept in movie limbo for many years, finally seeing some theater action in Europe in 2002, years before heading straight to video in the US in 2004. ...
The Sea Inside (2004)
Compelling and absorbing from start to finish, Alejandro Amenabar delivers another terrific film to add to a small but very impressive body of work. The Sea Inside tells the true story of Ramon Sampedro (Javier...
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a film before its time, costing an estimated $125-150 million to produce, but only earning about a third of its revenue back theatrically. That’s not to say it...
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
As one of the few critics who does not malign Episode I and Episode II, and in fact, one who enjoys them very much, it should come as no surprise that Episode III, the best of the Anakin...