My
film reviews are listed here. First, they appear in reverse
chronological order. Then, they are listed at the bottom of the page in alphabetical
order.
To read them
while the movies are still in the theatres (and I do a better job than
most magazine critics of getting the review to you before the film is
gone), you need to subscribe
to The American Conservative.
As
a starter, you might check out "Nothing
Verboten: An Interview with Steve Sailer," in which Bernard
Chapin interviews me on how I approach reviewing movies.
I've
given them all top-of-the-head ratings on a 1 to 10 scale with 1 being
awful and 10 being among the 1 to 3 best movies of the year. A 5 would be
a toss-up on whether it's worth seeing or not. My reviews probably average
around 6, but then I try to review above-average movies. I don't review
movies, however, to tell you whether you should like them or not (you have
your own tastes and I'm too old to care about trying to impose my tastes
on you), but because they raise broader social, political, or artistic
issues.
2006
The Devil
Wears Prada - Meryl Streep
The Departed - Scorsese
and a killer cast
Flags of Our
Fathers - Eastwood's
Iwo Jima film
Idiocracy - The comedy Fox doesn't want you
to see
Borat - Polish jokes
all over again
All the King's Men - Sean Penn as Huey Long
The
Science of Sleep - Gael Garcia Bernal in
Michel Gondry's comedy
Quinceañera
- Chicanos vs. gay gentrifiers
Cars
- Pixar hit
A
Prairie Home Companion - Robert Altman and
Garrison Keillor
The
Da Vinci Code -- Tom Hanks, Dan Brown - 2
Mission: Impossible III --
Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman - 7
American Dreamz -- Hugh
Grant, Dennis Quaid - 5
Friends with Money --
Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener - 7
Munich
-- Steven Spielberg drama about Mossad agents - 7
Glory Road -- Josh Lucas basketball coach movie - 6
Match Point -- Woody Allen erotic
thriller in London - 7
Something New -- Black-white romantic
comedy - 8
Night Watch -- Russian cops &
vampires movie -- 6
Thank You For Smoking --
Christopher Buckley satire - 7
V for Vendetta -- Wachowski Siblings
comic book - 3
2005
(Reverse Chronological Order
The
New World
- Versus the Real Captain John Smith- 3
Memoirs
of a Geisha - Zhang Ziyi - 6
Rent
- Hit Broadway Musical about Lower East Side bohemians - 4
Jarhead
- Quasi-true Desert Storm war memoir - 7
The
Constant Gardener - John Le Carre
- 5
Capote
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - 8
Proof
- Gwyneth Paltrow - 6
North
Country - Charlize Theron
- 4
2046
(Wong Kar Wai, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi) -
9
Hustle
& Flow (Terrence Howard) -
5
Broken
Flowers (Bill
Murray, Jim Jarmusch) & The
Beautiful Country (Nick
Nolte) - 7, 6
Yes
(Joan Allen, Sally
Potter, written in heroic couplets) - 8
Cinderella
Man
(Russell Crowe, Ron Howard) - 7
Crash
(Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Paul Haggis) - 8
The
Interpreter (Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman)
- 4
Walk
on Water (Israeli comedy with Lior Ashkenazi)
- 7
Melinda
and Melinda (Woody Allen) and Look at Me (Agnès Jaoui)
- 4 and 8
Head-On
and Up and Down (European immigration films) - 8 and 6
Bride
and Prejudice (Jane Austen
goes Bollywood) - 5
2004
(Reverse Chronological Order)
The
Aviator and the Oscar Race
- 9
Hotel
Rwanda (Don Cheadle, Tutsis v. Hutus)
- 7
Million
Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman - 6
Oceans'
Twelve - George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh - 7
Alexander
- Oliver Stone, Colin Farrell - 4
Polar
Express and The
Incredibles - Tom Hanks, Brad Bird - 5, 9
Alfie
- Jude Law - 3
Being
Julia,
Stage Beauty, and Team America: World Police - 6, 5, 6
The
Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara biopic
- 7
Silver
City & Bush's Brain - Chris Cooper as GWB
- 3 & 3
Hero
- Zhang Yimou, Jet Li - 10
Bright
Young Things - Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies
- 8
She
Hate Me - Spike Lee - 1
The
Terminal - Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks
- 6
Napoleon
Dynamite & Maria Full of Grace - 6 & 6
Fahrenheit
9/11 - Michael Moore - 7
A
Day without a Mexican -- Chicano political satire - 6
Troy
- Brad Pitt - 7
Bobby
Jones: Stroke of Genius - Jim Caviezel - 5
Kill
Bill versus The
Passion of the Christ - Quentin Tarantino 5 & 10
Spring,
Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring - Korean - 7
The
Ladykillers - Tom Hanks, Coen Bros. - 6
The Alamo
-- Dennis Quaid - 6
Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Jim Carrey - 8
Good
Bye, Lenin! - All-time German box-office hit - 7
The
Battle of Algiers - Screened by the Pentagon - 9
2003
(Reverse Chronological Order)
Monster
- Charlize Theron - 7
21
Grams - Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Naomi Watts - 6
Big
Fish - Tim Burton - 8
Nothing
Verboten: An Interview with Steve Sailer - Bernard Chapin interviews
me on how I review films
The
Last Samurai - Tom Cruise - 6
Master
and Commander - Russell Crowe - 9
The
Missing - Ron Howard, Tommie Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett - 5
Veronica
Guerin - Cate Blanchett - 6
The
Human Stain -- Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman - 6
The
Matrix Revolutions - The Wachowski Siblings - 1
Intolerable
Cruelty - George Clooney, Coen Bros. - 7
Beyond
Borders - Angelina Jolie -3
Mystic
River - Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins - 7
Under
the Tuscan Sun - Dian Lane - 5
Lost
in Translation - Bill Murray, Sofia Coppola - 8
Matchstick
Men - Nicholas Cage - 7
Open
Range - Kevin Costner - 8
American
Splendor - Harvey Pekar - 7
Le
Divorce - Kate Hudson, Merchant & Ivory - 6
The
Secret Lives of Dentists -- Campbell Scott - 5
Seabiscuit
- Toby Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper - 6
Northfork
-- Polish Bros., James Woods, Nick Nolte - 8
Pirates
of the Caribbean
and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Johnny Depp
and Sean Connery, respectively - 4 & 6
Terminator
3 - Arnold Schwarzenegger - 7
Herod's
Law - Mexican political satire - 7
Together
- Chinese violin prodigy film - 7
Alex
& Emma - Kate Hudson, Rob Reiner,
Dostoevsky - 2
Hollywood
Homicide - Harrison Ford, Ron Shelton - 5
The
Italian Job - Mark Wahlberg,
Charlize Theron, Edward Norton - 8
The
In-Laws - Albert Brooks, Michael
Douglas - 5
The
Matrix Reloaded - Keanu
Reeves, Wachowskis - 2
Better
Luck Tomorrow -
Asian-American indie drama - 6
X2:
X-Men United - Huge Jackman, teeming freaks
- 4
People
I Know - Al Pacino, Kim Basinger - 5
A
Mighty Wind - Christopher Guest,
Eugene Levy - 7
Anger
Management - Adam Sandler,
Jack Nicholson - 3
Phone
Booth - Colin Farrell, Joel
Schumacher - 6
Head
of State - Chris Rock, Bernie Mac
- 3
Bend
It Like Beckham - My Big Fat Sikh Heading - 5
The
Hunted - Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro - 4
Tears
of the Sun - Bruce Willis,
Monica Belluci - 4
Jungle
Book 2 - John Goodman, Haley Joel
Osment - 3
Oscar
Race 2002 - Wrap-up
Shanghai
Knights - Jackie Chan, Owen
Wilson - 5
The
Recruit - Al Pacino, Colin Farrell
- 4
25th
Hour - Edward Norton, Spike Lee -
7
City
of God - Brazilian gangster classic
- 9
*
2002
(Reverse chronological order)
The
Pianist - Roman Polanski,
Adrien Brody - 7
Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind - George Clooney - 6
The
Hours - Nicole Kidman, Meryl
Streep - 4
Lord
of the Rings: The Two Towers - Peter Jackson - 10
About
Schmidt - Alexander Payne, Jack Nicholson - 7
Adaptation
-- Charlie Kaufman, Nicholas Cage - 9
Solaris
- Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney - 3
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling's second
- 7
Femme
Fatale - Brian De Palma - 4
Frida
- Salma Hayek - 8
The
Truth about Charlie - Jonathan
Demme, Mark Wahlberg - 3
Real
Women Have Curves - Mexican-American drama
- 6
Punch-Drunk
Love - Adam Sandler - 9
Red
Dragon - Sir Anthony Hopkins - 3
Sweet
Home Alabama - Reese Witherspoon - 5
Spirited
Away - Hayao Miyazaki - 6
Barbershop
- Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer - 8
City
by the Sea - Robert De Niro - 5
Mad
Love (Juana la Loca) - Spanish - 5
Serving
Sara - a Matthew Perry stinker - 1
Possession
- A.S. Byatt, Gwyneth Paltrow - 6
Blood
Work & XXX -
Clint Eastood, Vin Diesel - 6 & 3
Austin
Powers in Goldmember - Mike Myers - 3
K-19
- Harrison Ford - 7
Road
to Perdition - Tom Hanks - 6
The
Powerpuff Girls Movie - Animated - 2
Atanarjuat:
The Fast Runner - Eskimo epic - 7
Minority
Report - Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg - 8
Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron - Animated
horse feature - 5
Windtalkers
- Nicholas Cage, John Woo - 3
Bad
Company - Chris Rock, Anthony Hopkins - 2
Sum
of All Fears - Ben Affleck, Tom Clancy
- 8
About
a Boy - Hugh Grant - 8
Attack
of the Clones - Star Wars II
- 7
Unfaithful
- Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Adrian Lyne - 10
Spider-Man
-- Tobey Maguire - 7
Life
or Something Like It - Angelina Jolie - 4
Murder
by Numbers - Sandra Bullock - 4
Other
Side of Heaven - Mormon missionary movie - 5
Death
to Smoochy - Robin Williams - 3
Big
Trouble - Dave Barry, Tim Allen - 8
E.T.
20th Anniversary Edition - Steven Spielberg - 6
Showtime
- Eddie Murphy, Robert De Niro - 4
The
Time Machine - Guy Pearce - 4
We
Were Soldiers - Mel Gibson - 7
Dragonfly
- Kevin Costner - 6
Collateral
Damage - Arnold Schwarzenegger
- 7
John
Q - Denzel Washington - 5
Birthday
Girl - Nicole Kidman - 5
Count
of Monte Cristo - Jim Caviezel - 8
2001
(Reverse chronological order)
Black
Hawk Down - Ridley Scott - 9
Monster's
Ball - Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton - 5
A
Beautiful Mind - Russell Crowe, Ron Howard - 6
Ali
- Will Smith, Michael Mann - 3
Lord
of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson - 9
The
Majestic - Jim Carrey - 4
Vanilla
Sky - Tom Cruise, Cameron Crowe - 8
Behind
Enemy Lines - Owen Wilson - 5
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Chris Columbus - 7
Spy
Game - Robert Redford, Brad Pitt - 4
Training
Day - Denzel Washington - 8
The
Man Who Would Be King - My
September 26, 2001 analysis of the Kipling-Huston classic and why it
suggested the US would win fairly easily in Afghanistan - 10
Curse
of the Jade Scorpion - Woody Allen - 6
O
- Othello updating, Julia Stiles - 5
The
Others - Nicole Kidman - 7
Rush
Hour 2 - Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker - 8
Planet
of the Apes - Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg - 5
Jurassic
Park III - Tea Leoni, William Macy, dinosaurs - 6
Legally
Blonde - Reese Witherspoon - 6
Atlantis
- Disney -5
Moulin
Rouge - Baz Luhrmann, Nicole Kidman - 9
Pearl
Harbor - Ben Affleck - 4
Shrek
- Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers - 7
Bridget
Jones' Diary - Rene Zellweger
- 7
American
Desi - Indian-American romantic comedy - 6
Memento
- Guy Pearce - 7
All
Reviews in Alphabetical Order
21
Grams
- Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Naomi Watts - 6
25th
Hour
- Edward Norton, Spike Lee - 7
A
Beautiful Mind - Russell Crowe, Ron Howard - 6
A
Day without a Mexican
-- Chicano political satire - 6
A
Mighty Wind
- Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy - 7
About
a Boy
- Hugh Grant - 8
About
Schmidt
- Alexander Payne, Jack Nicholson - 7
Adaptation
-- Charlie Kaufman, Nicholas Cage - 9
Alex
& Emma
- Kate Hudson, Rob Reiner, Dostoevsky - 2
Alexander
- Oliver Stone, Colin Farrell - 4
Alfie
-
Jude Law - 3
Ali
- Will Smith, Michael Mann - 3
American
Desi - Indian-American romantic comedy - 6
American
Splendor -
Harvey Pekar - 7
Anger
Management
- Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson - 3
Atanarjuat:
The Fast Runner - Eskimo epic - 7
Atlantis
- Disney -5
Attack
of the Clones
- Star Wars II - 7
Austin
Powers in Goldmember
- Mike Myers - 3
Bad
Company
- Chris Rock, Anthony Hopkins - 2
Barbershop
- Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer - 8
Behind
Enemy Lines
- Owen Wilson - 5
Being
Julia,
Stage Beauty, and Team America: World Police - 6, 5, 6
Bend
It Like Beckham
- My Big Fat Sikh Heading - 5
Better
Luck Tomorrow
- Asian-American indie drama - 6
Beyond
Borders - Angelina Jolie -3
Big
Fish
- Tim Burton - 8
Big
Trouble
- Dave Barry, Tim Allen - 8
Birthday
Girl - Nicole Kidman - 5
Black
Hawk Down - Ridley Scott - 9
Blood
Work &
XXX - Clint Eastood, Vin Diesel - 6 & 3
Bobby
Jones: Stroke of Genius
- Jim Caviezel - 5
Bridget
Jones' Diary
- Rene Zellweger - 7
Bright Young Things - Evelyn
Waugh's Vile Bodies
- 8
City
by the Sea
- Robert De Niro - 5
City
of God
- Brazilian gangster classic - 9
Collateral
Damage
-
Arnold
Schwarzenegger - 7
Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind
- George Clooney - 6
Count
of Monte Cristo
- Jim Caviezel - 8
Curse
of the Jade Scorpion
- Woody Allen - 6
Death
to Smoochy
- Robin Williams - 3
Dragonfly
- Kevin Costner - 6
E.T.
20th Anniversary Edition - Steven Spielberg - 6
Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Jim Carrey - 8
Fahrenheit
9/11 - Michael Moore - 7
Femme
Fatale - Brian De Palma - 4
Frida
- Salma Hayek - 8
Good
Bye, Lenin! - All-time German box-office hit - 7
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Rowling's second - 7
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Chris Columbus - 7
Head
of State
- Chris Rock, Bernie Mac - 3
Hero - Zhang Yimou, Jet Li
- 10
Herod's
Law
- Mexican political satire - 7
Hollywood
Homicide - Harrison Ford, Ron Shelton - 5
Intolerable
Cruelty -
George Clooney, Coen Bros. - 7
John
Q
- Denzel Washington - 5
Jungle
Book 2
- John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment - 3
Jurassic
Park III - Tea Leoni, William Macy, dinosaurs - 6
K-19
- Harrison Ford - 7
Kill
Bill
versus The Passion of the Christ - Quentin Tarantino 5
& 10
Le
Divorce
- Kate Hudson, Merchant & Ivory - 6
Legally
Blonde - Reese Witherspoon - 6
Life
or Something Like It -
Angelina Jolie - 4
Lord
of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - Peter Jackson - 9
Lord
of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Peter Jackson - 10
Lost
in Translation
- Bill Murray, Sofia Coppola - 8
Mad
Love (Juana la Loca)
- Spanish - 5
Master
and Commander
- Russell Crowe - 9
Matchstick
Men
- Nicholas Cage - 7
Memento
- Guy Pearce - 7
Million
Dollar Baby - Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman - 6
Minority
Report - Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg - 8
Monster
- Charlize Theron - 7
Monster's
Ball -
Halle
Berry
, Billy Bob Thornton - 5
Moulin
Rouge
- Baz Luhrmann, Nicole Kidman - 9
Murder
by Numbers
- Sandra Bullock - 4
Mystic
River
- Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins - 7
Napoleon
Dynamite & Maria Full of Grace - 6 & 6
Northfork
-- Polish Bros., James Woods, Nick Nolte - 8
Nothing
Verboten: An Interview with Steve Sailer - Bernard Chapin interviews
me on how I review films
O
- Othello updating, Julia Stiles - 5
Oceans'
Twelve - George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh - 7
Open
Range
- Kevin Costner - 8
Oscar
Race 2002 - Wrap-up
Other
Side of Heaven
- Mormon missionary movie - 5
Pearl
Harbor - Ben Affleck - 4
People
I Know - Al Pacino, Kim Basinger - 5
Phone
Booth
- Colin Farrell, Joel Schumacher - 6
Pirates
of the Caribbean
and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Johnny Depp and
Sean Connery, respectively - 4 & 6
Planet
of the Apes - Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg - 5
Polar
Express
and The
Incredibles - Tom Hanks, Brad Bird - 5, 9
Possession
- Gwyneth Paltrow - 6
Punch-Drunk
Love
- Adam Sandler - 9
Real
Women Have Curves
- Mexican-American drama - 6
Red
Dragon
- Sir Anthony Hopkins - 3
Road
to Perdition
- Tom Hanks - 6
Rush
Hour 2 - Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker - 8
Seabiscuit
- Toby Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper - 6
Serving
Sara
- a Matthew Perry stinker - 1
Shanghai
Knights
- Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson - 5
She Hate Me - Spike Lee
- 1
Showtime
- Eddie Murphy, Robert De Niro - 4
Shrek
- Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers - 7
Silver City &
Bush's Brain - Chris Cooper as GWB
- 3 & 3
Solaris
- Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney - 3
Spider-Man
-- Tobey Maguire - 7
Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron
- Animated feature - 5
Spirited
Away - Hayao Miyazaki - 6
Spring,
Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring - Korean - 7
Spy
Game
- Robert Redford, Brad Pitt - 4
Sum
of All Fears
- Ben Affleck, Tom Clancy - 8
Sweet
Home Alabama - Reese Witherspoon - 5
Tears
of the Sun
- Bruce Willis, Monica Belluci - 4
Terminator
3
-
Arnold
Schwarzenegger - 7
The
Alamo -- Dennis Quaid - 6
The
Battle of Algiers
- Screened by the Pentagon - 9
The
Hours
- Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep - 4
The
Human Stain
-- Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman - 6
The
Hunted - Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro - 4
The
In-Laws
- Albert Brooks, Michael Douglas - 5
The
Italian Job
- Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton - 8
The
Ladykillers - Tom Hanks, Coen Bros. - 6
The
Last Samurai
- Tom Cruise - 6
The
Majestic - Jim Carrey - 4
The
Man Who Would Be King
- My September 26, 2001 analysis of the Kipling-Huston classic and why
it suggested the
US
would win fairly easily in
Afghanistan
- 10
The
Matrix Reloaded
- Keanu Reeves, Wachowskis - 2
The
Matrix Revolutions
- The Wachowski Siblings - 1
The
Missing
- Ron Howard, Tommie Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett - 5
The Motorcycle Diaries -
Che Guevara biopic
- 7
The
Others
- Nicole Kidman - 7
The
Pianist
- Roman Polanski, Adrien Brody - 7
The
Powerpuff Girls Movie
- Animated - 2
The
Recruit
- Al Pacino, Colin Farrell - 4
The
Secret Lives of Dentists
-- Campbell Scott - 5
The Terminal - Steven Spielberg
& Tom Hanks
- 6
The
Time Machine - Guy Pearce - 4
The
Truth about Charlie
- Jonathan Demme, Mark Wahlberg - 3
Together
- Chinese violin prodigy film - 7
Training
Day - Denzel Washington - 8
Troy
- Brad Pitt - 7
Under
the Tuscan Sun
-
Dian Lane
- 5
Unfaithful
-
Diane Lane
, Richard Gere, Adrian Lyne - 10
Vanilla
Sky - Tom Cruise, Cameron Crowe - 8
Veronica
Guerin
- Cate Blanchett - 6
We
Were Soldiers
- Mel Gibson - 7
Windtalkers
- Nicholas Cage, John Woo - 3
X2:
X-Men United
- Huge Jackman, teeming freaks - 4
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