Ah, those summer times when you and your friends went across country with a stranger to get a record deal in L.A. Anyway, In pop music star Britney Spears’ debut performance, she plays shy girl Lucy who graduated from high school and one night decides to take up a pact her and her ex-best friends made up when they were toddlers. That night, all three girls in ruins take up on their pact and one of them decides to go across country on a road trip to land a record deal in a contest from a record company.
Tag Archives: Adventure
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Monsters under the bed, monsters under the closet. Are there anymore universal themes in our childhood that we can relate to? Arguably Pixar’s most imaginative film, Pixar is known for creating simplistic stories revolving around childhood themes and “Monsters Inc.” is a success for tapping in to that classic fear of children fearing the monster in hiding in the shadows ready to scare them at a moment’s notice. But what about the monster? What is its purpose? Why does it need to scare us?
Pokemon The Movie: 2000 (2000)
I’m not a huge fan of Pokemon, but I am a casual watcher of the television program. This is alot better than the first one, and succeeds where the first one fails. This one makes me happy. The animation as always is spectacular and sleek, with mixing, computer animation, painting animation, and regular animation. We get to see this demonstrated in the pre-movie cartoon, “Pikachu’s Rescue”. In the scene where the clouds begin to form, we see the trees which are painted, brushing with the wind.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
This is a long sweet breath of fresh air in the action genre, a genre I’m admittedly very tired of, and I welcomed this change of pace with an action film that has an actual plot. Adapted from the hit book by acclaimed author Robert Ludlum, this is an exciting and excellent spy-thriller starring the versatile Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, the amnesiac spy who must fight his way through CIA operatives, assassins, and French police. Until now, he’d usually done acclaimed dramas, but I must say that Damon handles this role very well.
Bubble Boy (2001)
I was skeptical going into “Bubble Boy,” but as I was finishing it, I must admit it won me over mainly for its eccentric tone and “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” inspired flights of fantasy and surreal. Jake Gyllenhaal (in a goofy doo that admittedly tries too hard to gauge laughs) plays Jimmy, a boy who when he was born did not have any immunities. He’s a generally lonely boy with a very overbearing mother who protects him from the outside world as he lives in his bubble watching everything go by.
He then meets Chloe as played by Marley Shelton who begins to teach him about the world and she eventually falls in love with him. But Jimmy keeps her from truly touching him, which she wants more than anything. Eventually, she meets another guy who she tells Jimmy she’s going to marry him. Jimmy knows this guy is wrong for her, but he doesn’t stop her. Now, still in love with her, Jimmy breaks free from his bubble and goes on the road to Niagara Falls to keep her from marrying. In a protective bubble he meets a whole cast of freaks, bikers, and a cult who thinks he’s a god. Will he be able to stop the girl he loves from making the biggest mistake of her life?
“Bubble Boy” is a very niche comedy with an odd sense of humor that’s more about personal limitations we set for ourselves, more than turning the illness of the bubble boy in to a caricature. The way Jimmy perceives the world is something you only see in cartoons and I found it quite funny. Though “Bubble Boy” is mainly a comedy, it has a ton of heart and tries to build a fun adventure out of the drive Jimmy has to seal hi romance with his girlfriend. I won’t argue “Bubble Boy” is a masterpiece, but it’s a fun and oddly entertaining twist on the road trip film. While it won’t make Jimmy in to the next Pee Wee Herman, it at least aspires for off the wall fun.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
In the supposedly last installment of the Jay and Silent Bob series, we meet Jay and Silent bob, two invalids who hang outside a convenience store doing basically nothing. When a hit comic “Bluntman and Chronic” based on their exploits is being made into a Hollywood movie, they’re not going to see a cent of royalties, so they decide to go to Hollywood to stop the film from being made. This is directed by famed cult comic book writer Kevin Smith who has based practically his entire Hollywood career on these two characters alone.
Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Jedi’s, and Sith’s, and Clones, oh my! In this chapter, we meet Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and his young apprentice Anakin (Hayden Christensen) once again on a mission. There is a conspiracy in the republic; Someone is trying to kill the now Senator Amidala. They suspect a traitor within the force and they do not know who it is. Now, the republic assigns Obi-Wan and his defiant padawan Anakin to investigate. Unfortunately, Anakin and Amidala are falling in love, something that is strictly forbidden in the Jedi order. Ewan McGregor once again gives great merit to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi by showing great humility in his role and giving Obi-Wan a warrior-esque look. Natalie Portman returns to the role of Amidala or Padme with more life to her role. Where as “Episode one” lacked life and structure, this one improves on it supremely.