The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

It’s been a turbulent and bittersweet three years with the good vs. evil “Lord of the Rings” trilogy making its way into theaters and creating a phenomenal and historic legacy. Director Peter Jackson has so skillfully created a trilogy that has been flawlessly taken from the pages of the legendary JRR Tolkien books and put it on the big screen for all to glimpse at the magic of Middle Earth. “The Return of the King” manages to come out of the first two with much individuality but fits into the first two films tightly coming together as an incredible whole. As individual movies, these are jaw-dropping stunners, and as a whole they’re truly an accomplishment only Peter Jackson could have constructed.

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Pumpkin (2002)

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

“Pumpkin” accomplishes what it so painstakingly sets out to do straight from the beginning and it does it so well, it inevitably clicked with me and became one of the worst movies ever made. “Pumpkin” is often a very malicious and close-minded film which tells the tale of a popularity queen and sorority sister Carolyn McDuffy who is helping her sorority house gain two new members for the trophy of best sorority. In doing so, they agree to take on a charity helping to train mentally disabled youngsters in training for the special Olympics. The people presented in the film are close-minded as the story is; they call their two new members minority members and they always refer to the only minority in the house with the word “Even” before her name.

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Gangster No. 1 (2000)

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

In a film that’s an interesting hybrid of “Reservoir Dogs” and “Goodfellas”, we’re first given a glimpse into an aged and weathered mobster played by the immortal Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) who gives the audience his origin of his rise to power. Played by Paul Bettany, he is a young McDowell who is recruited by the top gangster in the neighborhood Freddie Mays (David Thewlis) and takes on a job as one of his henchmen instantly adapting to his line of work. The young gangster is violent, determined and soon begins to eye Mays’ job despite the fact that Mays takes a special liking to him and takes him under his wing.

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Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

To those who have said in the past that Spielberg, my hero, has lost it as a filmmaker, here’s mud in your eye. With his two most recent films (the great “Minority Report” which received mixed reviews, and the sub-par “AI: Artificial Intelligence” which bombed at the box-office) that weren’t up to his quality Spielberg comes out swinging with this breezy and light dramedy based on the book about real life con man and bank robber Frank Abagnale Jr., a man who before he was 18 made his way forging checks from Pan Am airlines, worked as a pilot, worked as a doctor, and then a lawyer leaving the authorities one step behind him until he was caught. This isn’t a love child of Spielberg who usually takes a personal investment in his many films with his tailoring and presence in the background but the quality isn’t diminished. The quality is in fact plentiful and flourishes throughout the entire length of the film.

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Beautiful Girls (1996)

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

Ted Demme’s “Beautiful Girls” is a truly unappreciated gem that gives a ponderous story along with a hefty slice of life that American audiences will appreciate; with the characters in “beautiful Girls” there are an array of odd and unusual characters that could only be found in a screenplay by John Waters and it’s just as good. Writer Scott Rosenberg who supplies something badly missing from today’s films: great characters, a deep story, and a wry screenplay you only dream of. We get a portrait of a man named Willie Conway, a man at the crossroads of his life who returns to his hometown to re-unite with his gang of buddies and discovers they haven’t moved on and are at a crossroads as he is. He begins to notice they’re the exact same people they were when he left and begins to search for an answer to the questions he’s be asking.

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About a Boy (2002)

Posted on January 10, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

Will is a self-centered rich bachelor who enjoys the fine art of meeting women and basically tends to himself. Marcus (Nicholas Hault) is a young boy who lives with his hippie Mother and is bullied non-stop at school. In a chance meeting, Will and Marcus meet, and after Marcus’ mother attempts suicide, Marcus begins clinging to Will, asking for his advice and going to his house. Will, basically frustrated, begins to take a liking to the kid, and begins wondering if there is more to life than watching television and trying to get laid. This movie garnered rave reviews, so when that occurs, I just have to see what I’m missing for myself.

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The Greatest Store in the World (1999)

Posted on December 28, 2003 by Felix Vasquez

The Greatest Store in the World” is one of those films you can finish watching and look back on with a smile later on. What this film does is take a somewhat dramatic plot and turn it into a bittersweet tale with occasional laughs that a family can watch together. Like “A Miracle on 34th Street”, the film presents a large store so big it’s capable to house a small family. Dervla Kirwan plays Geraldine a basically free-spirited mother who uses the store as a home for her children and quite cleverly is able to dodge security guards, the doorman “Mr. Whiskers” and the stores snoopy Santa and his elf who swagger around the store bothering people.

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