The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

In this remake — I mean “re-imagining” of the shocking cult horror classic directed by Tobe Hooper, in 1973 five teens on their way to a rock concert find themselves on a deserted road where they pick up a hitchhiker (Laura German) who seems to have been in a traumatic ordeal, when they attempt to comprehend her condition, she commits suicide. The teens attempt to seek help at a large house and wind up entering a horrifying nightmare none of them can escape. Though the film has its flaws it also has a lot of good stuff in it; the filmmakers attempt to stick this so close to the original that comedian John Larroquette who narrated the original, returns to narrate this one; it’s a great tribute. One of the biggest aspects of the original film was the shock of finding that Larroquette (who is a comedian and starred in “Night Court”) narrated such a horrifying film, and the filmmakers don’t skimp out on the fans.

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Tuck Everlasting (2002)

tuck-everlastingI have never heard of this book before and I was rather hesitant to watch this due to the fact that it was left basically unnoticed and pushed to the side in the midst of all the big budget trash in the theaters. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this story. Alexis Bledel gives a really good performance as the main character Winnie and really helps drives this movie. She’s a really gifted actress and is able to pull off the early century lingo without fault of flaw. She reminds me of a young Brooke Shields giving both hard gritted strength and warm vulnerability all at the same time. I really became interested in her character and really wanted to know how she would end up by the end of the movie.

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Tart (2001)

tartThis is yet another grim portrayal of troubled teenagers mingling among more troubled teenagers; and what’s truly disturbing is that most of it seems exaggerated. I’m not sure if the movie was inspired by true events or concocted by Christina Wayne, but it’s grim, and I wish most of it was even remotely interesting. Catherine Storm is a middle-class reject who hangs out with her seductive best friend Delilah whom tends to stay away from the posh in-crowd. After a chance encounter with a popular girl, she begins to become accepted among the status quo until she begins to see that popularity among upper class isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

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After “Terminator 2,” they were able to prevent Judgment Day but John still feels uncertain to his future. Now, a brand new sleek, tough, and advanced killing machine known as T-X has landed on Earth in the form of a seductive woman and is out to kill twenty people who will help with the rebellion. The Terminator lands on Earth as well and must protect John and a new character Kate Brewster a veterinarian who will play a role in the war. Now, they must travel to Skynet and prevent the machines from rising while they clash with T-X. Can they stop the war? Or is it all inevitable?

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Tadpole (2002)

l-2g30ny6km7d0b2Aaron Stanford makes his debut as Oscar Grubman, a fifteen year old intellect with an obsession for Voltaire who returns home to New York to visit his family. He has a bad crush on his stepmother Eve (Sigourney Weaver) unbeknownst to his inept father Stanley (John Ritter) but accidentally gets entangled in an affair with her flirtatious friend Diane (Bebe Neuwrith) who becomes infatuated with Oscar’s intelligent personality and begins to play mind games with him as he desperately tries to conceal the affair from his stepmother. Aaron Stanford skillfully portrays this kid who’s always one step ahead of everyone… or at least he thinks he is.

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The Tuxedo (2002)

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Jackie Chan seems often bored and detached from this film, never giving the charisma he displays in his movies. It dawned upon me that he might be aging or running out of ideas as he starts using wires to help with most of his stunts. We open with him attempting to ask a sexy art dealer on a date and ultimately screw it up. I found it hard to believe that an art dealer would go out with a creepy stuttering taxi driver, so I wasn’t surprised when she rejected him like a bad habit.

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The Time Machine (2002)

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For a movie with such a big budget and such incredible special-effects, it’s hard to believe this is so terrible. I think Guy Pearce is a great actor and should be in roles better suited for him rather than starring in low-level cheesy roles such at this. He tries his best to work with the material he’s given in this movie and seems to work hard but it doesn’t pay off simply because of the story. Director Simon Wells, great grandson of H.G. Wells and director of animated films such as “Balto” and “The Prince of Egypt” completely misses the point of the novel and turns it into a cheesy science fiction flick. The movie is loud and gaudy, often giving to the audience more style than substance and presenting a paper thin adaptation.

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