instantwatcher.com

Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

1. The Tigger Movie 2000 Cute. full review
2. Being John Malkovich 1999 It is hard to mix moods -- the film is manic, subtle, comic and vaguely sad -- but [Jonze] does it masterfully. full review
3. Bringing Out the Dead 1999 This is a film of great beauty, which is found not in its face but in its heart. full review
4. Double Jeopardy 1999 Beresford's straight-ahead approach to the material, as a heart-tugger, is 180 degrees wrong. full review
5. eXistenZ 1999 It's good art direction in search of an idea. full review
6. The General's Daughter 1999 When there's nothing to blow up, the movie sort of blows itself up.
7. An Ideal Husband 1999 Parker has made a sensible cinematic translation of Wilde's play, intercutting scenes which would have been played consecutively on the stage. full review
8. In Too Deep 1999 Plot not deep enough. full review
9. Man on the Moon 1999 The problem with this film is that the filmmakers want Kaufman to emerge as a kind of innocent while their biographical due diligence indicates that Kaufman was a head case. full review
10. A Midsummer Night's Dream 1999 If there is sacrilege afoot, I'm not enough of a scholar to spot it. full review
11. Ride with the Devil 1999 The cast is attractive and proficient at handling the fancy dialogue the filmmakers offer up as period vernacular. full review
12. Runaway Bride 1999 Virtually every step the Runaway narrative takes produces collisions with credulity! full review
13. Snow Falling on Cedars 1999 The actors are valiant, but not bulletproof against the screenplay's almost obsessive romanticism. full review
14. Teaching Mrs. Tingle 1999 The movie needs a few more ideas and a lot more thrills to excite viewers, whether young or old. full review
15. Topsy-Turvy 1999 If you are a Gilbert and Sullivan buff, you will be in heaven. If you are not, the first thing you will need to know is that the film is nearly three hours long. full review
16. Another Day In Paradise 1998 A well-executed scene can be followed by another where Clark shows no sense of the tone of which he'd just been in such tight control. full review
17. Next Stop Wonderland 1998 There's not much to stop for in Wonderland. full review
18. Primary Colors 1998 May and Nichols may not be right for the material, especially the Searching for Jimmy Stewart component, which feels more labored as the film proceeds.
19. The Rugrats Movie 1998 Although it works on two levels, one thing makes it work for any age: the sense of the id unloosed. full review
20. Shakespeare in Love 1998 It's a literary burlesque, remarkably clever and quick on its feet. It is ardently romantic but is at its best when it is funny. And it's funny. full review
21. As Good As It Gets 1997 The film is hugely entertaining.
22. Breakdown 1997 Breakdown gets the job done.
23. Chasing Amy 1997 As funny as the observational outrage humor of Clerks, but Smith is working harder.
24. Eve's Bayou 1997 The direction is unobtrusive, and Lemmons' performers are up to speed. This is Lemmons' first time out as a director. I'll be interested in what she does next.
25. Face/Off 1997 If there has been a major Hollywood release with a higher body count, I don't remember it.
26. Good Will Hunting 1997 Good Will Hunting represents the firmest step into the mainstream yet for director Gus van Sant.
27. Jackie Brown 1997 Turns out that author Elmore Leonard and director Quentin Tarantino are not the odd couple after all.
28. Beautiful Girls 1996 Portman was memorable as the little girl in The Professional, but her work here throws off an eeriness in its revelation of such huge talent in one so young.
29. Big Night 1996 It will paste a big, sloppy smile on your face from its opening moment. Good luck at dislodging it.
30. Restoration 1996 While this sly and sumptuous new film offers just the single word as its title, it will make you think of all you learned about Restoration comedy -- and drama -- in that long-ago History of the Theater 101 course.