Life or Something Like It (2002) [PG-13] ***

Lanie (Angelina Jolie) is the Seattle Life lady, a reporter for a Seattle TV station. Pete (Edward Burns) is the cameraman with whom she's had a personal and professional love-hate relationship for several years. One day, Lanie and Pete are doing a local-color piece on Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub), a homeless man who sees visions about sports events, weather and financial markets, and makes predictions while standing on a box on a downtown Seattle sidewalk.

On this day, however, Prophet Jack sees something very dark in Lanie's future, and blurts out, apologetically, that she is going to die the following Thursday. Lanie is at first skeptical and then angry; she thinks Pete has paid Jack to shake up her perfect world, as a practical joke. However, when Jack's predictions about football game scores, hailstorms and earthquakes begin to come true, Lanie is forced to take his vision of her death seriously. She begins to examine her life, what's important to her, her personal goals, and her relationships with her father, her sister, her co-workers and especially with Pete.

This film offers a lot of food for thought, and the screenwriting is excellent. The cast is outstanding; Angelina Jolie and Edward Burns have terrific chemistry, Tony Shalhoub is perfect as Prophet Jack, and the supporting cast is great, especially Christian Kane as Lanie's Seattle Mariners baseball player boyfriend Cal Cooper, Melissa Errico as Lanie's reporter girlfriend Andrea, the late James Gammon as her father Pat, Lisa Thornhill as her older sister Gwen and Stockard Channing as Deborah Connors, a Barbara Walters-like interviewer who always makes her interview subjects cry. If you enjoy meant-to-be-together romantic comedy-dramas in which a third person acts as a catalyst, films like The Family Man, Sleepless in Seattle, or While You Were Sleeping, you might really enjoy Life or Something Like It. 

Labels: baseball, comedy, rom-com-faves, romance     
Internet Movie Database 5.8/10     
MetaScore (critics=31, viewers=74)     
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=44, viewers=62)

Daniel Deronda (2002) [UR] ***

Daniel Deronda (Hugh Dancy) is the ward of a wealthy Englishman. He knows nothing of his origins, and yearns to find a path in life and something meaningful to do. Meanwhile he uses his generous allowance to aid less fortunate young women. Recovering a treasured bracelet for beautiful but arrogant Gwendolyn Harleth (Romola Garai), and saving the life of depressed and drowning Mirah Lapidoth (Jodhi May) involve Deronda in two love triangles, simultaneously.

This BBC production is well acted with gorgeous sets and costumes, but it moves much too slowly, and the plot line hangs much too precariously on chance encounters in the London Jewish ghetto and the Genoa, Italy harbor. Had this been a two-hour production, rather than three-and-one-half hours, and had Hugh Dancy displayed a little more passion and energy in his role, this would have been an even more satisfying romantic drama. Regardless, if you have enjoyed Hugh Dancy in romantic comedies or dramas, films like The Sleeping Dictionary, The Jane Austen Book Club or Adam, then you won’t want to miss Daniel Deronda. 

Labels: drama, history, period, romance
IMDb 72/100 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=NA, viewers=NA)

I'm with Lucy (2002) [R] ****

This is a delicious romantic comedy about the pitfalls of the real-life thirty-something dating scene. After Lucy (Monica Potter) is dumped by the perfect man she goes into a mourning period and refuses to date anyone. Finally her sister Jo (Julianne Nicholson) pushes her into a blind date and over the following year, Lucy goes out on five of them.

The way the film examines each blind date is really inventive. We see the first few minutes of each of the five dates in succession. Then we see some more of each of the dates, and then still more. It's very clever because we learn more and more about Lucy at the same time we are learning about each of the five men. And because the men are so unique and well drawn, we see Lucy responding to each of them in ways she would not respond to any of the others. She gets drunk with one date, has passionate, hot sex with another, gets into a fight with another... and so on.

Monica Potter, besides being achingly beautiful, has an adorable, trusting innocence about her. While this is technically a comedy, the characters play it seriously... because, after all, marriage is a life-changing decision. Screenplay, direction and soundtrack are all excellent. The casting is especially good for Lucy's five dates, including John Hannah, Gael Garcia Bernal, Anthony LaPaglia, David Boreanaz and Henry Thomas. If you enjoyed About Adam with Stuart Townsend and Kate Hudson, Little City with Penelope Ann Miller, Joanna Going and Jon Bon Jovi, or the earlier Monica Potter film The Very Thought of You with Rufus Sewell, you probably will really enjoy I'm with Lucy.

Labels: comedy, rom-com-faves, romance     
Internet Movie Database 6.0/10     
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=NA, viewers=62)

The Rookie (2002) [G] ****

The game of baseball is a wonderful metaphor for life. Each of us is like a batter, standing at home plate, with our life stretching out before us like the distance along the base paths, and with all of life's tests and trials to be faced, like the opposing team's players arrayed against us in the field. The Rookie uses this metaphor to tell a true story, one that contains all of the elements of the perfect human drama: the man who pursued his childhood dream to be a major league pitcher; the high school kids he challenged and encouraged, and who challenged and encouraged him; the wife who supported him; the son who idolized him; the parents who, belatedly, recognized the greatness in their son.

Don't miss this touching, heart-warming story of dreams and love and fulfillment. The Rookie ranks with the best baseball-themed romances of all times, including The Natural, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Mr. Baseball and For Love of the Game. Dennis Quaid is terrific as Jim Morris, a man with a dream. Rachel Griffiths is equally terrific as his wife, Lorri, and there is a wonderful chemistry between them. And Brian Cox is outstanding as Jim Morris' father.

Labels: baseball, biography, drama, family, high-school, rom-drama-faves, teenager
IMDb 69/100
MetaScore (critics=72, viewers=77)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=72, viewers=74)
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Wikipedia - Jim Morris
James Berardinelli's review and rating 3 stars out of 4

Kissing Jessica Stein (2002) [R] ****

Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a New York City journalist, single and straight. Her editor, Josh Meyers (Scott Cohen), was a college friend of her older brother's; Josh dated Jessica for a year, so he knows from personal experience that she's a perfectionist, doomed to endure countless first dates with men who fail to measure up to her high standards.

Jessica is at the point of swearing off dating and focusing on her passion which is painting, when a co-worker reads her a Personals ad in the women seeking women section. The ad includes a quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and Jessica loves Rilke. So, on a whim, she answers the ad, and agrees to meet Helen (Heather Juergensen) for a glass of wine. Helen is an art gallery curator, and while she's straight, and has several boyfriends, one of whom she uses primarily for sex, she also has two gay male friends, and she's bi-curious.

What Jessica and Helen don't realize is that they are looking for different things. Jessica wants companionship, friendship, and intellectual and artistic stimulation - basically she wants a roommate. She's not really interested in sex. Helen, on the other hand, wants much more, and eventually she becomes frustrated by Jessica's lack of a strong sexual drive. Given their different needs, it's understandable that the course of Jessica and Helen's relationship isn't as smooth as that found in Imagine Me & You. And it doesn't have the intensity and drama found The L Word. The screenplay, written by Westfeldt and Juergensen, is excellent; direction and editing are first rate, as is the supporting cast, especially Tovah Feldshuh, who plays Jessica's supportive and sympathetic mother. As professional film critics have noted, this is not a lesbian love story; it's about breaking down boundaries and opening oneself to new possibilities in life. And if you approach the story with that in mind, you may be pleasantly surprised. 

Labels: comedy, drama, lesbian, rom-drama-faves, romance    
Internet Movie Database 6.6/10   
Metacritic 72/100   
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=71, viewers=64)

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The Bourne Identity (2002) [PG-13] ****/*****

Miles off the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea a fishing trawler hauls a man (Matt Damon) out of the black night sea. He's wearing scuba gear and a rescue strobe light, but he's more dead than alive, with two bullets in his back. He has a laser device implanted beneath his skin, displaying an account number at the Gemeinschaft Bank in Zurich - and he has amnesia.

Several weeks later, his identity still a mystery, he's on a high-speed train bound for Zurich. Twenty-four hours after that he's speeding toward Paris in a Mini Cooper driven by a German girl named Marie (Franka Potente). At his feet is a red bank bag containing the contents of his safe deposit box - money and valid passports from half a dozen countries. His name is Jason Bourne and he's an expert in martial arts and the use of firearms; he put two Zurich policemen in the hospital and tore up the U.S. Consulate, eluding a Marine detachment. Although Jason thinks he lives in Paris, he still has no idea who he is - but he is about to find out that certain people want him dead.

If you are looking for a dark, gritty, completely realistic spy thriller, this is not it - try Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. But if you want an action thriller with a hero who is able to anticipate the bad guys' moves and outwit them, so you never believe he is really in danger, this film is perfect. There's fast pacing, lovely Paris scenery and a great Moby soundtrack. Matt Damon and Franka Potente have good chemistry, Chris Cooper is excellent in a supporting role as the black-ops CIA handler, Brian Cox as his boss, with Julia Stiles as Nicolette Parsons, the Treadstone Paris staff officer. If you enjoyed Mark Wahlberg in Shooter, you won't want to miss The Bourne Identity.  

Labels: action, adventure, Julia Stiles, Matt Damon, mystery, spy, thriller   
IMDb 78/100     
MetaCritic (critics=68, viewers=80)    
RottenTomatoes (critics=84, viewers=93)
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The Transporter (2002) [PG-13] ***

A film review by James Berardinelli.

The Transporter is cinematic extravaganza for everyone who disdains wimpy movie elements like plot and character development. This balls-to-the-walls action/adventure makes the average James Bond film look like something by Eric Rohmer. It’s high rent Steven Segal - fights, explosions, and more fights, but with a flair. Director Corey Yuan (well-known for his Hong Kong action films) and writer/producer Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) want the audience to overdose on adrenaline and testosterone, but they also want it clear that they don’t take anything too seriously. That’s why lead actor Jason Stratham always seems to be on the verge of turning to the camera and winking.

To be fair, the movie has something that passes for a storyline, although it’s so riddled with holes and implausibilities that one would do best to ignore it altogether. (For example, there’s a scene in which a woman, tied to a chair, manages to get into the back seat of a car by herself without being freed from her bonds. Short of David Copperfield, I can’t think of anyone who could manage that.) The screenplay, co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, steals liberally from Besson’s The Professional. The lead character, Frank Martin - a.k.a. The Transporter (Stratham) - bears more than a passing resemblance to Jean Reno's Leon. He makes money by taking things (or people) from one location to another, no questions asked. He lives by three rules: (1) the deal is the deal, (2) no names, and (3) don’t open the package. He gets into trouble when he violates Rule #3 and discovers a pretty girl named Lai (Qi Shu) trapped inside a bag. From that moment on, Martin is on the run with all sorts of bad guys, and even a few good guys, on his trail. The film eventually has something to do with Chinese people being sold into slavery, but the less the viewer pays attention to that, the better off he (or she) will be.

Aside from Jason Stratham (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch), there's nothing special going on with the acting. Stratham is delightfully cool as the imperturbable Transporter, but no one in the supporting cast makes an impression. Qi Shu brings little more than a cute face and a poor command of English to her love interest/woman-in-distress role. Matt Schulze is not imposing as the bad guy (perhaps because he doesn't froth at the mouth enough). And Francois Berleand is uninteresting as the police inspector who takes an interest in Frank's situation.

The action sequences are virtually non-stop, with only occasional, brief interruptions to facilitate minor exposition. Every example of hand-to-hand combat features lots of martial arts (high kicks, but no obvious wire fu), and enough explosives and ammo are expended to supply a small army. The film opens with an amazing thing: a car chase that isn't boring (it's so outrageously over-the-top that it can't help but be fun). Overall, The Transporter will likely satisfy anyone on the lookout for a mindless, cheesy action flick. The Transporter's destination may be ordinary, but, to get there, this film moves.

Labels: action, crime, thriller

Internet Movie Database

Metacritic 51/100

RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=56, viewers=70)

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