Year 2001 Movies


Story Acting Imagery Music Overall


Angel Eyes - Jennifer Lopez, James Caviezel
Families lost and relationships found.
Good Good Excellent Average B-

Twelve O'Clock High - Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger
The 1949 WW II classic of the early days for USAAC Bomber Command in Europe.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B

Bedazzled - Elizabeth Hurley, Brendan Fraser
The quirky self-realization process that good & evils exists within all of us.
Average OK Average Average C

Proof of Life - Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, David Morse, Pamela Reed
A suspense, action-adventure, thriller surrounding the rescue of an American engineer kidnapped in a Latin American country.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Good B+

American History X - Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Avery Brooks
The genesis and consequences of intolerance in America -- the edge of reality.
Good Excellent Good Average B

Along Came a Spider - Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter
A James Patterson psychological thriller.
Good Average Good Average C+

15 Minutes - Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Melina Kanakaredes
An intense murder-mystery drama in the guise of 15 minutes of fame.
Good Good Good Average C+

Planet of the Apes - Mark Wahlberg, Helen Bonham Carter, Tim Roth
A remake of the 1968 original. Great special effects & that's it.
Average Poor Excellent Average C-

A Knight's Tale - Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Rufus Sewell
Medieval good and evil set to modern rock & roll music -- very well done.
Excellent Good Good Excellent B

Swordfish - John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
The plot twists & turns like a roller coaster; action-packed . . . I mean really action-packed; and, Halle Berry -- oh yeah!!
Excellent Excellent Excellent Average B

Heartbreakers - Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, Ray Liotta
A mother & daughter team of con artists eventually overcome their greed.
Average Average Good Average C

America's Sweethearts - Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack
A movie within a movie within a movie -- some good humor & memorable lines.
Average Good Good Good B-

Dr. Doolittle 2 - Eddie Murphy
An entertaining continuation of Murphy's communication with animals . . . for the public good, of course.
Average Average Good Average C

The Gift - Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Michael Jeter
Premonitions, dreams and images from a psychic in a dysfunctional Southern town confront murder.
Good Excellent Good Good B-

The Score - Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett
With staccato tempo & white-hot intensity, the veteran & the rookie seek the big score.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B

The Mexican - Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini
An odd love story centered upon an antique pistol and the people come in contact with it.
Average Good Average Average C+

The Tailor of Panama - Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis
John le Carre's spy novel on the silver screen. A reasonable interpretation. Jamie Lee = wow!
Good Good Excellent Average B-

Family Man - Nicholas Cage, Tia Leoni
What might have been brings a wealthy man to appreciate more than money.
Average Good Good Average C

The Wedding Planner - Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey
description.
Average Average Average Average C

Down to Earth - Chris Rock, Chaz Palmentari
The reverse version of the Warren Beatty movie, Heaven Can Wait.
Average Average Good Good C+

Battlefield Earth - John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker
L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi novel of independence day in the screen.
OK OK Good OK C-

Pay It Forward - Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr
Goodwill and good deeds can change the world for the better a little at a time.
Excellent Excellent Good Excellent B+

X-Men - Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halley Berry, Rebecca Stamos
Human mutants and the evolution of mankind -- intolerance or persecution in another form.
Good Good Excellent Excellent B

Unbreakable - Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn
Comic book, super-hero powers are slowly recognized and applied to discovery.
OK OK Poor OK D+

Bounce - Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tony Goldwin
Fate or God's Will works in wild and mysterious ways.
Good Good Average Average B-

O Brother, Where Art Thou - George Clooney, Charles Durning
This is supposed to be a comedic, hayseed, interpretation of the classic Ulysses.
Poor Poor OK Good D+

Billy Elliot - Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Gary Lewis
The story of a young English boy who defies his widowed, poor & striking miner father to pursue his intangible dream to dance -- Go Billy!
Excellent Excellent Good Good B

All the Pretty Horses - Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz
A bitter sweet love affair of misguided youth in Mexico.
Poor Average OK OK C-

Anti-Trust - Ryan Phillipe, Rachel Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins
A fictitious version of Microsoft gone to the extreme and gone terribly bad.
Good Average Average Good C+

Traffic - Michael Douglas, Katherine Zeta Jones
Why is we must bombarded by the very lowest of humanity and the ugly underbelly of life? I do not need to be reminded there are bad things in this world.
Poor Average Terrible Average D-

Shrek - Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow
The animated version of the princess and the dragon fairy tale using modern techniques.
Good Excellent Excellent+ Excellent B+

The Contender - Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, et al
American politics at its worst . . . and the triumph of right over wrong.
Excellent Excellent Good Good B

Finding Forrester - Rob Brown, Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham
The power of words to enable change . . . the relationship between an older & younger writer.
Excellent Good Excellent Good B

Pearl Harbor - Ben Affleck, Josh Hoshnett
One pilot participates in the Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor and Doolittle's Tokyo Raid all wrapped around a love story buried in the imagery of war.
Good Good Excellent Good B

Space Cowboys - Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner
The over-the-hill gang of astronauts takes on one last mission to save the world.
Good Good Excellent Good B-

What Women Want - Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, et al
Electrocution enables him to listen to the thoughts of women -- what a novel idea.
Poor OK OK OK C-

Miss Congeniality - Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine, et al
An FBI agent goes undercover at the Miss United States pagent to thraught a terrorist attack.
Poor Average OK Poor C

Driven - Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Kip Pardue
The CART version of Days of Thunder. Some neat special effects.
OK Average Good Average C

The 6th Day - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Duvall
This movie was supposed to be a condemnation of human cloning and the potential for abuse.
Poor OK Average Poor D+

Dr. T & the Women - Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Farrah Fawcett, et al
This is basically insanity from start to finish.
Poor Average Average Average C-

Arlington Road - Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack
The conspiracists conspiracy. Or, the mother of all conspiracies. Incredible twists & turns.
Excellent Good Average Good B-

Bless the Child - Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits
A servant of Satan seeks the chosen child to convert or extinguish.
Average Good Good Good B-

The Legend of Bagger Vance - Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Jack Lemmon
What happens when an accomplished golfer loses his swing? Divine intervention as we all hope.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B

Remember the Titans - Denzel Washington, Will Patton
The small flicker of hope in the abysmal state race relations in the early 70's as seen in a Virginia high school football team and their driven coach.
Excellent Good Excellent Excellent B+

Wonder Boys - Michael Douglas, Robert Downey, Jr., Tobey MacGuire, Francis McDorrman
The creative art of writing mixed among the trial & tribulations of a one-time successful novelist/professor.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B+

Enemy at the Gates - Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Joseph Feinnes, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins
The historic duel between Vassilly Zaitsev and Walter Konig in the Battle of Stalingrad, and a love story.
Good Good Excellent Good B

Net Worth - Daniel Baldwin, Todd Field, Craig Shaeffer, Michael Weiss
What if you took a bet to see who could accumulated the most net worth in 30 days? Acutally, this movie is about friendship.
Average OK OK OK C-

End of Days - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Robin Tunney
It is Arnold against the Devil in the face of Armageddon.
Good Good Excellent Average B-

Nurse Betty - Morgan Freeman, Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, Greg Kinnear
An odd combination of Raising Arizona and Crazy in Alabama -- soad opera to the extreme.
OK Good Average OK C

Meet the Parents - Robert de Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo
Everyone's worst nightmares for a man meetings his girlfriend's protective father.
OK Average Average OK C

Rules of Engagement - Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones
The scenario taken from the pages of current events as a military commander faces the conflict of combat decisions and their aftermath.
Good Good Good Average B-

Hollow Man - Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin
A modernized invisible man scenario.
Average Average Excellent Average C+

Thirteen Days - Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp
The closest the world came to global thermonuclear war -- the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Good Good Good Good B

BEST: Hannibal - Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julianna Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta
Damn! This is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the open.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent A-

Reindeer Games - Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise
More twists and turns than a bowl of spaghetti define this bungled casino robbery plot.
Average Good OK OK C

Autumn in New York - Richard Gere, Wynona Ryder
The reformation of the consummate womanizer who is afraid of commitment.
Average Good Good Average C

A Girl Thing - Kate Capshaw, Elle McPherson, Rebecca DeMornay, et al
A Showtime series of vignettes featuring women in different situations.
Excellent Good Excellent Average B

The Cell - Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn
An interesting premise -- the ultimate in psychological thriller -- but the story and editing were too choppy.
Average Good Excellent Average C+

Vertical Limit - Chris O'Donnell, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn, Bill Paxton
Life and death in the world of rock/mountain climbing, and if that is not enough, then comes K-2. The special effects are worth the price of admission.
Good Good Excellent Good B-

The Perfect Storm - George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Incredible special effects bring the true story of the famous 1991 Atlantic storm to life for the rest of us.
Good Excellent Excellent Good B

Dances with Wolves - Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, Mary McDowell
The glorious story of the Great Plains when it was still wild -- the standard of measure.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent A+ Cap's favorite


This page was last modified: 31.December.2001