movies Year 2002 Movies

Story Acting Imagery Music Overall


Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Rings - Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen
The classic J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novel trilogy brought to visualization.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Good B+

High Crimes - Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman
Yet another court room thriller.
Excellent Good Average Average B-

Star Trek - Nemesis - Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden
description.
Good Good Excellent Excellent B-

Trapped - Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Kevin Bacon
A suspense thriller in the form of a child abduction and ransom.
Good Good Average Average C

Dark Blue World - Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Tara Fitzgerald
Bitter sweet lover story of Czech RAF pilots imprisoned after the war.
Excellent Good Excellent Good B

Windtalkers - Nicholas Cage, Adam Beach, Christian Slater
description.
Average Average Average Average C

Minority Report - Tom Cruise, Max Van Sydow, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton
In the year 2054, the Pre-crime unit leader finds himself the hunted.
Good Good Excellent Average B

Unfaithful - Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Erik Per Sullivan
Based on novel, La Femme Infidele -- the consequences of love and jealousy.
Average Good Excellent Good B-

XXX - Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Asia Argento
Now, this was interesting. James Bond meets the X Games & Techno-music. Great action flick.
Average Average Good Good C+

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine
The extended family wrapped around . . . their Greek wedding.
Good Average Average Good C+

The Sum of All Fears - Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Bridget Moynahan
Tom Clancy's novel in film but in very loose form.
Good Good Good Good B-

Insomnia - Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hillary Swank
An intriguing murder mystery with entwining threads -- you know and then you don't.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B

The Bourne Identity - Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox
Robert Ludlum's story about what happens to a clandestine government assassin with amnesia?.
Excellent Excellent Good Good B

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood - Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Ashley Judd, James Garner, et al
The swirl of personal relationships surrounding a mother and daughter in conflict.
Excellent Excellent Good Excellent B+

K-19 - The Widowmaker - Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson
The portrayal of an actual 1961 incident -- The Soviet Navy version of Chernobyl.
Good Good Good Good B

Red Dragon - Sir Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Harris
The 3rd of the Hannibal Lecter psychological thrillers and the best of the three.
Excellent Excellent Good Excellent A-

Don't Say a Word - Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy
A common theme of a criminal, psychological thriller with an intriguing twist.
Good Good Good Average B-

Moulin Rouge - Nicole Kidman, Ewan MacGregor
A musical, romance between a courtesan/actress & young write using contemporary music set in 1899 Paris -- too over the top for me.
Poor Average Poor Excellent D+

Spiderman - Toby McGuire, Willam Dafoe, Jennifer Dunst
The classic comic book characters comes to modern digital imagery.
Good Average Excellent Good B-

Collateral Damage - Arnold Schwartznegger
A Arnold action movie as a fireman taking on the Columbian drug terrorists.
Good Average Excellent Average C+

Signs - Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix
The meaning of religion found in the visit of extraterrestrials.
Good Good Excellent Excellent B+

Hardball - Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane & some great kids
Screwed up guy makes good on the wings of great kids.
Good Average Average Average C+

BEST: Road to Perdition - Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law
Even a mob hit man loves his family and his son -- but violent.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent A

In the Bedroom - Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl
A character study of tragedy in a coastal New England community.
Average Excellent Good OK C+

3,000 Miles to Graceland - Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox
An interesting twist on the nice guy among the bad guys theme.
Good Average Average Excellent C

Final Fantasy - Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Vinc Raines, Donald Sutherland
An exquisitely illustrated, computer generated sci-fi movie.
Good Good Excellent Average B-

Monster's Ball - Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, heath Ledger, Peter Boyle
Shades of racism melt away with the humanity of life.
excellent excellent excellent excellent A

John Q - Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche
The extreme of a father's love for his son.
good excellent good good B

Hart's War - Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell
The last few months of World War II in Europe and choices for POWs -- honor, courage, duty & sacrifice.
excellent excellent excellent average B+

Dragonfly - Kevin Costner, Linda Hunt, Susanna Thompson, Kathy Bates
The communications of the supernatural to an unbelieving mind.
Excellent Excellent Good Average B-

The Rookie - Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths
The true story of Jim Morris -- dreams can come true.
Excellent Good Good Good B

Vanilla Sky - Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell
This is a bizarre journey through a troubled & disturbed mind in suspension.
OK Average Good Good C

Original Sin - Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas
Angelina Jolie is worth seeing, and that's about it.
Average Average OK Average C-

Star Wars II - Attack of the Clones - Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz
The Jedi Knights are put to the ultimate test against the Dark Side.
Good Good Excellent+ Excellent B+

Spy Game - Robert Redford, Brad Pitt
A classic spec ops, spy thriller . . . loyalty among professional.
Average Average Average Average C

The Gathering Storm - Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave
Finney's extraordinary performance as Sir Winston Churchill in the dark years prior to 1939.
Excellent Excellent+ Excellent Average A-

Behind Enemy Lines - Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Gabriel Macht
A fictionalized version of the Scott O'Grady story in war torn Bosnia.
Average Average Good OK C

Bandits - Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thorton, Cate Blanchett
Bank robbers as good guys? I don't think so. An interesting men?ge e tois nonetheless.
Excellent Excellent Good Good B

We Were Soldiers - Mel Gibson, Madeline Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott
The Battle of Ia Trang Valley, Vietnam, and the 1st Cavalry Division.
Average Good Good Average C+

Exit Wounds - Steven Seagal, DMX, Isiah Washington, Jill Hennesy
This is a pretty much standard Seagal cop shoot 'em bang bang flick.
Average OK Good Average C

Snatch - Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina
The twists and turns of plot and counter-plot surrounding the theft of a large diamond.
Average Good OK Average C

The Last Castle - Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo
A view of courage, heroism, patriotism and honor in the odd form of a military prison.
Average Average Good Good C+

Heist - Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo
The good bad-guy against the bad bad-guy in a classical contest.
Good Excellent Average Good B-

A Beautiful Mind - Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer
The triumph of the mind and love over the demons among us.
Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent A

Black Hawk Down - Josh Hashnett, Ewan MacGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard
description.
Excellent Good Excellent Excellent B+

Training Day - Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn
Bad cop is bad cop against the even worse bad guys in a very bad world.
Good Good Average Good B-

Joy Ride - Peter Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski
The ultimate story of road rage with an odd twist of humor.
Good Average Average Good C+

Artificial Intelligence - Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, John Hurt
Stephen Spielberg's film of Stanley Kubrick's concept . . . another version of what it means to be human in the form of an artificial boy.
Good Good Excellent Good B

Ocean's Eleven - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Carl Reiner, et al
Who would have thought thieves could be heroes? A heist to get the loot as well as the girl.
Good Good Good Average 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.2002