Film Clips

Cold Mountain (R) — As an artistic exploration of the suffering humans can inflict on themselves and others, this Civil War epic is a noble effort. But too many Hollywood cliches sprinkled throughout leave the audience feeling more like they’ve watched an R rated version of “Gone with the Wind” than artistically stimulated. It’s the supporting characters, not the anguished separated lovers, that ultimately carry the film along. (Reviewed Dec. 26)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (PG-13) — This final episode in J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga of good and evil, along with its predecessors, is like nothing that has been put on the screen before. “The Return of the King” is not only is a tremendously fulfilling final chapter, it elevates and accentuates the strengths of the preceding films. Director Peter Jackson’s ultimate accomplishment is in reinvigorating Tolkien’s fable for an entire new generation — and perhaps for those to come. (Reviewed Dec. 19)

The Last Samurai (R) — Magnificent in its execution and intention, with thoughtful performances and graceful visual touches, it’s an affecting story respectful of Japanese history — in that sort of revisionist American way that both romanticizes and apologizes for the sins of the past. But that’s also what’s troubling about it; in some ways it suggests the story can’t be told without the presence of an American character to give the audience some context. (Reviewed Dec. 5)

Bad Santa (R) — A hysterically funny and oddly poignant film, this is definitely not a film for children, teenagers, or anyone even remotely offended by the profuse use of obscenities, sex and violence (or the dark comedy of the human condition). That being said, it manages to offer a far more realistic and honest portrayal of human relationships than any number of films released recently. (Reviewed Nov. 28)

Cat in the Hat (PG) — If you want to encourage ADHD in your children, then by all means take them to see Mike Myers’ manic take on the immortal feline. This schtick wears thin about halfway into the film. So does an expanded plot with unpleasant characters invented specially for this film. Throw in the prerequisite bodily function jokes necessary to garner the coveted PG rating, and you have a mess far worse than any the original Cat ever unleashed. (Reviewed Nov. 21)

Matrix Revolutions (R) — Good, bad, disappointing, cathartic — “Matrix Revolutions” is all those things. If you’re the moderately obsessed science fiction fan, you’ll make the pilgrimage to your local theater to experience your personal closure with the series. Otherwise, the Wachowski brothers could have made the first “Matrix” film and left it at that. A “Matrix” reloaded and revolutionized is simply more information than was necessary. (Reviewed Nov. 7)

Brother Bear (G) — A perfectly acceptable outing that combines most of the best aspects of Disney animation, it somehow still feels vaguely stodgy and pandering. It’s the bumbling, stupidly ridiculous moose duo voiced by “Bob &Doug McKenzie” actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas that keep the story moving and produce some of the funniest moments of the movie. (Reviewed Oct. 31)