Movie "Buzz"

The B's Movie "Buzz"

The CD NOW link is a handy new feature to the page! You can use it to search for films by title, or even by actor or director. The photo on this page is from ELECTION, one of my favorite films of 1999.

NEWS FLASH! 12.21.2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon gets an A in my book! I'd nominate this film in every major category: film, director, lead female actor, supporting actors, editing, photography (is that a category?!)...

1.2.2001! Been seeing movies like crazy. I also give A's to CAST AWAY and to BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, which was an emotionally devastating film which will probably end up my favorite film of 2000 because of it's emotional whallop...

1.6.2000 Another contender for my vote for best film of the year: TRAFFIC After BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, I wasn't expecting to find a film as good. Then I saw TRAFFIC. I also rented ERIN BROCKOVICH, so it was a Steven Soderbergh weekend, really.

Let me say this: TRAFFIC is an excellent film that surprisingly and amazingly finds a balance in being objective, fair, and somehow even hopefull in it's take on the American war on drugs. The characters are well developed, and it's great to see Soderbergh reuniting with Luis Guizman (who starred in The Limey, also directed by Soderbergh) and Don Cheadle (who starred in Soderbergh's Out of Sight). Cheadle is excellent in this film, as are Benicio del Toro and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Truth be told, I don't like Michael Douglass, but in Traffic, he is great. The big names (Zeta-Jones and Douglass) may get a bunch of Oscar talk, but the most award-worthy performer in the film in my humble opinion is Erika Christensen, who portrays a private school good girl gone bad. REAL bad. An excellent, excellent film!

Coming Soon: ACTOR links for my personal faves--the people I consider to be the most talented and inspiring. Amongst the women to be listed: my favorite female actor JUDY DAVIS, plus Michelle Pfieffer, Angela Bassett, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Alfre Woodard, and Julianne Moore. My list of favorite male actors includes my no. 1 fave RALPH FIENNES, and Morgan Freeman, Daniel Day Lewis, Kevin Kline, Don Cheadle, Danny Glover, and several others.

The B's Movie Links

OSCAR WATCH 2000: Each year, friends and I try to accurately predict the films and actors that will earn Academy Award nominations. Those who are interested should peek here, where I list results from the NY and LA film critics balloting, as well as my own personal faves from the year 2000...
Before Night Falls: A visually and emotionally arresting film that brilliantly borrows from poetry, history, and biography...because of this amazing film, I'm more personally committed than ever to issues of social justice, humanity, and art, and how ART, LOVE, and PASSION matter in an otherwise CRUEL world. Hands down my pick for best film of 2000.
Traffic: Stephen Soderbergh is a stylish director who knows how to tell a story on film, from drawing inspired performances from his actors to bringing the screenplay to full-blown, screaming life to engaging our visual, intellectual, and emotional senses. He does all this and more with TRAFFIC. It's almost certain that this group of actors will win the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble. The screen time Don Cheadle and Luis Guizman share breathes an important comic (and tragic) life into the film, for example, and nearly every part in the film is played by an actor with real "weight": Benjamin Bratt (of Law & Order) is the leader of a drug cartel, James Brolin is the outgoing drug czar Dennis Quaid is a sleazo lawyer, Amy Irving is the liberal mother turned dutiful wife. I have to say I had HIGH expectations for TRAFFIC and the film exceeded those expectations. I'd have to tie this film with BEFORE NIGHT FALLS as my favorite of 2000.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: This movie is an ambitious epic fable as big as Star Wars but much better in my opinion (I know, I know...how could I say that? Blah, blah, blah...). The fight scenes, which are larger than life and literally breathtaking, have real MEANING. Zhang Zi-Yi anchors the film in a truly brilliant performance which is as Oscar-worthy as anything else on film this year. Michelle Yeoh emotes the kind of restrained passion we're used to from a Merchant/Ivory film, and it works painfully well. Ang Lee, of THE ICE STORM and SENSE & SENSIBILITY, is a director for the ages...this is the largest jewel in his crown.
Cast Away: Spiked with humor, this movie is successful thanks to the creativity and risk-taking of Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis. Perhaps most of the credit for the film should go to Zemeckis, whose direction is sharp, bold, raw, and clever. Hanks...well...what can you say. His performance is Mint, and I was very critical of his PHILADELPHIA and FORREST GUMP turns. I think Javier Bardem of BEFORE NIGHT FALLS is more deserving of a Best Actor award, but could live with a Hanks Oscar, as unlikely as it may be...
Best in Show: This ensemble mockumentary is a near masterpiece. I'd say it deserves the best screenplay Academy Award, but much of the dialouge was improvised, and fantasticly so! It's a mockumentary about the people and pets in the world of professional dog shows. It's hard to single out single performances because each cast member is so good, but I will sing the praises of Parker Posey (in wonderful form in this film), Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Michael McKean, and Fred Willard. I can't imagine anyone seeing this film and not laughing out loud...
Chuck and Buck: OK, this movie is REALLY independent. Overall, I liked it because I thought it was really well filmed and creative in the ways it pushed the audiences buttons and challenged us to suspend disbelief. It's also got a kooky yet extremely hooky theme song and an Oscar-caliber, right-on performance by Lupe Ontiveros as Beverly, the kind-hearted but tough as nails theatre director who shows Buck real friendship. Not for all audiences, but rewarding (for the most part, at least) for those who dare to see something different.
Saving Grace: A fun and innocently spirited comedy about a widow who grows pot to save her house. That's really all you need to know to enjoy this film. Brenda Blethyn is better here than she was in "Secrets & Lies" and Craig Ferguson (of TV's "The Drew Carey Show") is really quite good in a substantive supporting role. If you enjoyed "Waking Ned Devine," you should find this film a a happy diversion, as well.
Three Kings: My favorite film of last year, and I almost didn't see it. I don't do "war films" anymore, but I couldn't resist the George Clooney-Spike Jonze combo. Glad I saw this movie, with original direction and a really great cast. Not your typical action flick, thank heavens. Some really provocative statements about contemporary definitions of masculinity, the American problem of consumerism, and moral/ethical decision making are made by this excellent motion picture.
Election: I went to this film pretty much expecting "Daria, The Movie." Boy, was I wrong. There's some seriously sordid humor in this film, which has you laughing one second and feeling guilty the next. Election is well-layered, very sarcastic, and perfectly paced. Reese Witherspoon is perfect, and Matthew Broderick shows quite the range, too.
Run Lola Run: An informative site about the engaging German film...it's certainly a new classic (w/ a great soundtrack, too!).