Matrix, The
***¾
Pioneering highly rated science fiction action film with a thought provoking story probably including hidden concepts and meanings which, if discovered, are intriguingly only half explained if at all. The Matrix also has a strong, cool cast including Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss as well as fantastic, pioneering special effects. It's the sort of film whose meaning has attracted many (conspiracy) theories from avid viewers and I do feel a sense of feeling I ought to like it more than I actually like it - possibly because it's in a genre that doesn't usually attract me. All in all though, it's an unsettling film which is worth seeing and thought provoking.
Released - 1999
Seen by me: 18.7.03

Maybe Baby
****
Maybe Baby is a comedy adapted by Ben Elton from his novel Inconceivable which was inspired by Ben and his wife’s real life problems in conceiving a baby. It stars Hugh Laurie as Sam, a frustrated BBC writer and Joely Richardson as Lucy, his wife who is desperate to have a baby. 
Lucy decides that she and Sam should keep confidential, separate diaries on their thoughts a they undergo fertility treatment.  This gives Sam an idea for a production and he takes a peak with disastrous results (though it all turns out OK in the end in true romantic comedy style!). 
Maybe Baby is clearly an attempt by Elton and his cohorts to create a romcom to rival Richard Curtis  / Hugh Grant vehicles such as Notting Hill and Love Actually.  Although it arguably doesn’t quite have the stamp of class of those films, it is an excellent feature which definitely didn’t deserve the panning it received.  Like most Elton productions, the supporting cast includes a number of characters who are there just for laughs to counteract the more serious lead plot.  Particularly fine in this respect is Tom Hollander as Ewan Proclaimer, a gritty, modern Scottish director who is obsessed by drugs.  Another very close-to-the-mark character (no prizes for guessing who) by Ben in an excellent well-made comedy which is well worth seeing.
Released:  2000
Seen by me:  29.8.05 (with Naomi)

Meet The Parents
***1/2
Comedy starring Ben Stiller as Gaylord Focker an eager-to-please regular guy going with his girlfriend to meet her parents for the first time.  This is daunting enough at the best of times but even more so when your prospective father-in-law is a pompous, paranoid ex-CIA agent (played by Robert De Niro) and you are extremely accident-prone.  The weekend visit goes from bad to disastrous but it all turns out OK in the end.
Meet The Parents has some good comic performances and characters and is funny in places.  It is let down though by some rather obvious and repetitive jokes, many based around the name of Stiller’s character.
Released:  2000
Seen by me:  2.5.05 (with Naomi)

Mighty Wind, The
****
A touching gentle satire by Christopher Guest who also brought us Best In Show and most famously, Spinal Tap.  The Mighty Wind is a spoof documentary of a one-off reunion concert of three leading 60s folk groups following the death of their former manager /mentor.  The bands consist of a bland, dressed-up cabaret group with only one or two original members, a more credible trio which re-unites the three main members of Spinal Tap and a golden folk couple whose fortunes have dramatically diverged since they split up in the early 70s.  Although not quite as brilliant as I was hoping it would be, The Mighty Wind is still a witty and affectionate parody with a genuinely touching climax.  Well worth seeing.
Released:  2004
Seen by me: 27.3.05 (with Naomi)

Mike Bassett: England Manager
**¼
A poor comedy starring Ricky Tomlinson as a rookie England football manager. Entertaining enough on a basic level but it's blatantly stereotypical with obvious jokes rather than any wit, subtlety or irony. A weak script and poorly put together, the only good feature is the use of split screens which gives the live football shots a nicely dated feel - quite fitting really as the makers could have possibly got away with this drivel 20-30 years ago but not now. It's quite refreshing to see a very mainstream, crap film after all the more highbrow and critically acclaimed stuff I tend to watch though I don't think Ill be giving Mike Bassett too many more viewings.
Released - 2001
Seen by me: 18.11.03 (with Naomi)

Millions
***1/2
Entertaining contemporary film about two young brothers who find a quarter of a million pounds in bag thrown from a train following a robbery.  Millions shows the dilemmas facing the brothers as they try to hide the loot from their father, whilst trying to come to terms with their mother’s recent death.
It’s a heart-warming Christmas-y comedy which is nice though not especially affecting or memorable afterwards.
Released:  2004
Seen by me:  27.10.06 (with Naomi & Mum)

Miss Congeniality
****
Comedy starring Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart, a tough girl cop who is obsessed with her job, doesn’t have time for relationships and despises anything girly.  After bungling a police operation, Gracie is consigned to go undercover as Miss New Jersey in the Miss USA beauty contest, resulting in hilarious elocution and posture lessons from an etiquette coach, excellently played by Michael Caine.  As she just about convincingly gets through the extensive eliminating rounds, the cynical Gracie gets to know some of the other girls and is gradually transformed in her outlook to femininity and love.  Inevitably she spots the saboteur, saves the day and ends the film as a more understanding heroine. 
Miss Congeniality is an excellent, frequently hilarious comedy with a fine central performance by Bullock.  Well worth seeing.
Released:  2000
Seen by me:  8.10.05 (with Naomi)

Moulin Rouge
****
A hugely enjoyable completely over the top film by Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge is set in Montmatre at the height of its decadence at the turn of the 20^th century.  Its basic story - does the leading lady go with the penniless artist who she loves or the rich businessman - is Shakespearian in its simplicity. It's the over the top production which makes this alternative musical so enjoyable.  Moulin Rouge is full of dance and song - a visual feast of joyous, fast-moving images that is almost too much to take in.  The songs bizarrely include lines and verses from pop classics such as Your Song, Smells Like Teen Spirit and All You Need Is Love - this can be irritating at first but the viewer gets carried along with the sheer absurdity and enjoyment of it.  Lines are frequently sung mid-conversation by the leads Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman who show that they have good voices as well as giving fine performances.  Although it's a joy to watch, Moulin Rouge is actually a Shakespearian tragedy, albeit a spectacular and highly entertaining one.
Released - 2001
Seen by me:  23.2.04 (with Naomi)

Music and Lyrics
****1/2

Romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant as Alex Fletcher, a short-lived 80s pop star now playing at amusements parks and business functions on the “here and now” circuit.  Like many women of her age, current pop star Cora (Hayley Bennett) is a huge fan and wants Alex to write a song for her.  The only problems are that he hasn’t written a song for nearly 20 years and doesn’t have a lyricist.  Enter Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) employed rather hilariously by Alex as a plant-waterer who also has a seemingly untapped talent for lyrics and poetry.  Alex and Sophie write a wining song, fall in love then split over an issue of musical integrity though it of course all turns out happily in the end.

Music & Lyrics is an excellent, entertaining romantic comedy which is enhanced further by a clever and witty spoof video by Alex and his 80s band.  Grant and Barrymore are excellent as are the support cast with Brad Garrett as Alex’s manager and Kristen Johnston a Sophie’s fawning older sister deserving special mentions.  Once again, an excellent life-affirming Hugh Grant comedy with some insight into the 80s and noughties nostalgic musical scenes as well as the creative songwriting process.

Released:  2007

Seen by me:  2.9.08 – with Naomi