The Top Misfires and Shockers in 2000.

[T-DawG]

I'll start with the Duds These movies had the potential to be great but came up short of the goal line!:

.1 Gladiator (2 1/2 stars out of 5)
(If I were in the Roman Colleseum with the cast and crew of this movie I would have one thing to say! And I am quoting the great Hip Hop philosopher named Jay-Z when I say "Can I get a F*** You?")

.2 The Cell (3 stars out of 5)
( 2 words sum up going to this film Morbid Curiosity. If I were a Trendy Movie critic the head line would read Solitary Confinement.)

.3 Hollow Man (2 stars out of 5)
(Kevin Bacon now holds the mantle of Shallow Man. This was one of the most angonizing movies to sit through this year! Elizabeth Shue I hope have your bags packed cause you are going to be Leaving Hollywood.)

.4 U-571 (2 1/2 stars out of 5)
(I hear people leaving the theatre, no wait I hear people yawning. I have seen more creativity passing gas in the bath tub than this dud of a deapth charge had to offer.)

.5 Scream 3 (2 1/2 stars out of 5)
(Whats your favorite least favorite movie sequel Sidney? Scream 3.....? Damn it mine too. Scream 1 and 2 were solid Scream 3 ends Wes Cravens Honey Mooning as a real director. I think its time to consult the Wish Master Wes.)

Now for the Surprises of the year!

.1 Wonder Boys (4 1/2 stars out of 5)
I had a feeling this was going to be good but it was excellent and easily the best movie of the year so far. I hope more people will go out and support it when it is rereleased in the fall.)

.2 Pitch Black (4 stars out of 5)
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie and thinking could this be any more ridiculous? I went in expecting a laugher and what I saw was a new take on the sci-fi horror genre! Not only a great looking movie but also solid acting and a good story. It also solidified Vin Diesel and Rhada Mitchell as solid up and coming actors.)

.3 American Psycho (4 stars out of 5)
I had rather lofty expectations for this one and they were met. Though it was recieved with mixed reviews and by audiences I think it is one of this years hidden gems! Christian Bale's extremely over the top performance was brilliant and should get him a nod for best actor.)

.4 Road Trip (4 1/2 stars out of 5)
(I was pretty skepical going into this one partly due to the fact that Tom Green was in it and that it was another teen themed comedy. But wouldn't you know it Tom Green stole the show and put Scary Movie to shame with many more big laughs and a solid comedy story line.)

.5 Me Myself and Irene (4 stars out of 5)
Could I forgive Jim Carrey for Man on the Moon. Well I was going to boycot this movie then changed my mind. This movie had some of the biggest laughs of the year second to Road Trip. Though it didn't have the story of Road Trip it gained some much needed respect and put some faith back into the franchise that is Jim Carrey!)

[QUENTIN]

I agree with both of your number ones, and all of your dissapointments except The Cell. My lists:

Dissapointing:

1.Gladiator - Why was this praised as the best thing of it's kind since Spartacus? because it is the first thing of it's kind since Spartacus. It was pretty standard anyway ** of ****

3.Mission To Mars, what I until a few days b4 it came out thought was going to be THE summer blockbuster of 2000....boy, it reinvented new ways to suck. And have you ever seen a single film more wrought with cliches? absolute shite. * of ****

3.Eye of The Beholder - I unfortunately didn't do my homework on this film, but I did know Ashley Judd is one of my favorite actresses, and hse is also VERY hot. Ewan McGregor was great in Trainspotting and since has never been short of very good. So how could it go wrong? I'm not quite sure but they managed to do it, and do it well. One of the worst films of the year * of ****

4.The Beach - I loved the preview for this film, it had a really cool song (Touched by Vast) looked visually beautiful, and it was directed by the creator of one of my favorite films, Trainspotting, and an underrated fun little ,movie by the name of A Life Less Ordinary. Leo was the only big dtractor I could think of, but after all he was pretty good in his pre-titanic days. Well what did this film have? Most of the good things from the trailer, and that was it, they literally showed EVERYTHING good about this movie and it only took 2 minutes, whereas this was quite a lot longer and quite a lot worse. The biggest dissapointment? It actually started out pretty well, and followed that for awhile and then *poof* it just went bad, really bad. * 1/2 of ****

5.Scream 3 - Scream 2 was one of my favorite horror films, and Scream wasn't too far behin, I really liked the films, unfortunately they decided to cash in and do this very dissapointing, with just a few moments reminiscent of the better days. ** 1/2 of ****


Suprising:

1.Wonder Boys - My best film so far this year, and possibly my best at the year end. I was suprised how mcuh I loved this film. I always expected it to be good. But this film really sneaks up on you, absolutely fabulous. And Michael Douglas gives the performance of a lifetime. **** of ****

2.High Fidelity - I was expecting a lot, and weirdly enough I thought because I was expecting a lot it wouldn't be very good. So I had the 2 conflicting emotions of expecting it to be great, yet assuming it would dissapoint me...I should have followed my instincts. Me, Myself, & Irene, Scary Movie, Big Momma's House, Road Trip, forget 'em all. High Fidelity is the best comedy of the year. **** of ****

3.The Settlement - A Starz original picture that never played in theaters may not come to video but was suprisingly very good. I only started to watch it because of John C. Reilly and "the dude from Go" but I was rewarded to much more than a few great performances. It's the kind of film you saw in the 60's about greed, murder, and lust all done innocently enough. *** of ****

4.Keeping The Faith - I went cause the people I was going with wanted to go. I was kind of saddened about it to tell you the truth I though "oh great, Edward Norton is selling out to do some rom/com with a preposterous premise". I was very wrong, it was probably the sweetest movie since Notting Hill, and suprisingly funny. I probably laughed more during this than any film so far this year (but I haven't seen Scary Movie). *** of ****

5.The Cell - I had no idea what to expect. It had rave reviews, but so did Lost Highway and that was a film I just didn't "get" I suppose, that or there was nothing to "get" and it was an excersize in style. Either way I wasn't sure if I would think this is the new Blue Velevet or the next Lost Highway. Turns out it was neither. It was completely original (besides a few of the serial killer tracking borrowed from other movies) and actually made sense. Not only that but it was very enjoyable and I had a good time seeing it. *** 1/2 of ****

[This message has been edited by QUENTIN (edited 09-03-2000).]

[Scarface]

I gotta disagree with you on a few T-Dawg. First on the list, Road Trip. Good story? You gotta be kidding me man. More laughs than Scary Movie? Once again, please be kidding. I found it hard to laugh during this piece of shite and didnt ever find myself actually laugh out loud. Unlike Scary Movie, although they were cheap laughs, still got me to convey some sort of emotions. Road Trip gets 2 out of 5 from me.

I would like to add one definite stinker to the list though What Lies Beneath. I dont even wanna go into detail. 2 out of 5 again.

[screamer581]

T-dawg, pretty good lists, but you are telling me that you liked Me Myself And Irene better than Man On The moon. Moon was great, and Jim was fantastic, and though I liked Me Myself, more than I thought I would (it got pretty piss poor reviews), it is no where as good. (though it's kinda hard to compare them)

[samiam418]

While Me Myself and Irene wasn't as bad as Man on the Moon I was sadly dissapointed by both and considered them to be total wastes of my time and money. Neither movie would have gotten more than a 2/5

[DaN]

How can you all not like Gladiator it's one of my fav movies of all time! I thought it was great, a lot better than Spartacus. Eye of the Beholder was just bad. I don't even want to start about that horrible piece of crap that should be burned to the ground.

[VIRGIL]

Better than Spartacus?
Whoa... (keanu reeves style even)
Whoa... (Joey Lawrence style now)

I have never been more shocked.
Gladiator was nowhere NEAR spartacus.
Gladiator had good fight scenes (though too quick) and good direction... but fallen through on the storyline, unbelieveable, and moreover a greek tragedy gone gutwrenchingly wrong... It was a GREAT movie, but nowhere near the near-flawless Stanley Kubrick masterpeice.

you gave hollowman two stars? that was kind of you.

[magicman]

wow wow wow I saw all of these films and I thought Wonder Boys SUCKED with a capital S. As did American Psycho and Pitch Black, sucked. Me, Myself, and Irene was funny, but was a clear dissapointment in the minds of the people and bottom line of the all mighty box office numbers. Road Trip was also funny, but a clearly a rip off American Pie that fell short. I can't believe 4 of 5 stars for these.
I sort of agree with your duds, but that is why movies like Hollow Man and The Cell come out in August. Because the are fluff and not very good beyond some gimick, like special effects or a hot girl. But Gladiator was clearly not a dud. How much did it make? Between 175 and 200 MILLION. Well anyway I really liked it. As for U571, it was ok a good little movie, but not boring. Limited, yes. Boring, NO. In the end I guess we will agree to disagree.

[screamer581]

screamer581 growls at magicman for saying that Wondery Boys and American Pyscho sucked....... errrrrrrrrr

[hornytony]

My two top surprises would have to be Wonder Boys and The Cell. I was also quite surpised with Road Trip. Most disappointing film of the year Scream 3.

[magicman]

sorry screamer there is a reason why wonder boys (which was a terrible title) (katie holmes is HOT) made almost no money. And as for American Pyscho, read the book it was better. the movie was a joke and it wasn't meant to be that way