About Adam (2000)

An Irish British American romance directed by Gerard Stembridge.
3 women from the same family are all interested in the same man.
I could tell within 5 or 10 minutes that this movie was not for me. I waited until 35 minutes in to turn it off. As I have said before, love and war are my least favorite subject matter for films. The video was really bright, which is not bad, but this usually (and in this case) goes along with very feminine films. I'm just too male to appreciate any value which my be there. I rate it shit in accordance with my turn off policy.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

An American animated comedy directed by Mark Dindal, starring David Spade, John Goodman, Wendie Malick and Patrick Warburton.
An Incan emperor wants to build his summer home on a hilltop occupied by a village. A peasant living there finds out about this, but the emperor's advisors turn him into a llama in an attempted murder by poison. The llama emperor ends up on the hill with the peasant and tries to return to the city.
This is far outside the year range of "good Disney movies", but I really like it. The plot seems designed to hold the interest of children as well as the parents who bring them to the theater. There were a small number of characters, but even some of the minor ones were instantly recognizable and make the viewer care what happens to them. Pacha's unnamed children are a good example. I like that the John Goodman character looks like John Goodman. Some of my favorite humor scenes were Kronk carrying Kuzco out of the palace, the squirrel near the jaguars and what happened with Yzma and Kronk at Pacha's house. I would really rather watch this again right now than try to think of something more to type about it. I rate it good and you should probably watch it.

Amores perros (2000)

A Mexican crime drama directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Adriana Barraza.
Various people and groups were present at a car accident. Their stories are shown leading up to it and afterward. A young man and his friend were into dog fighting, a model was switching husbands and a poor man has many dogs.
This is one of the movies that I saw a long time ago, have a copy of and never ended up writing about. The plot was complex, but clearly presented. It also made me care what happened next. There were lots of characters, but they were developed and most of them changed. I cared what happened to them as well. Everything sounded fine, but I was reading subtitles most of the duration anyway. They were not so quick and thick as to divert my attention from the video elements. There was a lot of handheld camera, but it looked professional, like Breaking Bad. I really liked this and got into it the first time I saw it, but rewatching after so many years did not pull me in as much. I rate it good. You should probably watch it.

101 Reykjavik (2000)

An Icelandic black comedy drama directed by Baltasar Kormakur, starring Victoria Abril.
A young man lives with his mother and is a little bit of a slacker. He collects unemployment and hangs out with his friends. His nmother's friend comes to visit for Christmas and while the mother is away, the friend and son have sex. The mother returns and announces her lesbianism with the friend.
Not too shabby. This held my interest with plot and characters. I think the son's friends could have been developed better, but the main characters seemed realistic. It was in Icelandic, but I get good subtitles. The mother's friend was Spanish, but spoke English. I noticed some camera-work done from above ground level that looked good. 2 of the son's friends were using a crane to hang Christmas decorations in town and that was shot from a higher view. There was also a scene with the son going into a building and the camera was pointed through second floor windows from outside. I used to wish for more "good green rating" movies, but now I'm happier to get the "adequate blue rating" ones when they come along. I rate this adequate. You might want to check it out.

Dr. T & the Women (2000)

A German American romance directed by Robert Altman, starring Richard Gere, Helen Hunt and Laura Dern.
A gynecologist has many problems with many women.
I've rated bad audio before because of not being able to hear things. This time, I'm pointing it out because of hearing too many things. There were scenes with rooms full of women, all speaking at the same time in a cacophony. I could tell this was written by a woman (Anne Rapp) because the men spoke like women when they were out hunting or golfing. Everyone was rich and (bringing back a 1970s/1980s theme) had a big bottle of liquor in their desk at work. I really didn't notice anything else about it. The plot was convoluted and there were too many characters. The camera-work looked alright and the editing was probably pretty quick. I rate it poor because I wish I had not watched it.

Italian for Beginners A.K.A. Italiensk for begyndere (2000)

A Danish romance directed by Lone Scherfig.
A group of men and women whose family members have died are taking a class in Italian language together. Sisters are reunited and 3 pairs are formed.
This was surprisingly good for Dogma 95. It started with tragic losses and despair, but ended in romance. I say that's the way to make a romance movie, There has to be some contrast so that the happy ending will satisfy people who like variety in films. The plot held my attention enough to not notice the shitty camerawork so much.I knew it was there, but cared more about the plot and characters than whether a tripod was being used. Based upon being a genre I don't like and intentionally lower production, but liking it anyway, I have to rate this good. I would recommend it for anyone who likes drama films with emphasis on plot and characters.

Raiders Series: Tokyo, Seoul & Europe (2000, 2005, 2018)

A Chinese kung fu spy comedies directed by Jingle Ma, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
Spies and government agents work against and with one another to uncover secrets and obtain stolen items or people.
The first two films were entertaining and had their own style. It was like Jackie Chan mixed with James bond or "what if Austin Powers were Chinese and done relatively well?" The third film was trash: just new Hollywood "how big can we make it?" I should have expected something when the intro was a person skiing down a mountain in a light suit. What was really missing in Europe Raiders was humor. For example, the series had established that after the first fight, Tony says "I don't mind fighting, but don't mess up my hair" and Europe did not have it. All of the films had too much camera movement and the editing was too fast. That is the style of the times and I don't like it, but can live with it if there are other things going on that are good. My favorite scene of the series was in Seoul when Lam has Owen tied up and plays a sushi prank on him as torture because the truth serum won't work on him. Europe was also missing the truth serum! Everything that the first two films worked so hard to establish and that worked so well in them was missing from the third. I'm rating the first two adequate and the third bad. The strategy for watching them should be obvious.

In the Mood for Love A.K.A. 花樣年華, huāyàng niánhuá (2000)

A Chinese romantic drama directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
A man whose wife is constantly busy with work and goes on business trips to Japan meets a woman next door whose husband is always busy with work and goes on business trips to Japan.
Very pretty, but pretty boring. The blocking in Wong Kar-wai films always stacks characters and items in focal depth. A prime example in this film was the woman standing in front of the man and walking away. She is in focus, then he is in focus as she walks past him and goes out of focus into the background. It's just brilliant camerawork! The music was alright too. Everything else sucked. The plot held my attention like a wet paper bag holds battle axes. Sex could have been implied in a very discreet and classy way, but we don't even see them taking their shoes off to enter the homes. They never touch one another. Is having a friend next door this scandalous in Hong Kong? I rate this poor. Read that first sentence of my review paragraph again.

Dancer in the Dark A.K.A. Danser i mørket (2000)

A Danish German Netherlands Italian American British French Swedish Finnish Icelandic Argentinian Norwegian Taiwanese Belgian Musical drama directed by Lars von Trier, starring Bjork, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse and Peter Stormare.
A Czech woman has moved to America so that her son can have an operation on his eyes. She is going blind and her son soon will if his eyes are not fixed. A neighbor finds her savings for the operation and steals it. She tries to take it back, but he is accidentally shot in the struggle. She kills him and takes the money as he begs her to do so and the case goes to court.
The whole Golden Heart Trilogy is not equal. This seemed restrained, repressed, whitewashed and censored compared to the other 2 films, lots like Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Rainbow Thief (1990). Most of this was in Dogma 95 style, but the musical numbers had non-diegetic music and tripods for the camera. Bjork is extremely attractive, but her vocal delivery and phrasing seem repetitive, like she wrote 1 song in 1993 and has been repeating it ever since with different lyrics. I like to think that the ending was caused by this, but I won't spoil that too much. Bjork says that Lars shared my view of her appearance and attempted to act on it in a #metoo manner. I didn't like the plot of this as much as the other Golden Heart films and the characters were not as good either. I'm rating it o.k. and in this case, that counts as an insult. You may want to skip this if you're watching Lars von Trier films. His other stuff has all been so much better.

Inuyasha (2000 - 2010)

A Japanese Anime directed by Masashi Ikeda, Yasunao Aoki and Toshiya Shinohara.
An extremely mature middle school girl falls down a well and ends up in the Feudal era where she releases a demon who has been sealed to a tree for 50 years. The demon was sealed because another demon played him and his girlfriend against one another to get a sacred jewel. The modern girl and feudal demon team up with a child fox demon, a lecherous monk with a vacuum hand, a 2-tailed cat that grows and flies and a demon slayer woman whose group has been killed by her younger brother.
I watched the entire duration of 197 videos. Most were 20 minute TV episodes, besides the 4 hour and a half movies. It's a lot of Inuyasha. The plot seemed standard and stereotypical for anime, featuring mainly searches for characters and items, fights and comic relief. I liked comic relief the most in this series. There were episodes devoted to secondary characters that entertained me more than the main plot of the series. Because it was made for TV, there were frequent "plot recaps" to inform viewers who were not watching the whole series straight through what was happening. There were tons of characters and many of them had similar names: Naraku, Kohaku, Kagura, Kaguya, the list goes on. I know I'm an American, looking at Japanese names from an etic perspective, but they seemed too similar to me. What I liked about the characters was variety. There were humans, half demons and demons in every available Dungeons & Dragons alignment. Each of the main characters had identifiable personality traits that were demonstrated at every opportunity. An example of this is the monk touching the demon slayer's butt. Much of the dialogue was characters saying each other's names: "INUYASHA!!" "KAGOME!!" which got old quickly. The English voice actors fit the Japanese animated characters well enough for my tastes. Only Final Act was subtitled and not dubbed. I found the Japanese voices disorienting because I was so used to the English dubbed version, having watched 167 episodes by that point. On a side note, I heard a few phrases so frequently that I rewrote them as qwerty keyboard and sexual innuendo references: Sexomaru, No-cock-u, Titsaiga, Bitcoin jewel and Inutrasha's famous attacks: Spacebar    , Backslash wave\\\\, Ampersand Barrage&&&& and Cheesy Beaver Hole Feeler. Animation style was a mix of traditional anime with some computerized effects. I could tell the difference, but a person less versed in digital video effects may not be able to discern between the two. They were blended very well and the CG was used extremely tastefully and sparsely. As with any TV series, the music was repetitive. There were a few theme tracks for battle, comedy, drama, etc. that just got copied and pasted where they were needed. The anime series was quite popular and the 4 movies got 7.5-7.9 on IMDB. My real anime comparison test is Dragonball. This was goofier than Z and GT, but not as goofy as original DB. It was also not as good, but Goku and friends set a pretty high mark to beat. Inuyasha is nice to have in addition to Dragonball though. I rate it good. It must have been for me to still like it after watching that much.

Unbreakable (2000)

An American drama directed by M. Night Shyamalan, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
A man who has extremely fragile bones and is obsessed with comic books finds a man who cannot be injured. This "unbreakable" man has family troubles.
This has been incorrectly categorized as a superhero movie, but it's a drama. The hour and 42 minute duration seemed to alternate between the superhero story and the hero's family drama, with family drama always getting more time. It seemed like there were 2 plots that didn't quite meet. The 2 main characters were played by renowned actors who can do a good job in almost any role. I was disappointed by the toy store quote. I found this movie by looking up that quote after having read it on slipsum.com and expected it to be delivered more expressively. The acting was a little low-key and more drama than superhero. Sets and costumes consisted of normally dressed people in a city. Only Samuel L. Jackson's coat made an impression on me. As is typically the case, camera-work used lots of close-ups and underexposures with quicker editing cuts during the few, short action scenes. Audio was mixed correctly. I could hear dialogue, but the music again seemed more drama than action. This won 1/10 awards that it was nominated for, has a 7.2/10 on IMDB, 3/5 stars on AllMovie, Has a Metascore of 62% and user score of 8.6/10 on Metacritic and has 68% tomatometer and 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for an average of 71%.  I agree with the C- grade completely because it was unimpressive as action and sappy like a pine tree as drama. I rate this poor.

The Filth and the Fury (2000)

A British music documentary directed by Julien Temple, starring the Sex Pistols.
The story of the punk band, Sex Pistols is told.
This was pretty accurate and well made. The subject matter is one that interests me a great deal. I love punk! The interviews were odd. They had positioned the interviewees against a bright background, making their faces dark. There were also the obvious clips of the band from previous appearances on-stage and in interviews. The plot followed the timeline of the band from formation to Nancy's death, covering the entire mythology of the group. None of the video was of good technical quality, but I think it went well with the punk aesthetic. The audio was all mixed correctly. Overall, a perfectly fine documentary about a cool subject. However, it did not go the extra step to earn a high rating. I rate it adequate. You might as well watch it.

Sound and Fury (2000)

An American documentary directed by Josh Aronson.
Two families with deaf children are decided whether or not to get cochlear implants for their kids.
This was mildly confusing, but well made. The subject matter seems like a "no-brainer" to most people, but the parents in this film would disagree. Some of them like being deaf! One of the grandparents had a quote about a crippled family breaking the legs of a child who could walk. I thought that was extremely appropriate. The subject of deaf culture came up and it means deaf people sticking together, staying deaf. If they only knew the sounds that came out of their mouths... The interviews were done very well and were supplemented by intense arguments between family members. There were also scenes of the prospective families visiting cochlear and deaf schools as well as families with cochlear equipped children. The video all looked great, mixing very raw footage with more planned and edited material. The audio mercifully turned down the inarticulate vocalizations of deaf cast members. Overall, a well made documentary about a unique subject matter. I rate this good. Watch it!

Sexy Beast (2000)

A British Spanish crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane and James Fox.
A retired mobster is contacted by an aggressive ex-co-worker who wants him to be part of a new plan and won't take no for an answer. The retired man has to figure out how to deal with this guy and the job.
This was not so great. The plot was non-linear and included dreams/hallucinations. The characters were not extremely well developed, besides the main two. The video was actually pretty cool. They had a lot of different shots and used creative camera angles well. The audio was terrible. Whispered audio and blasting music were beyond Russ Meyer un-levels. I would say they learned to mix audio by watching Dario Argento flicks. Overall, not really what I like to watch. I'm rating this poor for audio and because I just did not like it.

An Everlasting Piece (2000)

An American comedy drama directed by Barry Levinson, written by and starring Barry McEvoy.
The barbers at an insane asylum meet a new inmate who was previously the only wig distributor in the area. They get his client list easily, but are unsuccessful salesmen.
Not bad, but not good. I will explain. The premise was good and had lots of possibilities for "hair-brained schemes". The plot faltered though. The pacing didn't feel right because of bad choices in writing or directing. The strife between catholics and protestants, set in Ireland with such a large part played by the IRA seemed wonky for an American film. Then I discovered that Barry McEvoy, the writer and star, wrote the story about his Irish father. Some authenticity may have been lost over time and this is the only film he ever wrote. The soundtrack was just a tad on the annoying side, as Levinson's musical selections tend to be. The video was mostly very well done, besides a few underexposed scenes. When McEvoy returns to the barbershop after a rough adventure, he knocks over his friend's milk. There is this wonderful little sequence of the friend filling his coffee from the milk dripping off the table and then placing the jar under the drip. Overall, a regular movie with flaws and strengths. I rate it o.k.

Leprechaun: In the Hood (2000)

An American horror comedy directed by Rob Spera, starring Warwick Davis and Ice-T.
A pimp steals the leprechaun's gold flute, which grants him power over people. Years later, a young rap group steals all of the leprechaun's gold from him and sets the leprechaun free. Caught between an angry pimp and a greedy leprechaun, they try to save their lives and win a rap competition.
This was actually not bad. I know it sounds like a disaster, but I thought it was funny. The stereotypical characters kind of worked for the premise. I think it was cool that they included a Chinese shopkeeper to round out the ghetto cast. The leprechaun smoking a joint with Ice-T scene was interesting. His rap at the end could have been skipped, but I was expecting it from the beginning. You know, leprechaun limericks rhyme, rap rhymes... It's just natural that they did it. There was an ungodly amount of cross-dressing involved. From the drag queen to sneaking into the leprechaun's hideout, too many dudes looking like ladies. Overall, not as bad as it seems. I rate this adequate.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus A.K.A. Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jī Shōmetsu Sakusen (2000)

A Japanese daikaiju science fiction directed by Masaaki Tezuka.
As Japanese scientists are working on a way to rid the world of Godzilla, giant dragonflies come out of a wormhole created by their latest experiment. These turn into an even bigger dragonfly that fights Godzilla.
This was very much like the other Masaaki Tezuka Godzilla films. It featured an anti-Godzilla military team and a child who plays a small role in the plot. They tried using an unsuccessful romantic interest, but it seemed inconclusive to me. This may be the only film of the franchise where they actually get rid of Godzilla. It beats me why they would want to, after he saves the Earth from so many other monsters. Personally, I would try to train him not to wreck cities. The monster was pretty cool because it changed and the final form was artfully crafted. Overall, another Godzilla movie. Only 9 left! I rate it o.k.

Bamboozled (2000)

An American comedy directed by Spike Lee, starring Damon Wayans and Michael Rapaport.
An educated and intelligent black screenwriter is asked to make a "nigger show" by his wigger boss.
This was pretty cool for like the first 3/4. I didn't like the ending. The characters were type-cast and the plot held my attention with frequent and overt racial stereotypes. The TV show that they made was hilarious! The racist cowboy within me enjoyed this a great deal. The tap-dancing star of the show was my favorite character because he performed best when the show began and his character was developed more than others. If you are interested in racist stereotypes about people with dark skin, this is for you. It blew Coonskin (1975) out of the water in that department. I rate this awesome for being extreme.

Quills (2000)

An American British German drama directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine.
A writer is imprisoned in an insane asylum. He writes lurid tales of sex and violence. When he produces a play about the misdeeds of the new owner of the asylum, the benevolent Abbe is pressured into silencing the writer's pen.
Sex innuendo so over the top, such foul-mouthed scoundrels I hope they don't stop. This short poem was composed at the beginning of the film and they did not stop indeed. Things only got more shocking and graphic as time went on. Obviously, I liked the plot and characters. They were right up my filthy alley. The men were all insane except the Abbe. The women were all strumpets, promiscuous whores and prostitutes. There was even a cameo by a dwarven prostitute. In the picture above, the writer has just penned a story on his clothes, using his own blood. Video style was trumped by the action and dialogue to the point that I didn't notice how good it was (and it was good). The audio went a little awry in places when too much was going on, but was mostly great. The overall style is what impressed me. It was how everything came together and blasted into a climax. Female anatomy points! I almost forgot! The lead actress earned them at the end, reminding me of a Princess Bride quote about "perfect breasts". Overall, this is wonderful. A true joy and honor to behold. I rate this best. WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

A South Korean drama directed by Bong Joon-ho.
An aspiring professor is annoyed by a barking dog in his apartment building. He catches it and traps it in the basement, only to find that it is the wrong dog. When he goes to get the dog, the maintenance man is eating it. He then finds the right dog and kills it. An office worker girl sees this happen and shows the dog's owner, who dies shortly after. The professor's wife gets a dog, which he loses and the office worker helps him try to look for it.
This was a very complex plot with lots of characters, but there were memorable scenes that made everything fit together nicely. The camera-work was awesome. It showed everything very clearly and there were some unique shots. The most memorable parts for me were the maintenance men telling a ghost story in the basement and the office worker hanging out at her fat friend's store. Everyone and everything tied into the story very well and the script is probably a masterpiece worth reading on it's own. Overall, excellently made and it held my attention. I'm rating this good.
I know I've been giving too many good ratings recently without enough nudie pics. Fortunately for me, Far-Eastern cinema is just that way. The humor is cleaner, plots are better, characters are more memorable and the camera-work is superior. I'm talking modern here, not dime-a-dozen fuvies like "Shaolin Twelve Drunken Monks of the Buddhist Palm vs Wu-Tang Invincible Sleeping Fist" or other such '70s trash. Asian cinema has come a long way in a short time, leaving America in it's dust. Just read back a page or 2 on my blog for evidence of this.