Spy Game (2001)
DIRECTOR: Tony Scott
CAST: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Larry Bryggman, David Hemmings, Ken Leung
REVIEW:
Spy Game is a little bit like a John le Carre or Len Deighton story filtered through a Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer (or Tony Scott) visual sensibility, intriguing ideas and twisty-turny plot meeting fast-cutting whizz-bang filming and editing. What results doesn’t always mesh perfectly together, but it contains enough intrigue and fast-paced turns to engage us for an entertaining couple of hours. Continue reading
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus
CAST: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Sir Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart, Warwick Davis, Zoe Wanamaker, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Tom Felton, John Hurt, John Cleese
REVIEW:
J.K. Rowling’s seven-book Harry Potter series is unquestionably the most popular fantasy series of its time, and beyond its genre it is a cultural phenomenon approaching the level of the Star Wars saga. And while some dismiss (in my opinion, underestimate) it as kids’ stuff, its appeal transcends age. Continue reading
Uprising (2001)
DIRECTOR: Jon Avnet
CAST: Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Leelee Sobieski, Stephen Moyer, Donald Sutherland, Jon Voight, Cary Elwes
REVIEW:
Uprising, an NBC TV miniseries about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during the Holocaust, is an attempt to bring some spotlight to the striking true story of Warsaw’s Jewish resistance, but unfortunately fails to give a true-life inspirational tale the movie presentation it deserves. Maybe a harder-hitting, grittier film could have been a better format; the restrictions of NBC and the TV movie format leaves Uprising, while earnestly well-intentioned, feeling like it soft peddles a story that shouldn’t be soft peddled.
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