Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Billy Costigan), Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan), Jack Nicholson (Frank Costello), Mark Wahlberg (Dignam), Martin Sheen (Captain Queenan), Vera Farmiga (Madolyn)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Departed page.
I've only seen three of the films nominated for best picture, but I'm pretty sure even after seeing the other two I'll still be happy that The Departed won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although many people told me Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job in this movie and might have gotten the Best Actor Oscar if he'd been nominated for the right movie, I had serious doubts. (I've never been a fan of DiCaprio's work.) Leonardo DiCaprio did do a great job in The Departed. So did everyone else in this amazing cast.
The story of The Departed is very well thought out. It overlaps in many ways, making the movie interesting until the very last second. If you somehow managed to miss this movie in theatres, as I did, I highly recommend adding it to your Netflix list! The Departed is one of those must see movies that deserved every award it received.
Grade: A
Labels: 2006, Best Picture, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Karina Arroyave (Elizabeth), Dato Bakhtadze (Lucien), totally amazing cast
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Crash page.
Wow... I was blown away by this movie. I've never seen a movie that confronts so many different types of stereotypes. Paul Haggis, who wrote and directed Crash did an amazing job at getting his point across. I can't imagine anyone leaving the theatre after seeing Crash and not thinking seriously about the issues addressed.
The tagline of Crash is pretty perfect: "You think you know who you are. You have no idea."
The characters are all tied together in ways that become apparent as the story unfolds and Crash is constructed very well. Many things in the movie caught me off guard and I think that it's great to bring these issues to the front of our consciousness.
This is definitely not a happy movie or one with a bright outlook. No movie that centers this much on prejudice could possibly be a happy movie. But movies aren't all about making you happy. Crash did exactly what it was intended to do - it brought out the horrible consequences of prejudice in our society and made everyone think.
I've really gone most of my life not seeing color or thinking in that way, which baffled Wayne (as some of you will remember). Crash made me (and I'm sure most people) very uncomfortable, which was the idea. I highly recommend this movie and hope that it can help people examine the problems with prejudice in our society.
Grade: A
Labels: 2005, Best Picture, crime, Don Cheadle, drama, movie, Sandra Bullock, Terrence Howard
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clint Eastwood (Frankie Dunn), Hilary Swank (Maggie Fitzgerald), Morgan Freeman (Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Million Dollar Baby page.
As someone who hates boxing, I wasn't looking forward to seeing Million Dollar Baby in spite of the great previews and everyone saying it's a great movie. Surprisingly enough, Clint Eastwood directed Million Dollar Baby in such a way that I absolutely loved it, in spite of the boxing. Heck, he got me to care about boxing for a couple hours, which is a minor miracle.
The cast and directing is absolutely amazing. The story is moving. What more can you ask for in a movie? I haven't seen all the nominees, but so far this has my vote for best picture.
Grade: A+
Labels: 2004, Best Picture, Clint Eastwood, drama, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, movie, sports
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma Kelly), Renee Zellweger (Roxie Hart), Queen Latifah (Matron Mama Morton), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Chicago page.
With a couple minor exceptions, I think they did a great job taking Chicago from stage to screen. They somehow managed to include more of the back story while only cutting out one major song. Amazing!
I think Velma Kelly could have been better cast, but other than that, the cast was amazing. They also changed the reporter, which I thought was too bad, but it wasn't a major plot point in the musical.
I'm so happy that movie musicals are coming back and doing well in movie theaters. With this and Moulin Rouge starring major movie actors, perhaps the genre will continue to grow again. If you like musicals, I highly recommend that you see Chicago and if you don't, this may be a good way to start liking them.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2002, Best Picture, comedy, crime, drama, musical, Queen Latifah, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Russell Crowe (John Nash), Ed Harris (Parcher), Jennifer Connelly (Alicia Nash), Paul Bettany (Charles)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's A Beautiful Mind page.
This story of a brilliant man dealing with the mathematical problems he allows to take over his life and his secret work is my pick for best picture of 2001. It's wonderfully written and has the perfect cast. Everyone in A Beatiful Mind did an amazing job. It's one of those movies you can't say much about without giving anything important away, but go see it!
Grade: A-
Labels: 2001, Best Picture, drama, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, movie, mystery, Paul Bettany, Russell Crowe
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Russell Crowe (Maximus), Joaquin Phoenix (Commodus), Connie Nielsen (Lucilla), Oliver Reed (Proximo)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Gladiator page.
The special effects were definitely a bit lacking, but the story and cast are great. Going from a general to a gladiator must be an amazingly difficult thing to endure. The way the gladiators were treated by the public as heroes when one of them would usually die was pretty interesting, too.
I'm a sucker for a period piece, but it's definitely worth the time to see it!
Grade: B+
Labels: 2000, action, adventure, Best Picture, drama, Joaquin Phoenix, movie, Russell Crowe
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:10 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham), Annette Bening (Carolyn Burnham), Thora Birch (Jane Burnham), Wes Bentley (Ricky Fitts)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's American Beauty page.
Such an amazing movie, I don't know where to begin. Definitely Oscar-worthy!
The cast and story are wonderful and the direction and editing are superb. American Beauty is narrated by Lester, who tells us about how he decided to turn his miserable life around and ended up turning everyone else's life upside down in the process. A small-town guy with nothing to live for goes a little over the edge.
Grade: A+
Labels: 1999, Annette Bening, Best Picture, drama, Kevin Spacey, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:10 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Joseph Fiennes (Will Shakespeare), Gwyneth Paltrow (Viola De Lesseps), Geoffrey Rush (Philip Henslowe)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Shakespeare in Love page.
Although some of my friends were upset from the first previews that Shakespeare in Love didn't touch on the fact that William Shakespeare didn't really write Romeo & Juliet by himself, I loved this modern take on Shakespeare and thought that the background (whether completely truthful or not) was wonderfully done. I really enjoyed the way this amazing cast portrayed this great story.
Definitely not the happy love story that Hollywood typically generates, and I liked the change. It was very appropriate for a movie built around Romeo & Juliet. If everything had ended perfectly, it wouldn't have fit as well with the play.
Not that anyone would ask me, but this has my vote for best picture of 1998.
Grade: A+
Labels: 1998, Best Picture, comedy, drama, Gwyneth Paltrow, movie, romance, Shakespeare
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson), Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater), Billy Zane (Caledon 'Cal' Hockley), Kathy Bates (Molly Brown)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Titanic page.
Although I don't think Titanic could ever live up to the hype, I thought this fictional account of what might have happened in the ship's last hours was very interesting and that most of the special effects were very well done.
I think Titanic is worth seeing for the special effects or the love story. When you combine the two, it really is a great movie. The idea of giving up everything for love is such a romantic notion, that it makes the movie very worth while.
Forget what really happened and remember this is a movie. A romanticized notion of the events is presented with fictional characters added in with the historical characters to create a combintion of fact and fiction.
Grade: A
Labels: 1997, Best Picture, drama, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ralph Fiennes (Count Laszlo de Almasy), Juliette Binoche (Hana), Willem Dafoe (David Caravaggio), Kristin Scott Thomas (Katharine Clifton)
For complete cast, see IMDb's The English Patient page.
A nurse tending a badly burned plane crash victim at the end of WWII as his past is shown in flashbacks, revealing his involvement in a love affair. I know this movie is only getting raves. And I enjoyed it, but at times it really dragged. At over 2 1/2 hours, there were some points that I thought could have been trimmed to make the story move a bit faster. Of course, when you're being taken care of and badly burned, all time seems to take an eternity, I'm sure. Perhaps that was part of what they wanted the audience to experience in the movie, but I would have enjoyed it more without that aspect. The love story was well done, though, and clearly the movie won a lot of awards, so it's well worth renting if you haven't seen it already.
Grade: B+
Labels: 1996, Best Picture, drama, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, movie, Ralph Fiennes, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (William Wallace), James Robinson (Young William Wallace), Mhairi Calvey (Young Murron MacClannough), Catherine McCormack (Murron MacClannough)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Braveheart page.
Definitely one of the best movies I've seen. Amazingly well done! I had been told it was a lot like Rob Roy, which I had already seen, so I figured I'd wait to rent Braveheart. Bad decision! I'm so glad I got to see Braveheart in a movie theater. It's much better than Rob Roy!
Braveheart was such a wonderful story aboout a man who dared to defy his king and unite the Scots in battle against the English. This story really touched my heart and even made me cry. I highly recommend it and definitely agree with the Oscar buzz that it was the best movie of 1995!
Grade: A+
Labels: 1995, action, Best Picture, drama, history, Mel Gibson, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Robin Wright Penn (Jenny Curran), Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan Taylor), Mykelti Williamson (Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue), Sally Field (Mrs. Gump)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Forrest Gump page.
Though I don't think it's up there with the best movies of all time, which many have argued, I did really enjoy Forrest Gump. It's a movie that really offers a unique perspective on life and allows you to appreciate what you have a bit more. The cast is amazing and the story is very good. In spite of all the challenges Forrest faces, Forrest Gump manages to be an overall uplifting story, which is nice.
Grade: B+
Labels: 1994, Best Picture, comedy, drama, movie, Robin Wright Penn, romance, Tom Hanks
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Liam Neeson (Oskar Schindler), Ben Kingsley (Itzhak Stern), Ralph Fiennes (Amon Goeth), Caroline Goodall (Emilie Schindler)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Schindler's List page.
Wow - what a movie. I had a migraine when I left... not sure if it was from the crying or the black and white images or the writing on the dark screens, but it all got to me. Clearly, from the subject matter, there were going to be many depressing scenes. This is an amazing movie, but not one I could imagine owning or watching a ton of times. It blew me away, but overall it was so sad to see realistic portrayals of the horrors the Jews faced during WWII.
I can't even imagine what it would be like to have been through even half of what they had to deal with. This movie brought the struggle close to home and was very depressing, but amazing at the same time. It definitely deserved the best picture Oscar and every other award it received!
Grade: A
Labels: 1993, Ben Kingsley, Best Picture, drama, Liam Neeson, movie, Ralph Fiennes, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:30 PM show | 0 screams