Cast: Mel Gibson (Rev. Graham Hess), Joaquin Phoenix (Merrill Hess), Rory Culkin (Morgin Hess), Abigail Breslin (Bo Hess), Cherry Jones (Officer Paski)
For complete info, see IMDb's Signs page.
M. Night Shyamalan presents another movie worthy of watching on the big screen. He's so good with stories. This story wasn't quite as good as I'd expect from him, but it definitely kept me interested throughout the movie, which says a lot. The cast is amazing and this movie about messages from aliens is a good Sci-Fi mystery/thriller. I definitely recommend renting this one if you missed it. Of course, I'll watch anything M. Night Shyamalan puts on the screen. I think he's wonderful!
Grade: B+
Labels: 2002, Abigail Breslin, drama, Joaquin Phoenix, M. Night Shyamalan, Mel Gibson, movie, mystery, Rory Culkin, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Benjamin Martin), Heath Ledger (Gabriel Martin), Joely Richardson (Charlotte Selton), Jason Isaacs (Col. William Tavington), Chris Cooper (Col. Harry Burwell)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Patriot page.
I really enjoyed this movie where a peaceful farmer turns into a warrior. After the death of his son (at the hands of a sadistic British officer), he is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution. If you're interested in fictional revolution-era movies, this is a good idea. If you're looking for a realistic portrayal of a real-life hero, keep looking. As long as you go into the story realizing that it's fictional, which clearly changes the way some events unfold, it's very enjoyable.
Grade: B
Labels: 2000, action, drama, Heath Ledger, Mel Gibson, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Porter), Gregg Henry (Val Resnick), Maria Bello (Rosie)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Payback page.
This was a much better movie than I expected. I think I was concerned that this would be another Ransom, where I'd seen everything I needed to see in previews. But, Payback is a lot better than Ransom. I definitely recommend this action-packed thriller! Mel Gibson at his best.
It's a great crime thriller about a man who is shot by his wife and best friend and left to die in the beginning of the movie. The movie is about what Porter does to get back at them and it's very entertaining.
Grade: B
Labels: 1999, crime, drama, Maria Bello, Mel Gibson, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:55 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Martin Riggs), Danny Glover (Roger Murtaugh), Joe Pesci (Leo Getz), Renee Russo (Lorna Cole), Chris Rock (Detective Lee Butters)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Lethal Weapon 4 page.
I wouldn't say that the addition of Chris Rock killed the franchise - I think it was dead already and should have stayed far away from Lethal Weapon 4, but having to watch Chris Rock definitely made this more painful for me to watch.
The first two Lethal Weapon movies were really good. The third was okay, but not that good. The fourth should have never happened. Not even worth renting.
Grade: C
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Jerry Fletcher), Julia Roberts (Alice Sutton), Patrick Stewart (Dr. Jonas), Cylk Cozart (Agent Lowry)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Conspiracy Theory page.
As someone who's a big fan of Noam Chomsky, the whole Conspiracy Theory movie immediately appealed to me. I worried that they had perhaps shown too much in the previews, but I was very happy to find out that most of the movie was kept out of the previews and the actual content was even better than we expected from the previews. Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and the rest of the cast do a wonderful job. They manage to get the audience interested in the conspiracy and make you believe for a couple hours, even if you don't generally think that there is something to the idea of conspiracy theories.
Remember - it's not paranoia if there's really someone after you. (Or, as Jerry says, "I'm only paranoid because they want me dead.")
Grade: A-
Labels: 1997, drama, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, movie, mystery, romance, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mel Gibson (Tom Mullen), Rene Russo (Kate Mullen), Brawley Nolte (Sean Mullen), Gary Sinise (Det. Jimmy Shaker), Liev Schreiber (Clark Barnes)
For complete info, see IMDb's Ransom page.
It might be time to give up on watching previews for a while. I go through phases where I just read brief info about movies, see who's in them, and decide whether or not to see them based on that. I get sick of seeing too much in the previews. Ransom is a perfect example of a movie where the previews tell you everything. I picked this movie for my birthday and none of us were pleased by it. We all pretty much agreed that we'd seen all the interesting plot points in the previews, since we see a lot of movies. It's a shame, since the cast is really good and we believe the movie had potential. Perhaps if I'd seen no previews I would have found Ransom more interesting, but it's hard to say, since I did see the previews.
Grade: C+
Labels: 1996, action, crime, drama, Liev Schreiber, Mel Gibson, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 5:50 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: Irene Bedard, Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Pocahontas page.
Definitely not the best Disney animated picture out there (or even in the top 10), but the animation is pretty good, the songs are decent, and the story could have been worse. The main problem with this is that the original story of Pocahontas includes so much violence that the story had to be cut drastically to fit with a Disney animated movie.
What's really sad is that parents still complain that Pocahontas makes the "white man" look bad. Working for Disney makes it difficult to respond. What I'd like to say is, "Hello! Do you know ANYTHING about history? We came in and murdered tons of people! Disney was KIND and really made us look a lot better than we were in real life." But, what I say is entirely different... ("I'm so sorry that you feel that way," etc.) Worth renting for the music. Alan Menken did a great job with that as he has in almost everything he's done.
Grade: C+
Labels: 1995, animated, Disney, family, Mel Gibson, movie, musical
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:50 PM show | 0 screams