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One of my resolutions for 2003 is to watch a new film every Saturday night. Of course, my definition of new might be different than yours - with small children, going out to an newly released film at a theater every week is out of the question.

For me 'new' means a film I haven't seen before, that was just released to DVD that week. Okay, I'll break that rule occasionally here, since all rules were meant to be broken. But those are the films you'll usually see reviewed here each week.

But why review movies? Why not? I've been reviewing toys for years, and another of my passions is film. No, I'm not a wannabe actor, director or screenwriter. I didn't minor in film in school or even take a film appreciation class at the local community college.

In other words, I'm pretty much like 90% of the people who watch the movies made by the film school graduates each week. I know what I like, I know what I don't like, and I'll do my best to be literate when trying to explain my thoughts to you. And I promise to never use the word 'sublime'.

My reviews are broken into four sections. First, I'll give a very brief plot summary. Then on to the fairly spoiler free review. I'll do my best in this section to keep all the juicy stuff out of there. Then, my overall rating. My rating system is based on one of three recommendations:

Buy It - go buy this DVD now. I mean right now. Before the first week discount price runs out. It's an excellent flick, worthy of repeated viewings.

Rent It - a large percentage of the movies are going to end up in this category. A movie that's worth your couple hours and four bucks will end up here, and there are plenty of those on the market. Deciding for yourself whether it's up your alley or not will depend on other things like genre, actors, and perhaps my general comments. I've also updated this recommendation to also included a possible 'qualified'. That means I recommend renting it under certain qualifications around what types of films you usually enjoy, or who is in it.

Skip It - don't even waste your time in front of the tube. Turn on Celebrity Mole if you have to, or maybe Joe Millionaire. On second thought, don't do that - pop in an old favorite of yours instead.

The final section will be spoiler heavy. I'll go into the actual plot points, devices and specifics about what made the film work, or not.

If you liked this review and would like to read more like this (or even submit your own reviews) then check out Film Emporium. This is a discussion group started by a friend of mine dedicated to movie/DVD talk and reviews. They're always looking for new members to join so check it out:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/filmemporium/

 

Indiana Jones and the KOTCS
released May 22nd, 2008
Superman Returns
released June 28th, 2006
Crash
guest review April 14th, 2006
King Kong
released December 14th, 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia
released December 9th, 2005
War of the Worlds
released November 22nd, 2005
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
released November 8th, 2005
UnDead
released October 25th, 2005
Land of the Dead
released June 24th, 2005
Batman Begins
released June 15th, 2005
Revenge of the Sith
released May 18th, 2005
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
released April 30th, 2005
Sin City
released April 1st, 2005
Alfie
released March 15th, 2005
The Incredibles
released November 5th, 2004
The Grudge
released October 22nd, 2004
Team America
released October 15th, 2004
Star Wars DVD's
released September 21st, 2004
The Village

released July 30th, 2004
Spider-man 2
released June 30th, 2004
Secret Window

released June 22nd, 2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
released June 4th, 2004
Bubba Ho-Tep

released May 25th, 2004
Triplets of Belleville
released May 4th, 2004
Hellboy
released April 3rd, 2004
Cat in the Hat
released March 22nd, 2004
Dawn of the Dead
released March 19th, 2004
House of a 1000 Corpses
released 2004
Cabin Fever
released January 20th, 2004
Once Upon a Time in the West
released January 5th, 2004
Lord of the Rings - Return of the King
released December 17th, 2003
Matrix Revolutions

released November 5th, 2003
Charlie's Angels Full Throttle
released October 21st, 2003
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
released October 18th, 2003
Kill Bill

released October 10th, 2003
Netflix

The online way to rent!

Bulletproof Monk
released September 9th, 2003
Identity

released September 2nd, 2003
Below

released 2002
Chicago!

released August 19th, 2003
Soylent Green

released August 5th, 2003
Final Destination 2

released July 22, 2003
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

released July 1, 2003
Gangs of New York
released July 1st, 2003
They

released June 10th, 2003
Die Another Day

released June 3rd, 2003
Bruce Almighty

in theaters May 23rd, 2003
The Matrix Reloaded

in theaters May 15th, 2003
Catch Me If You Can

released May 6th, 2003
X-men 2

in theaters May 2nd, 2003
Darkness Falls

released April 22nd, 2003
The Transporter

released April 15th, 2003
Pi

released in 1998
Phone Booth

in theaters April 4th, 2003
Maid in Manhattan

released March 25th, 2003
8 Mile

released March 18th, 2003
Sasquatch (The Untold)

released March 11th, 2003
The Ring

released March 4th, 2003
Knock Around Guys

released February 26th

Stargate Director's Cut
released February 18th
Daredevil

in theaters February 14th
Sweet Home Alabama
released February 4th, 2003
Simone
released January 21st, 2003
The Bourne Identity

released January 21st, 2003
About a Boy

released January 14th, 2003
Signs
released January 7th, 2003

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