Rick's Flicks Picks on AWN

Please don't mistake this film for the remake starring Liam Neeson, which was awful with its laugh-inducing special effects. After watching the original I have proof that Hollywood executives have no idea what makes a movie good. The original flick is not as scary, as it is eerie, while it weaves its intriguing psychological tale. We don't necessarily fear what lurks in the shadowy corners of the screen as much as we fear what lurks in the shadowy corners of the characters' minds.

Dr. John Markway (Richard Johnson, 1970's JULIUS CAESAR), a parapsychologist, brings together three people to a haunted house for an experiment. His plan is to bring together psychically charged people into the house to make it come alive. All of his choices back away except for lonely spinster Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris, TV's KNOTS LANDING) and rich socialite lesbian Theodora (Claire Bloom, MIGHTY APHRODITE). Eleanor has cared for her aging mother for years and now that her mother has died she wants to free herself of her boring life. She hides a disturbing paranormal experience from her past deep in her mind. Theodora is snobby and uses her ESP to make harsh observations about people. Rounding out the group is Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn, WEST SIDE STORY), the young heir of the mansion, who really doesn't believe in ghosts at first.

Set in modern India, the story weaves several storylines together during the events that lead up to a big wedding. The film is listed as subtitled, but I'd say only a third of it is in a foreign language, because all the characters speak English, Punjabi and Hindi (sometimes all in the same sentence). Filled with melodrama, romance, music and vibrant color, this film can cross language barriers anyway.

The main story centers on an arranged marriage between Aditi Verma (Vasundhara Das), a native Indian, and Hemant (Parvin Dabas), an Indian who works in Houston. Aditi agrees to the arranged marriage because she wants a change in her life from her married lover, who keeps promising he will divorce his wife. Another love story is between the gorgeous Ayesha (Neha Dubey) and Rahul (Randeep Hooda), the young, very modern visitor from Australia. Probably the most charming love story is between dorky wedding planner P.K. Dube (Vijay Raaz) and Verma's maid, Alice (Tilotama Shome). Lalit (Naseeruddin Shah) and Pimmi (Lillete Dubey) are the parents of Aditi and worry so much about their children.

This film is one of the smartest and most wonderful animated films I've ever seen. The film is set in the 1950s and satirizes the Red Scare. The amazing attention for detail brings this era to life in a vibrant way. While it address the paranoia of its era and the issues of the Cold War, it does so under the surface. At its core, the film is simply about a boy and his giant pet robot.

The story (very similar to E.T.) follows that boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal), who discovers a 100-foot robot in the woods. Hogarth befriends a beat nick artist named Dean (Harry Connick Jr., INDEPENDENCE DAY), who helps him hide the giant in his junkyard. Sightings of the robot are heard around town and a paranoid government agent named Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) comes to town to investigate. Because it quickly becomes too difficult to hide a mental munching 10-story-sized robot, Hogarth must especially use all his wits when his mother (Jennifer Aniston, TV's FRIENDS) takes Mansley in as a border.

Before there was Denzel and Halle, there was Sidney Poitier -- simply my favorite actor of all time. I'll watch anything that he's in and I haven't dislike anything I've seen. And I saw both sequels to IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT. LILIES is the film that won Poitier his best actor Oscar and until last year he was the only non-white person, male or female, to have won the top acting Oscar. While it's not a defining character for his career, he brings charm, wit and depth to a character that wins our hearts.

In the film, Poitier plays traveling work-for-hire man Homer Smith. He stumbles onto a small nunnery in the desert comprised of five German nuns and gets roped into building them a chapel. The war of wills between him and Mother Superior Maria (Lilia Skala, FLASHDANCE, HOUSE OF GAMES) is classic. The film deals with pride, faith, community, humility and race, but not once do you ever feel like the film is preaching anything. The story is so simple, but ends up being greatly profound.

Cameron Crowe has not made a bad film. He's written everything he's directed and those films consist of SINGLES, JERRY MAGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS and VANILLA SKY. However, his first film, SAY ANYTHING…, may be his best and is definitely my personal favorite. The film is hands down one of the best movies ever set in high school. Teen comedy/dramas can only aspire to be as good as this film.

The story follows Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack, HIGH FIDELITY) as he tries to form a relationship with the beautiful valedictorian, Diane Cort (Ione Sky, DREAM OF AN INSOMNIAC). He invites her to a graduation party and she reluctantly comes with him. But as the movie's tag line says, "To know Lloyd Dobler is to love Lloyd Dobler."

A lot of long movies even when they're good can seem long. However, this movie, clocking in at nearly four hours, zips by. The reason for that is because the action and epic wonder never stop. Modern audiences get turned off by long running times, but BEN-HUR has not faded from popularity, remaining the most beloved Biblical epic ever made.

The story follows the rise, fall and rebirth of Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston, PLANET OF THE APES), a Jewish nobleman living in the time of Christ. In a parallel story the film also follows the rise and fall of Christ himself. And we all know about his rebirth so the film left that part out. The story is a classic tale of two friends torn apart by differing ideologies. Ben-Hur is Jewish and loathes the idea of the Romans suppressing his people. Then there is his childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd), who joins the Roman army and is sent back to Jerusalem to head up the garrison there. After an accident, Ben-Hur is made a slave, finally freeing himself to return to Jerusalem to challenge Messala and find his mother and sister, who were imprisoned along with him.

What else can one say about the film besides that it's the best action/sci-fi film that has come out in ages. It's smart and a lot of fun at the same time. The Wachowski Brothers, who first made the highly stylish and highly recommended crime thriller BOUND, brought an anime aesthetic to live-action for this film. The bullet time effect has become a landmark in visual effects history, but it's how the visuals are used in service of the story that truly makes this film awesome.

The film follows Neo (Keanu Reeves, SPEED) as he stumbles upon a band of rebels led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?) and discovers that the world he lives in is not what it seems. Morpheus believes that Neo is the Chosen One, a prophesized leader whose superhuman skills will free all humans from the oppression of the mysterious Matrix and their powerful agents, lead by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING). Neo doesn't believe he's special and Morpheus's crew is divided. Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss, MEMENTO), Morpheus's second in command, wants to believe with her whole heart, while Cypher (Joe Pantoliano, BOUND) is tired of the rough life of a rebel and has lost faith.

Here’s another amazing film that presents apprehensible behavior and let’s the audience think about what they are watching. This is a horror film on the level of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. With layered characters and deep themes, this is far more than just another splatter fest.

The film follows real life killer Henry Lee Lucas (Michael Rooker, MALLRATS, CLIFFHANGER), his sidekick-in-crime Otis (Tom Towles, THE ROCK) and Otis' younger sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold). The film depicts Henry as a cold-hearted killer, who commits his murders out of sexual frustration, which was spurred on by a troubled childhood. As the plot unravels, Otis joins in on the murders. Though, Lucas is a killer, he reveals his softer side to Becky, who begins to fall for a guy who would clearly be classified as another "wrong guy" in a life full of wrong guys.

Fun is the best way to describe this film. Forget all of the fancy visual effects and modern dialog, because this one owes a great deal to classic action comedies where the key to the film's success was the relationship between the central buddies. Tommy Lee Jones's Agent K and Will Smith's Agent J are among the best screen buddies of recent years.

The story follows the secret government agency called the Men in Black, which protects space aliens living on Earth and keeps the knowledge of their existence from the general population. James Edwards (Will Smith, ALI, INDEPENDENCE DAY) is recruited to join the agency, but the ultra serious Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones, THE FUGITIVE, BLUE SKY) doesn't think the brash rookie has what it takes. The plot follows Agent K and the newly named Agent J as they attempt to stop a killer alien bug, which disguises itself as a farmer named Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio, ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING), from destroying a galaxy, which would lead to the destruction of Earth.

This is one of the most uplifting films I have seen in ages. A blissful feeling washed over me while watching it unfold. For two hours, the world didn't seem so cruel. People have problems in the film, but they become infected with the joy of living and that's what the film does to its audience.

The story follows a shy, quirky French girl named Amelie (Audrey Tautou), who decides her new goal in life is to do things to make people's lives better. She had a strange childhood marked with tragedy, but instead of becoming bitter, she develops a rich fantasy world in her mind. Her father Raphael (Rufus, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN) sinks into a closed off world, living in his garden. Not that the doctor was engaging before the death of his wife, he would only touch his daughter when giving her an example, upon which her heart would race, leading him to believe she had a heart condition. Throughout the course of the film, she brings together people who hate each other, raises hopes with lies and love letters, sends a garden gnome around the world and even seeks an elaborate comeuppance on a mean shopkeeper. See the whimsy yet?

What can you say about this movie besides — classic. If you haven't seen it, you should be ashamed of yourself. It's action-packed, dramatic and funny all at the same time. It uncovers the British, Japanese and American point of view during WWII all in the same film. And David Lean's (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO) Oscar-winning direction is near perfect.

The story follows the building and then attempted destruction of a bridge in India, which the Japanese want to use as a main means of transport. Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa, SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON) is in charge of a prisoner camp, whose prisoners will construct the bridge. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness, STAR WARS, LADYKILLERS), a British officer, and his men are captured and brought to Saito's camp. Already at the camp is American soldier Shears (William Holden SUNSET BLVD., WILD BUNCH), who has a lot of secrets.

The first time I saw this film — it made me want to rush out and make a movie. Not very many new films affect me in that way. This film became an art house hit in 1999 and won awards at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a remarkable film debut from Michael Polish, who also stars in this melancholy character study.

The story follows conjoined twins, Blake and Francis Falls (Mark and Michael Polish respectively). Blake is the stronger of the two and his heart is what keeps the sick Francis alive. Because Francis is on the brink of death, the brothers check themselves into a seedy hotel and hire themselves a hooker named Penny (Michele Hicks, former model, MULHOLLAND DRIVE). Penny is a prostitute out of desperation. She is initially scared of the twins, but after having to return to their room for her purse, she starts feeling sympathy for them. Noticing that Francis is sick, she calls on a client/doctor named Miles (Patrick Bauchau, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER), who reveals that Francis' heart is failing. Have the Falls brothers checked into the Idaho Hotel to die?