HOME | BOOKS | MOVIES | GRID | SEARCH | NEWS
Browse Movies by Title
( 1 2 4 8 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Daddy Daycare Mike Gadd   $2 theater   25 July 2003 Take a big bowl and mix one cup each of Mr. Mom, Happy Texas, and Bill Cosby. Add a measure of sappy heart-string pulling and stir for an hour and 43 minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

Dance Me Outside (1994) A Bennett   owned VHS   06 April 2004 Adam Beach, Michael Greyeyes. A light-hearted tale of murder and adultery on the rez. From the WP Kinsella novel.

Dances With Wolves Julie Gephart   Basic cable   14 November 2003 I thought I could overcome my Kevin Costner revulsion enough to enjoy this movie, but it didn’t go so well. Clearly if the guy had eyes, he would have shacked up with the super-hot Wind in His Hair instead of puffhead Mary McDonnell. How on earth they thought they could get away with giving her Van Halen hair when the rest of the tribe had clearly mastered the process of combing and braiding is beyond me, but I found it very disturbing.

Dark Blue Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   29 March 2005 About what you'd expect. Forgettable

Dark Days Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   09 October 2005 An interesting, if amateurish, documentary about a group of homeless people living in an abandoned subway tunnel in New York City. Some residents had been there for 15 years or more; it was amazing and touching how they had made the surroundings liveable, if not exactly homey.

Dark Water Kristin Schrock   DVD   12 February 2006 My beau works at half price books and can check out DVDs. So we end up watching movies we wouldn't ordinarily rent because it's free and we're cheap. Hence, Dark Water--which adds water to list of the ordinary things that are creepy (right below corn). Inexplicably, it has real stars in it. Apparently, these stars never saw the Ring because this is pretty much the same movie--without the well.

Darkdrive Julie Gephart   Basic cable   09 December 2002 Incomprehensible movie notable only for the fact that it held prisoners in a virtual reality world called "The Matrix" a full three years before the arrival of The Matrix. I couldn't make any sense of the plot, and sadly, I think that had very little to do with the fact that I watched a lot of it on fast forward.

Darkened Room Tony Pisarenkov   DVD at home   20 March 2006 See Rabbits below, though at eight minutes this is marginally more watchable than Rabbits' 50.

Dawn of the Dead Kristin Schrock   AMC Theatres--Newport on the Levee   26 March 2004 I took this one for the team. A mistake I will not make again. I momentarily forgot that I don't like horror movies and I don't like blood and guts. I didn't watch most of the movie, but, I think, if you liked horror movies and lots of blood and guts, this one would not disappoint. There were few quips; the characters were believable, and the zombies seriously scary. And, the more I think about it, this movie offers up some interesting horror movie morality. I also learned a valuable lesson--let the dog go; never, ever, chase after a dog when the streets are swarming with zombies.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   04 April 2005 Oy vey. A tragic misstep for the sake of the original/remake comparison series. No more zombie films; I really mean it this time.

Dear Frankie A Bennett   Overdue Hollywood Video DVD   04 August 2005 Solid and surprising, and probably Gerard Butler’s best on-screen performance to date. A Scottish film set in Scotland, about a deaf boy whose mother has been pretending to be his absentee father writing him letters from an imaginary sailing ship. Circumstances conspire, and one day, she must produce the actual man--or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Bittersweet hijinks and shocking revelations ensue.

Death in Gaza Jaqi Ross   Silver Spring AFI   19 June 2004 The story of three Palestinian children living in the Gaza strip. Ahmed is twelve years old. A great football fan, his life doesn’t differ from many other boys of the same age. But then, one day, a friend is shot dead by an Israeli sniper before his eyes and, all of a sudden, Ahmed is a changed boy. From this point on, he begins to take an interest in paramilitary groups operating in his neighbourhood. The film observes him become more and more radical. Mohammed is Ahmed’s best friend. His mother begs him to stay well away from the frontline of Israeli occupied territory. But, only a short time later, he and Ahmed are busy making Molotov cocktails intended to be thrown at Israeli tanks. Finally, 16-year-old Nailja lives close to the border, where the Israeli army are in the process of destroying Palestinian houses in order to create a buffer zone. DEATH IN GAZA describes a fragmented world in which to die a martyr is considered a great honour. The film also bears testimony to how deeply filmmaker James Miller was affected by these children’s stories. A cameraman and director who regularly reported from war zones for CNN and the BBC, James Miller was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier during the making of this film.

Deep Blue Sea Jeff Gadd     28 October 2002 Samuel L,Jackson and LL Cool J are the only actors in this movie I know. A great shark movie if you like the first Jaws movie. Out far in the ocean, using a undersea laboratory,they use the shark to cure brain disease.But one catch these sharks have been altered a little bit.They are much smarter than they look.And a big storm is coming.And so are the sharks,who is smarter Human or Beast? Very thrilling.

Deep Blue Sea Julie Gephart   Basic cable   23 August 2003 Big scary sharks and LL Cool J. All the makings of a fine cinematic experience.

Deliver Us From Eva Kristin Schrock   DVD   12 July 2003 I am a sucker for any re-interpretation of Taming of the Shrew. And this one was probably more enjoyable than it should have been due to the luscious-don't-call-it-a-comback- L.L. Cool J who licks his lips like NO ONE else. My enjoyment was only hampered by a weak third act which made us say, "Wha?" and "Huh?"

Deliver Us From Eva A Bennett   Hollwood Video DVD   12 July 2003 Correction: Deliver me *TO* Eva. This film has to be the most pleasant surprise in home video that I've experienced this year (along w/ Happy Accidents and Charlotte Gray). Rumor has it that Ladies Love Cool James--and ladies, I hear ya. After watching this urban Taming of the Shrew, it's not hard to see why. Three brothers-in-law contract the ultimate playa (Mr. LL Cool J) to romance their complicated sister-in-law, and then to dump her--but only after convincing her to leave town and (by association) get out of their marital affairs. Eva is acted so well by Gabrielle Union of "Bring It On"--her sisters love her (a saving grace in such a character), and she manages to balance shrewishness perfectly along w/ letting viewers see that, truly, Eva is the best of the four ladies. Would have earned a "9" if not for the last three minutes.

Demolition Man Julie Gephart   Basic cable   23 November 2002 Wesley Snipes is a crazy killer who escapes cryo-freeze into a peaceful future full of naive dimwits. Unable to deal, dimwits decide to unfreeze his crazy cop nemesis (Stallone) so that he can be sure to blow up the few buildings Snipes missed. The thing is, these guys were frozen for THIRTY YEARS. All of the dimwits call them Neanderthals and can't begin to understand anything about this mysterious "20th century" from which they come. Thirty years ago. Yeah, I don't get it either. Still, it's a passable enough entry in the testosteraction genre, and Sandra Bullock manages to sparkle even as a dimwit.

Desk Set Julie Gephart   Basic cable   14 September 2003 It’s not that I plan for every movie that I watch for the rest of my life to be a Hepburn/Tracy film, but once you set TiVo on the case, there’s no going back. This one captured a delightful slice of time when business was just being introduced to the wonders of “electronic brains,” and workers were facing the astonishing notion that a machine could take their desk job away. I might give body parts for the chance to work in an office as fun as the one in this movie.

Destry Rides Again Julie Gephart   Basic cable   11 January 2004 This was the most peculiar Western I’ve ever seen, entirely lacking in the machismo that usually defines the genre. Jimmy Stewart is the new sheriff in town, managing to clean up all the ruffians by telling drawling stories instead of by carrying guns. The culmination comes in a most unexpected Final Shootout scene, where the barricades are up, the air is filled with gun smoke… and out of the blue, all the women of the town come marching down the street armed with brooms and rolling pins and proceed to overwhelm and physically beat down the gang of bad guys. I guess it’s because they’d had to spend so long listening to Marlene Dietrich sing, and that could make anybody crazy.

Devil in a Blue Dress A Bennett   TiVo'd from TNT: they still think they know drama   09 October 2003 It would seem Denzel Washington can emit a captivating screen presence even when he seems to be doing nothing. This screen presence may broadcast at a frequency above the human threshold to comprehend it. Dolphins, perhaps, understand its inner workings better. Such talent and magnetism surely earns high marks, but not as high as the marks climb once Don Cheadle comes to town. I could watch a whole series of their films. Why wasn't a sequel made to this? [Does that question make me a bad person?]

Die Another Day Kristin Schrock   Multi-Plex   23 November 2002 Pierce Brosnan wants Bond to be more than what it is. I applaud that, but he just doesn't have anywhere to go with his acting chops. This one is remarkable for some good swordplay. After watching a bit of Diamonds are Forever over the Thanksgiving holiday (yeah for marathons) I noticed how much was borrowed from that movie: scorpions, hovercrafts, diamonds, and a bad guy who is seemingly dead (in Diamonds case it's Blofeld).

Die Another Day Tony Pisarenkov   Camelback Esplanade, Phoenix, AZ   07 January 2003 Well, if you want to _think_ about it, Halle Berry's character falls completely flat, and it is the first Bond film in which computer animation is blatantly obvious. But no one would actually want to _think_ about a Bond film, would they? On a more disturbing note, this is the first Bond film that had to resort to magic. Still, entertainment of a highest order, as usual. And hey, it caused the government of a real country (North Korea) to issue an official condemnation. That's got to be a first.

Die Hard Steve Gadd   DVD   11 March 2006 Maybe it was the make-up, but Bruce in "16 Blocks" looked about as old and worn out as Clint Eastwood. We had to restore our memory of his youthful vigor with this classic, in which a skullcrackin' David Addison whups multicultural terrorist butt.

Diggstown Ray Hunley   Comcast On Demand   12 November 2005 A lovely little con flick that I never get tired of. Boxing hustlers James Woods, Louis Gossett Jr., and Oliver Platt go after the ill-gotten wealth of a small-town scumbag. Bruce Dern is creepy and weaselly as the foil.

Director's Cut, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring A Bennett   DVD purchase   24 November 2002 A film at once beautiful, frightening, touching, action-packed and timeless. Whether it is the same as the books or not is immaterial. A work of unqualified perfection, from Sean Bean to Peter Jackson. An unforgettable viewing experience. Someday I will go to New Zealand. Additionally, a film wherein men are not afraid to touch and embrace each other, and exhibit an ethic of care usually proscribed solely to the female of the species.

Dirty Pretty Things Steve Gadd   Reston Town Center   31 August 2003 Affecting story of London immigrants struggling to survive and solve the mystery of a stopped toilet.

Dirty Pretty Things Kristin Schrock   Theatre   04 September 2003 I went to the theatre in the mood to see something. And this one was the only one that hadn't started yet. And it was excellent. A gritty story about illegal immigrants in London. Rule Number One: Never, ever, stick your hand into a bloody toilet. It only leads to trouble.

Disney's Holes Mike Gadd   $2 theater with new armrests with cupholders:Nice!   19 July 2003 This movie does a respectable job of not straying very far from the book. It had a decent story that didn't need hollywood to improve it.

Distant Jennifer Strang   Landmark E Street Theater, Washington, DC   25 July 2004 Beautifully filmed with gorgeous shots of Istanbul and Anatolia; however, very heavy handed in its portrayal of social isolation. In other words, it smacks you over the head with bleakness to the point that, well, it becomes a little tiresome. But, it gets points for the wonderful cinematography.

Distant Steve Gadd   Landmark E Street Theatre   25 July 2004 The near-absense of dialogue, music, and events make for a long but rewarding movie experience. Snowy scenes of Istanbul made the perfect backdrop.

Distant Tony Pisarenkov   Landmark E Street Theatre, Washington, DC   25 July 2004 A visually gorgeous Turkish film about estrangement -- on the part of two cousins from each other, but more generally from family, art, friends, lovers, life. Minimal dialogue, an almost exclusive reliance on ambient sounds (with only a faint strain of music here and there) and genius-level camera work makes the pervasive chill that much more powerful. Profound as much from what it leaves unsaid as what it says, this will quite possibly be the most memorable film of the year.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Ray Hunley   Some HBO or another   08 October 2005 As a movie, of course, it sucked, but as a meta-movie it was pretty entertaining: Managed to to fondly mock every last sports film cliche without being overly farcical; made brilliant use of cameos; had Alan Tudyk, of Firefly/Serenity in a supporting role; Ben Stiller was only severely annoying, instead of his usual unwatchability.

Dog Days Jaqi Ross   Hollywood video rental   18 August 2004 Winner of the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, Austrian director Ulrich Seidl's "strangly entertaining first feature" (LA Times) shows everyday people leading extravagantly sordid lives. A teacher who is in bondage to a sleazy pimp, a very importunate hitchhiker, a private detective on the run for some car vandalists, a couple with a serious marriage problem and an old man, whose wife died long before on the search for some sexual entertainment live their lifes while their lifelines cross from time to time. Not recommended.

Dogville Kristin Schrock   DVD   15 January 2005 This movie is dressed up like something I would enjoy--independent movie with meaningful themes at work, co-starring patricia clarkson, 19th century titles for each chapter. But, unfortunately, it was an incredibly dull morality play where everyone kept whispering.

Donnie Darko Kristin Schrock   VHS   14 September 2003 This movie is messed up. But in a very good way. Donnie Darko hears voices. He sees a man in a rabbit suit named Frank. Frank tells Donnie the end of the world is coming. Is Donnie schizophrenic? Has he unlocked the secret of time travel? It's bizarre and funny and incredibly sad (my favorite kinds of movies). Also, Patrick Swayze is getting himself some work. Woo!

Donnie Darko Steve Gadd   DVD   15 January 2006 Sure, this was a good movie. It may have lost a point because of the Inflated Expectations factor. Also, whenever a movie has time travel, I have to demand a little more. Significantly, the full-length director's cut didn't seem overlong.

Down with Love A Bennett   AMC 20 Newport-on-the-Levee in the Bluegrass State   25 May 2003 Is this film a re-examining of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson bedroom comedies of the 1960s? Or is it simply a re-iteration of them? *Uncle*, I give up. All I know is that Ewan McGregor again proves that he could be entertaining to watch in just about anything short of a George Lucas-directed space fiasco. Also, the man could have chemistry with Plexiglass(tm).

Dr. No Julie Gephart   Basic cable   05 July 2004 So, Mr. Bond, we meet at last. I felt a little cheated, since there was not a single gadget in the whole movie. The plot culminated in Bond, James Bond creating a meltdown in a nuclear reactor that caused the whole plant to explode. Yes, on purpose. No, I don’t understand. Maybe he sprayed down the whole area with a special MI6 Radiation-B-Gone product when I wasn’t looking.

Dreams Tony Pisarenkov   AFI Silver Theatre, Silver Spring, MD   16 August 2003 As an introduction to Kurosawa, a bit unusual, but well worth seeing for both Kurosawa fans and novices. Most of his dreams are really nightmares, and some might complain that the dialog is too direct, but the subtlety is in the visuals, not in the dialog, and besides, these are really just fables reinterpreted for the modern world, and as such they succeed wonderfully.

Dude, Where's My Car Julie Gephart   Mysteriously free HBO   05 January 2003 Ok, it was bad. You know going into it that it's going to be bad, and yet it can still surprise you with how bad it is. That's a special movie. It still made me laugh here and there, because man, I just really kind of love that Big Dumb Ashton Kutcher.