Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 77

The Princess Bride	94	Sweet!  Funny!   So many quotable lines!
Rise of the Planet of the Apes	70	I really liked the first half of this story, partially because John Lithgow improves anything he’s in.  And I was totally taken with the animated apes.  Somehow, this just didn’t make me say “it’s good enough to own.”  But worth seeing, sure.
Stardust	76	A light fantasy that had plenty of interesting ideas mixed in with the comfortable fairy-tale frame.  De Niro was quite good, but I enjoyed Claire Danes even more.
Boy in the Striped Pajamas (The)	77	Put children in a realistic story about Nazi concentration camps.  Tell the story from the point of view of an eight year old German boy.  It will hit you hard.  Do not see this if you are depressed.
Limitless	80	One simple idea, which seems just a bit past possible.  Talk about “performance enhancement!” Good tension.
Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace	78	Very pretty, and the strong female lead is welcome.  Jar-Jar was a mistake, as were “midichlorians”.  But a fun film.
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones	80	Annakin can’t decide what to be, or Christensen can’t decide how to act.  The love story doesn’t resonate, but again the action is good – great to see so many Jedi in battle.
Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith	90	OK, this is what we were waiting for.  All the threads tied up in a very exciting way.  Regrets?  Padme had nothing to do, and Christensen had no clear point at which he gave in to the Dark Side.
Jurassic Park	90	Even ten years later, the effects are great.  The story is tight, and the characters well played.  Now if only anyone would ever get the computer stuff right.

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