ABOUT THESE REVIEWS

Here, for your edification and/or irritation, are my reviews of the 1999 films that I've seen to date. These reviews began in mid-1995 as ludicrously brief analysis-free opinions, but have steadily lengthened over the course of the past few years; in 1997 I switched from an individual review format to a weekly column, which allows me to vary the time and energy I invest on each picture (though in '98, thanks to increasing professional responsibilities and a year-long long-distance relationship, the amount of time and energy I expended was often: 0) (and now, as of 6 April, I've switched back to the previous, shorter format, so disregard most of the above). The analysis quotient has risen concurrently, to the point where these reviews now might conceivably be of interest to people who don't happen to be close personal friends of mine. My tone, however, remains fairly informal (even if I am fond of $0.50 words like "abstruse" and "invective").

Previously, I had rated films using the four-star rating system popularized by Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide. However, once I'd spent several months using Entertainment Weekly's letter grades, I found that I prefer that system's greater flexibility, and so I've officially made the switch. (For those who miss the star ratings, I've noted in the "legend" below which rating would correspond to each grade.) Please bear in mind that the grades are intended not to indicate how "good" or "bad" a particular film is, but how much I personally liked or disliked it. As a general rule (and professional assignments aside), I only see films that are well-received by professional critics, so almost every film reviewed here is admired by a lot of other people, regardless of what I thought. Just because I don't like a film doesn't mean that I don't recommend it.

The key to the grades is as follows:


A       I genuflect in awe.  Exceedingly rare. (****)
A-      I want to see that again, more or less immediately. (*** ½)
B+      I'm mightily impressed, with some reservations. (***)
B       I have no regrets.  A job well done. (***)
B-      I'm torn, but more hit than miss, I think. (** ½)
C+      I'm torn, but more miss than hit, I think. (** ½)
C       I didn't like it.  Sorry. (**)
C-      I didn't like it at all, and I'm not the least bit sorry. (**)
D+      I want my damn money back.(* ½)
D       I want to at the very least verbally abuse the director. (* ½)
D-      I very nearly walked out. (*)
F       I walked out.  Exceedingly rare. (zero)

Now seems like a good time to mention something that my regular readers have probably already noticed: I'm a very tough grader. If I give a film a 'B+', I liked it a lot. (Last year, B+'s wound up dominating my top ten list.) I imagine that 'B-' is the grade that you'll see most often, and a 'B-' picture is well worth investigating, even if that grade does inevitably seem dismissive. Even the 'C's generally have some merit. Take a look around, and you should quickly get a sense of what I mean by each rung on the critical-shorthand ladder.