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Reviews
You Can Count on Me (2000)
A breath of fresh air
It's like a breath of fresh air to see a drama driven by characters rather than by a typical Hollywood plot. If this were any other drama, someone would get cancer, the little boy would go missing, the stars would look like supermodels, and the characters would talk with a screenwriter's emotional phrase. Here, the characters think, act and talk like real people. They could be us. That's the genius of this movie. If you want fantasy, don't see this film. If you want to be touched by great acting and a wonderful plot that shows the complexities of human relationship, see this film. This isn't Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias or One True Thing. This is real.
The Beach (2000)
For the wandering type
Although this film has been trashed terribly, there are some of us who actually really liked this film.
Maybe it's the traveller in me, but this film about the search to find, and create the ultimate paradise, is actually quite affecting. From personal experience, I find the colony of backpackers that live in the Beach community to be very realistic. I've met these people! Di Caprio is actually quite good as a frat boy kind of American and Swinton is great as the community's dictatorial leader.
Don't see this film expecting a repeat of the book. Few films are as good as the book, we all know that. But for those of you with a traveller's heart and for those of you who dream of finding the perfect paradise, I'd say this film is an exotic and refreshing and worth your time.
Sure there are some parts, like the video-game sequence where Richard goes all Lord of the Flies that is a bit ridiculous. But all in all, it's escapist and rather sad and examines the downfall of a paradise.
What Lies Beneath (2000)
A big giant mess!
Perhaps the most over-rated film of 2000, this is one of Zemeckis' worst movies. The only redeeming feature of this film is great acting by Michelle Pfeiffer, who does what she can with this script. The problem with this film is that it can't decide on what genre to be, so it just jumbles it all together.
On one hand, it's an eerie ghost story. But then, it turns into a good- husband-turns-bad story. Then, it becomes a psychological drama about a lonely wife with an empty nest. Add to that a totally pointless subplot about strange neighbours living next door whose actions are never addressed.
Yes, there are some scary suspenseful scenes. But the plot is a big mess. One minute Pfeiffer is a lonely woman in a haunted house, and the next minute she's evil and writhing on the floor at Harrison Ford.
This movie gets more and more ridiculous as it progresses. Avoid this horrible mess.