I Am Sam  (2001)      

4 /10

"I am a contrived, manipulative, overlong movie who's entire plot has no regard for credibility" It's utterly depressing to think of how good Penn would be in a GOOD "retard movie." Not even his best scene of drama can escape being undermined by horrendous editing. Plus side: Dakota Fanning is exceptionally cute and Michelle Pfeiffer still looks great.  [English, 132min, PG-13]

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Ice Age  (2002)      

7.5 /10

Entertaining, often funny family movie with excellent computer animation (it keeps getting better and better), although plot predictability and an overly syrupy ending stop it from fully defrosting. Dodo bird "extinction scene" is particularly funny as are all involving the ulta-cute Scrat, who nearly walks away with the movie. Denis Leary also ain't too shabby as voice of Diego the saber tooth tiger in his second animated outing.  [English, 81min, PG]

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Ichi the Killer  (2001)      

8.5 /10

Relentlessly gruesome, operatically violent crime drama with a hint of dark humor, featuring two instantly memorable, completely psychotic characters. One is a flamboyant sadist who spends entire movie graphically (!) torturing to find his missing mob boss (while sporting a surgically "enhanced" mouth). The other, a mysterious crime fighter with retractable heel blades, slices and dices through the criminal underworld when not dwelling on traumatic childhood. Phew! Suffers from overkill towards the end.  [Japanese, 129min, NR]

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Identity  (2003)      

7 /10

Slick, creatively ambitious take on slasher genre avoids cliché traps more often than expected, aided by high caliber cast. Cusack gets most backstory mileage, which along with built-in likeability gives him sympathetic edge over eclectic group of characters. Murder sequences are skillfully executed, including one memorably gruesome demise. Major twist 2/3’s in threatens to derail entire story, placing it in limbo until chilling revelation eases over bumps.  [English, 90min, R]

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Igby Goes Down  (2002)      

7 /10

The Culkin's have become the inverted Baldwin bros. as the offspring continue to fair better than their Home Alone sibling. Kieran creates a likable smartass as title character in this dark,  sarcastic coming of age story. Littered with  supporting cast of familiar faces, notably Jeff Goldblum in fine sleazy form, there are some hilarious scenes of clever wit throughout. Unfortunately, scenes are greater than the sum, which is bogged down by sad drama.  [English, 97min, R]

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Innocence  (2000)      

6 /10

Not your typical love story: a couple now in their 70's relive an affair from their youth, which is paralleled with present through flashbacks. Unconventional age of central character's is the only true refreshing angle (along with exploration of infidelity in later life), and a strong emotional core that ties together both time periods is unfortunately missing.  [English, 94min, R]

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Inside  (2007)

7 /10

The premise is simple: alone at home on Christmas Eve, a due-any-day widow is terrorized by a demented woman intruder, hell-bent on stealing her unborn child (shown via "womb-cam"). What plays out is an ultra-claustrophobic cat’n’mouse game of survival, punctuated by unrelenting graphic violence and psychological torture. Not pleasant by any stretch, but the filmmakers earn genre points for fearlessly committing to story. Creepy moments occur early during ethereal arrival of La femme.  [French, 83min, UR] 6/09

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Inside Man  (2006)      

7.5 /10

Following Woody's lead with Match Point, Spike Lee hits the gas after a few years of engine idling, crafting a stylish, entertaining lil' heist thriller driven by a top notch cast. While far glossier than "joint's" of past, the story's frequent coloring from NYC's diverse ethnic pool is distinctly Lee (including a great post-9/11 Arab rant), and clever plot helps transcend predictability of genre. Most disarming is film's sense of humor, particularly during flash-forwards. Loses momentum during needlessly drawn out denouement.  [English, 129min, R]

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Insomnia  (2002)      

6.5 /10

Although well edited and shot, Nolan doesn't equal tight story success of Following or Memento; Pacino is left to wonder around zombie-like for most of movie and his actual insomnia is surprisingly underplayed stylistically. Some intense moments but overall a disappointment considering resources. Robin Williams is far more effective as villain in One Hour Photo.  [English, 118min, R]

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In the Bedroom  (2001)      

6.5 /10

Begins as seemingly standard relationship drama before jarringly  transforming after one of the most shocking scenes of violence in years. Despite tremendous acting from Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek as parents coping with son's death, story wallows far too long in bleak, almost sadistically depressing territory without injections of fresh energy - like watching emotional equivalent of car wreck for over an hour. In last act, half-baked attempt to switch into revenge-thriller mode rings entirely false.  [English, 130min, R]

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Iron Monkey  (1993)            

7 /10

Wild, '"Matrix / Crouching Tiger" style martial arts and not much else. Later film's American stunt novelty is actually diluted considerably when viewing this far earlier (and better) usage of wire-fu, prior to it becoming common place.  [Cantonese, 90min, PG-13]

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I Spy  (2002)      

5 /10

for nearly 3/4s this is a surprisingly entertaining secret agent farce with some good comic chemistry between Wilson and Murphy. Then the screenwriter engages self-destruct (if you've seen the movie, no pun intended) with a twist that obliterates the carefree mood, leaves the characters reacting all wrong, and then expects the audience to still laugh. Last stretch has some OK jokes, but it's endless, stupid twists and anticlimactic resolution make this a painful "coulda been" failure.   [English, 97min, PG-13]

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