It was a Friday night, I had nothing to do, and I had already seen every movie that I wanted to see. So I found myself watching Dickie Roberts. And you know what? It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I thought many of the cameos were hilarious, and David Spade actually managed to pull off a couple of genuinely touching moments. Stick around during the credits for the music video. It's totally worth it.

Viewed: 2003-09-04 | Released: 2003-09-02 | Score: C

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I can't decide if this movie was brilliant or awful. You see, there are two ways that a director can play with an audience. Some directors (David Lynch, for example) like to beat into you how much smarter and more creative they are than you, the audience. When you leave their films with no idea what you just saw, they are laughing at you because you're too stupid or bourgeois to understand their art. On the other hand, some movies are an invitation to figure them out, a challenge to raise your level of consciousness. I can't decide which this is. The performances were good. A lot of people wouldn't like this movie for it's extremely slow pace, though. The more or less constant nudity was certainly titillating, but it made me kind of uncomfortable, and I didn't understand the need for it. I think this is the type of movie I'll need to see again before I can completely make up my mind about it.

Viewed: 2003-08-31 | Released: 2003-07-01 | Score: C

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It took me a while to finish this book, but only because there was so much to think about. Goldstein provides a good look at the history of copyright, both in America and abroad. In today's world of the Internet, file-sharing, digital satellite and cable systems, and video-on-demand, it is a highly apropos subject. Some of Goldstein's biases come out in the book (and, writing in 1994, he was a bit optimistic about how worldwide networks would develop), but it is still highly informative. But what I found even more interesting was the way in which it examined the workings and interworkings of Congress and the Supreme Court. It's not a difficult read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

Started: 2003-08-02 | Finished: 2003-08-31

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I have very mixed feelings about this film. On the one hand, Kevin Costner is a terrible actor. Well, perhaps that's not fair. He has done some good sports movies, and both of his previous westerns (Silverado and Dances With Wolves) were good movies. But he was pretty bad in this one. On the other hand, Kevin Costner as a director has a very good sense of epic landscape, which is crucial for a good western. The main problem with Open Range, though, was the script. The dialogue felt really forced. Robert Duvall is a terrific actor, but he just wasn't given anything to work with. Also, the movie differed in many key ways from a typical western (**SPOILERS HERE**): the heroes are freegrazing cattlemen, rather than farmers; the gunfighter finds that he can change and is brought into polite society; the good guy draws first in the climactic shootout, which is uncomfortably brutal. It was a very slow movie. Still, it had its moments, and I don't feel like it was a waste of money.

Viewed: 2003-08-28 | Released: 2003-08-10 | Score: C

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You may be able to guess that I saw this movie because my wife wanted to. Well, I've definitely seen worse. The main problem I had with this movie, apart from it's expectedly clichéd writing, was that I just couldn't sympathize that much with Brittany Murphy's character. Plus I had a hard time looking at her without thinking how unhealthy she's looking these days. Still, Dakota Fanning is a really great actor and I'm very interested to see how her career develops. There were some quite amazing moments between she and Murphy. Not surprisingly, most of these happened where there was no speaking.

Viewed: 2003-08-21 | Released: 2003-08-14 | Score: C

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There are certain stories that you can just feel the truth of. Whale Rider is one of those. The storytelling is so perfect that you forget it's a story; you feel like you are looking into the lives of real people. On the one hand, it's a glimpse into the Maori culture of New Zealand. On the other hand, it's a profound coming-of-age story. It's also a deep examination of why tradition is important, but also how it can hold us back. At times the film is heartbreaking, because Keisha Castle-Hughes' performance in the lead role is so honest, so vulnerable, so real that you forget you are seeing a performance; you see only a little girl trying so hard to be loved. Yet it is also a triumphant film, one which leaves you feeling good in the end. All I can say is, wow. What an amazing movie.

Viewed: 2003-08-14 | Released: 2003-01-17 | Score: A

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I wasn't very excited about this movie. I saw the previews and figured it would be just another over-produced, under-talented Disney disappointment. Boy, was I wrong. A tight script, swashbuckling action, and well-written, well-acted characters made this one of the best adventure movies I've ever seen. Johnny Depp, who I always enjoy, gave a marvelously quirky performance with just the right combination of comedy and depth. Orlando Bloom was, in my opinion anyway, kind of boring and stilted, but he can hardly be blamed for the script, and besides, all the girls will love him anyway. The real surprise for me was Keira Knightley, who managed to turn the normally cliché ingenue role into one that I actually cared about. And, as usual, Geoffrey Rush was a pleasure to watch; his last line was haunting.

Viewed: 2003-08-07 | Released: 2003-07-27 | Score: A

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Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I intended to stay up for perhaps another hour and read another hundred pages or so; I was about a hundred pages into it. I ended up not getting to bed until I had finished the last 700+ pages at three in the morning. It's still unmistakably a Harry Potter story, but I hesitate to call it a children's book. Darker in tone and heavier in content, Rowling is definitely allowing her work to mature. The only problem I had with the book was that it became difficult to like Harry. He became too moody and self-absorbed; in short, too much of a teenager (though I can't say I wasn't that way in my own adolescence; can any of us?). One warning and mild spoiler (in case you haven't already heard): something very sad happens in the climactic scene; prepare yourself for it.

Started: 2003-07-27 | Finished: 2003-08-02

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Nope. Not even a sympathy star. This movie was awful. The writing was tragically unfunny, the editing was amateurish, and the direction suffered from a serious lack of timing. The story suffered from a serious lack of continuity with the previous films and the characters devolved into mere caricatures of themselves. The few scenes that might have had the capacity to be funny were destroyed by a total lack of timing and any understanding of comedy. Shallow, stupid, and simply dreadful.

Viewed: 2003-08-02 | Released: 2003-07-23 | Score: F

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I recently had the opportunity to visit Washington, DC for the first time. Having never been there before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I am, by nature, a rather patriotic person, but I'm also quite the small town boy. I love history, but I hate being a tourist. As luck would have it, I quite enjoyed my brief stay in our nation's capital.

You may think that much of what I have to say in the rest of this piece is hokey, strange, or at least uninformed; I can base my opinions on nothing more than my own experiences. But, like people, places have a certain quality, call it spirit or, if you prefer, personality, that can be sensed if you are open to it.

Washington is a beautiful city. It is beautiful in a way that Los Angeles never has been, and probably never will be. Like New York, it has that rather stately feeling of an East Coast city that knows its age and the respect that it is due. Yet where New York is vibrant and exciting, Washington has a sense of understated dignity that I found humbling. It is a city that is fully aware of its history and of the symbolism inherent in its very being.

I don't normally enjoy doing touristy things. I like to try to blend in wherever I go. I don't always, or even often, succeed, but I try. Washington was a different experience for me. I found myself trying to visit as many monuments and memorials as I could. I drove all over the downtown area, saw the Mall, the Washington Monument, drove past the Smithsonian museums, the Capitol, the White House. I didn't get a chance to walk around and really experience most—I was in the area for less than twenty-four hours—but I think that many of the attractions just need to be seen. The one place I did get out and explore was the Arlington National Cemetary. I'm glad I did.

As you enter the cemetary, there is a sign that informs you that you are entering the nation's most sacred shrine, and reminds you to conduct yourself with dignity and respect. Periodically, there are signs that say, "Silence. Respect." Here's the amazing thing: people read and obey the signs. The cemetary is not silent, but it is an exceptionally quiet place. I've noticed that certain outdoor places have a certain strange acoustic property wherein sound does not resonate. The Mojave Desert is one such place. The Arlington National Cemetary is another. Sound seems to be swallowed up by the air; you can hardly even hear your own footfalls.

The cemetary is a place of awesome dignity, but one place above the rest sticks with me: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. The Tomb stands before the Memorial Amphitheater, looking out over the hills and the river toward the capital. A lone sentry stands guard, pacing back and forth in front of the tomb. The only sound, apart from the occasional bird call, is the click of his heels as he turns. The tomb bears this inscription:

HERE RESTS
IN HONORED GLORY
AN AMERICAN SOLDIER
KNOWN BUT TO GOD

As I read these words and looked out over the city I couldn't help but get a lump in my throat. These were ordinary people, as much so as you and I, who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their way of life. It is a poignant reminder that this land was built and sustained by the hopes, dreams, sweat, and, sometimes, blood of such people.