My December 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles link to reviews.

* De-Lovely 12/31/04 (B)
Phenomenon 12/23/04
* Seinfeld 1&2:1 12/22/04 (B)
The Big Lebowski 12/21/04 (B-)
Shine 12/16/04 (B-)
* The Shipping News 12/16/04 (B)
Coffee and Cigarettes 12/14/04 (B-)
* The Terminal 12/03/04 (A)
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit 12/03/04 (C)

9/159/159

The Big Lebowski (1998)

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Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Flea, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Jon Polito.

Written and directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

My personal rating: B-

The Terminal (2004)

Amelia: Are you coming or going?

Viktor: I don't know. Both.

When Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) lands at JFK Airport, he discovers that he is a man without a country. In the time it took him to fly abroad, his small Eastern European homeland has endured a coup and his passport and visa are no longer valid. The airport manager (Stanley Tucci) is a stickler for the rules and requires that Viktor remains at the airport until the matter is settled.

Hours turn into days and days turn into months. The ingenous Viktor learns to live in the airport, learn English, makes work for himself, makes friends with the airport employees and even falls in love with Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

A charming tale of surviving with grace and humor.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Run time: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Rated PG-13 for brief language and drug references.

My personal rating: A