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Dean's Movie Reviews (Alphabetized List): My tastes in movies are hardly typical, and I offer no guarantees that my gems are not your bombs, or vice versa.  In any case, you'll know next time whether or not to listen to me.  I rate the movies from zero to four stars, but since I try to avoid movies that I suspect I won't like, most listed here tend toward the higher end of my rating scale.

Dean's rating scale:  **** Exceptionally good, *** Quite good indeed, ** I liked some things about it, but found it to be something closer to average, *Not recommended.

I need to point out that I am not actually as critical as I may sometimes sound from my reviews.  Generally, anything two stars or better is something I have enjoyed, and even those which receive only one star may have some redeeming aspects.  Those receiving less than one star (0 or 1/2) are simply not my cup of tea, though I recognize respectfully that you may have different tastes.  See further disclaimer below.

Go to Movies Sorted by Date.

Movie Title	Dean’s Rating	Date Reviewed	Type of Story	Notes
A
About A Boy	**	Spring 2002	Comedy
About Schmidt	****	Winter 2003	Drama/Comedy	Best Picture nominee
Adaptation	***1/2	Winter 2003	Drama	Best Picture nominee
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle	**	Summer 2000	Animated Comedy
After the Sunset	*1/2	Autumn 2004	Adventure
Ali	***	Winter 2002	Biographical drama
All About My Mother	**	Spring 2000	Drama	Spanish, subtitled
Almost Famous	***	Autumn 2000	Drama/Comedy
Along Came a Spider	**	Spring 2001	Drama/mystery
Amelie	***	Autumn 2001	Comedy	French, subtitled
American Beauty	***1/2	Autumn 1999	Drama	Best Picture Oscar
American History X	***1/2	Spring 1998	Drama
American Splendor	**1/2	Summer 2003	Quirky bio-drama
Analyze This!	***1/2	Summer 1999	Comedy
Ararat	**1/2	Winter 2003	Drama	Canadian/Armenian/Turkish
Austin Powers II – The Spy Who Shagged Me	**	Summer 1999	Screwball comedy
The Aviator	***1/2	Winter 2005	Biographical drama	Best Picture nominee
B
Barbarian Invasions	***1/2	Spring 2004	Drama/comedy	Best Foreign Language Oscar - Canadian
A Beautiful Mind	***1/2	Winter 2002	Drama	Best Picture Oscar
Bedazzled	**	Autumn 2000	Comedy
Being John Malkovich	**1/2	Autumn 1999	Quirky fantasy
Being Julia	**	Winter 2005	Drama	Best actress nominee
Beyond the Sea	**1/2	Winter 2005	Biographic drama	Generally based on actual events
Black Hawk Down	***1/2	Winter 2002	War story	Based on actual events
Blair Witch Project	*1/2	Summer 1999	Horror
Bloody Sunday	****	Autumn 2002	Drama	Irish, based on actual events
Bowfinger	**	Summer 1999	Screwball comedy
Bowling for Columbine	***	Autumn 2002	Documentary/Comedy	Best Documentary Oscar
Boys Don’t Cry	**1/2	Autumn 1999	Drama
Bus 154	***	Winter 2004	Documentary	Brazilian, subtitled
C
Capturing the Friedmans	****	Summer 2003	Documentary
Castaway	**1/2	Winter 2001	Drama	Best Picture nominee
Catch Me If You Can	***1/2	Winter 2003	Comedy /Adventure
Central Station	***1/2	Spring 1998	Drama	Brazilian, subtitled
Chicago	***1/2	Winter 2003	Musical Comedy	Best Picture Oscar
Chicken Run	**1/2	Summer 2000	Animated Comedy
Chocolat	***1/2	Spring 2001	Romantic Drama
Cider House Rules	***	Winter 2000	Drama
The Circle	1/2	Summer 2001	Drama	Iranian, subtitled
City of God	****	Winter 2004	Drama	Brazilian, subtitled, based on a true story
Closer	*1/2	Winter 2005	Drama
The Closet	***	Summer 2001	Drama / Comedy
Coffee and Cigarettes	1/2	Summer 2004	Satire
Cold Mountain	***	Winter 2004	Romantic Drama, War Story	Best Picture nominee
The Color of Paradise	**1/2	Summer 2000	Drama	Iranian, subtitled
The Contender	**	Autumn 2000	Drama
The Control Room	**1/2	Summer 2004	Documentary	English and Arabic, subtitled
The Cooler	*	Winter 2004	Drama
Cradle Will Rock	***	Winter 2000	Drama/Satire
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon	*1/2	Spring 2001	Adventure	Chinese, subtitled
Croupier	***	Summer 2000	Drama
Cuckoo	***1/2	Autumn 2003	Drama	Russian/Finnish, subtitled
The Cup	**	Spring 2000	Drama	Tibetan, subtitled
D
The Deep End	**1/2	Summer 2001	Drama
DeLovely	***1/2	Summer 2004	Musical
Downfall	***1/2	Spring 2005	Historical drama	German, subtitled
The Dreamers	**	Winter 2004	Erotic Drama	Sexually explicit
E
East is East	**1/2	Spring 2000	Drama	British Indian
East-West	**1/2	Spring 2000	Drama	Russian/French, subtitled
Election	***	Summer 1999	Drama/Comedy
Elizabeth	***	Autumn 1998	Biographical drama
Endurance	****	Winter 2002	Documentary
Enron – The Smartest Guys in the Room	***	Spring 2005	Documentary
Evelyn	**	Winter 2003	Drama
Everybody’s Famous	**1/2	Summer 2001	Drama/comedy	Dutch, subtitled
Eyes Wide Shut	***	Summer 1999	Drama
F
Fahrenheit 9-11	**	Summer 2004	Political Propaganda	Best Documentary at Cannes Film Festival
Far From Heaven	***	Winter 2003	Drama
The Fast Runner	**1/2	Summer 2002	Drama	Inuit, subtitled
The Fog of War	****	Winter 2004	Documentary
The Forgotten	1/2	Autumn 2004	Sci-fi psycho-drama
Frida	****	Winter 2003	Biographical drama
G
Garden State	***	Autumn 2004	Romantic Comedy
Galapagos	****	Winter 2000	Documentary	3-D IMAX
Girlfight	***	Autumn 2000	Drama
Girl with a Pearl Earring	**1/2	Winter 2004	Drama
Gods and Generals	**	Spring 2003	Drama / war story
Going Upriver – The Long War of John Kerry	***1/2	Autumn 2004	Documentary
Gosford Park	*1/2	Winter 2002	Drama	British
H
Harrison’s Flowers	***	Spring 2002	Drama / War Story
Hearts in Atlantis	***	Autumn 2001	Drama
High Fidelity	***1/2	Summer 2000	Comedy Satire
Hilary and Jackie	***	Summer 1998	Drama
Hotel Rwanda	****	Winter 2005	War Drama
The Hours	***1/2	Winter 2003	Drama	Best Picture nominee
House of Mirth	***	Winter 2001	Drama
Hurricane	****	Winter 2000	Biographical Drama
I
In America	**	Winter 2004	Autobiographical Drama/Comedy
In The Bedroom	***	Winter 2003	Drama	Best Picture nominee
In This World	****	Autumn 2003	Drama	Pashtu/Persian/Turkish/Italian/French/British
Incident at Loch Ness	**	Autumn 2004	Satire/Mockumentary
Innocence	**1/2	Autumn 2001	Romantic Drama	Australian
Iris	**1/2	Spring 2002	Biographical Drama
Italian for Beginners	**1/2	Spring 2002	Comedy/Drama	Danish, subtitled
J
K
Kandahar	*1/2	Winter 2002	Drama	Iranian/Afghani, subtitled
The Kid	**	Summer 2000	Drama
The King of Masks	***	Autumn 1999	Drama	Chinese, subtitled
Kinsey	****	Winter 2005	Biographical Drama	Generally based on actual events
Kissing Jessica Stein	**1/2	Spring 2002	Romantic Drama
L
Laurel Canyon	**	Spring 2003	Light Drama
Life is Beautiful	***	Autumn 1998	Drama	Best Picture Oscar 1998
Lost in Translation	***	Autumn 2003	Romantic Drama	Best Picture nominee
Love Me If You Dare	*1/2	Summer 2004	Romantic Drama
Luther	**1/2	Autumn 2003	Biographical Drama
M
Magdalene Sisters	***	Autumn 2003	Drama	Irish
Magnolia	***1/2	Winter 2000	Ensemble Drama	Best Picture nominee
The Man Who Wasn’t There	**1/2	Autumn 2001	Drama / Satire
Maria Full of Grace	**	Autumn 2004	Drama
The Matrix	1/2	Spring 1999	Adventure
Memento	***1/2	Spring 2001	Drama
Me Myself and Irene	1/2	Summer 2000	Screwball Comedy
A Mighty Wind	**	Spring 2003	Satirical Comedy
Million Dollar Baby	**1/2	Summer 2005	Drama, Boxing	Best Picture Oscar 2004
Monsoon Wedding	**1/2	Spring 2002	Comedy / Drama	Indian
Monster	***	Winter 2004	Drama
Mostly Martha	**1/2	Autumn 2002	Comedy / Drama	German, subtitled
Motorcycle Diaries	***	Autumn 2004	Light Drama	Spanish, Based upon a true story
My Big Fat Greek Wedding	***	Spring 2002	Satirical Comedy
Mystic River	*1/2	Autumn 2003	Drama	Best Picture nominee
N
No Man’s Land	**1/2	Winter 2002	Satirical Drama	Serbian / Croatian
The Notebook	***	Summer 2004	Romantic Drama
Not of This World	*	Autumn 2000	Drama	Italian, subtitled
O
O Brother Where Art Thou?	**1/2	Winter 2001	Satirical Comedy
Off the Map	**	Spring 2005	Quirky humorous drama
Open Water	***	Autumn 2004	Drama
Osama	***	Spring 2004	Drama	Afghani, subtitled
P
Passion of Mind	***	Summer 2000	Drama
Pay it Forward	***	Autumn 2000	Light Drama
The Perfect Storm	***1/2	Summer 2000	Drama / Adventure
The Pianist	****	Winter 2003	Drama / War Story	Best Picture nominee, based on actual events
Pieces of April	***1/2	Autumn 2003	Comedy
Pleasantville	**	Summer 1998	Light Drama
Possession	*1/2	Summer 2002	Romantic Drama
Q
The Quiet American	**1/2	Spring 2003	Drama
Quills	***	Winter 2001	Drama
R
Raising Victor Vargas	***	Spring 2003	Light drama
Ray	***1/2	Autumn 2004	Drama
Real Women Have Curves	***	Winter 2003	Light drama
The Red Violin	***	Autumn 1999	Drama
Riding in Cars With Boys	***	Autumn 2001	Light Drama
Royal Tennanbaums	**	Winter 2002	Quirky Drama
Run Lola Run	**	Summer 1999	Drama	German
Rushmore	**	Spring 1998	Quirky Drama
Russian Ark	*1/2	Spring 2003	Art Film
S
Saving Private Ryan	***1/2	Autumn 1998	War Drama	Based on actual events
Secret Lives of Dentists	**	Summer 2003	Drama
Secretary	***	Autumn 2002	Romantic Comedy	Steamy sexuality
Serendipity	*1/2	Autumn 2001	Romantic Comedy
Shakespeare in Love	**	Autumn 1998	Romantic Drama
The Shape of Things	**1/2	Spring 2003	Drama
The Shipping News	***	Winter 2002	Light Drama
Shrek	****	Suumer 2001	Animated Comedy
Sideways	**1/2	Autumn 2004	Light comedy
Silver City	*1/2	Autumn 2004	Political Satire
The Sixth Sense	**1/2	Autumn 1999	Drama
Snow Falling on Cedars	***	Winter 2000	Light Drama	Vietnamese, subtitled
Something’s Gotta Give	***1/2	Winter 2004	Romantic Comedy
Space Cowboys	1/2	Summer 2000	Drama / Comedy
Spirited Away	*	Autumn 2002	Animated Drama	Japanese, subtitled
Spy Game	*1/2	Winter 2002	Drama / Adventure
State and Main	**1/2	Winter 2001	Satirical Drama
The Station Agent	**	Winter 2004	Light Drama
The Straight Story	**	Summer 1999	Light Drama	Based on a true story
Super Size Me!	***1/2	Summer 2004	Documentary
Sweet November	*1/2	Winter 2001	Romantic Drama
Swimming Pool	*1/2	Summer 2003	Drama	French / British
T
Tailor of Panama	*	Spring 2001	Satirical Drama
Tango	*1/2	Spring 1999	Dance film	Argentine, subtitled
Tea with Mussolini	***1/2	Summer 1999	Drama / Comedy
Team America	***	Autumn 2004	Satire
Time Code	**	Spring 2000	Drama
Thin Red Line	*	Autumn 1998	Drama / War Story
Thirteen	***	Autumn 2003	Drama
Thirteen Days	****	Winter 2001	Drama	Based on actual events
Three Seasons	***1/2	Summer 1999	Light drama
Topsy Turvy	**1/2	Winter 2000	Ensemble drama
Traffic	****	Winter 2001	Drama	Best Picture nominee
Travelers and Magicians	**	Winter 2005	Light drama	Bhutanese
The Twenty-Fifth Hour	***	Winter 2003	Drama
Twin Falls Idaho	***	Summer 1999	Drama
U
Unconstitutional – The War on Our Civil Liberties	***1/2	Autumn 2004	Documentary
Unprecedented – The 2000 Presidential Election	***1/2	Autumn 2004	Documentary
V
Vanilla Sky	*1/2	Winter 2002	Drama
Vera Drake	****	Autumn 2004	Drama	British
Veronica Guerin	**	Autumn 2003	Drama	Irish
A Very Long Engagement	**	Winter 2005	Romantic War Epic	French, subtitled
The Virgin Suicides	***	Summer 2000	Drama
W
Waking Life	***1/2	Winter 2002	Animated Drama
Waking Ned Devine	***	Winter 1998	Comedy	Irish
West Beirut	***1/2	Spring 1999	Drama	Lebanese, subtitled
White Oleander	**1/2	Autumn 2002	Drama
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill	**	Spring 2005	Documentary
Windhorse	****	Spring 1999	Drama	Based on actual events
Winged Migration	****	Summer 2003	Documentary	French, subtitled
X
Y
You Can Count on Me	***	Winter 2001	Drama
Y Tu Mama	***	Spring 2002	Romantic Comedy	Mexican, subtitled, steamy sexuality
Z

For a second opinion plus many additional reviews, check out my friend Tony Porco's movie reviews.  He tends to provide more insight and analysis than my reviews do.   Note that he uses the 5-star rating (which seems to be evolving into a 0 to 10 rating scale) system while I use 4 stars.

Disclaimer:  These reviews are not written in stone; they are written in cyber purely for entertainment purposes ... both mine and yours, and primarily for my family, friends and acquaintances.  So, please don't put a lot of weight in the words.  I certainly don't.  Secondly, it should be noted that I sometimes read the comments of professional reviewers before seeing a film.  I check their comments mainly to avoid seeing movies that don't interest me, a luxury they may not have.  I make no pretense writing reviews the quality of a professional reviewer, and while I do my best to capture my own views exclusively, I may sometimes make reference to their views.  Still, similarities between their words and mine are generally unintentional and inadvertent on my part, though I cannot guarantee I have studiously avoided all comparisons.

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