The thoughtful, articulate secretary to Adolf Hitler attempts to make amends with her connection to one of the world's great atrocities without bearing a single tear.  The acrobatics of such a stunt is often mesmerizing in Blind Spot even if the film edits her comments into small vignettes that lack any thread other than being part of one person's lifetime.  What Traudl Junge, the only person in the entire film, which is setup as a reflection of Shoah, has to say is amazing, which gives an otherwise lackluster film its strength.

Starring:
Traudl Junge

Release: 24 Jan. 03
IMDb

Director/writer Todd Graff may be attempting his own story in Camp, a film somewhat about a down-on-himself stage director/writer who turns to kids at a drama camp to find his muses.  Too bad the kids are cloying stereotypes who have no emotional fervor and even less musical talent (rare is the musical that makes one miss Paint Your Wagon).  Aside from one song ("Here's Where I Stand" performed by a terrific Tiffany Taylor) and a nice 'Night Mother joke, Camp is a waste.

Starring:
Daniel Letterle
Joanna Chilcoat
Robin de Jesus
Steven Cutts
Don Dixon

Release: 25 Jul. 03
IMDb

Larry Clark, purveyor of teenage hedonism, is best known for his abysmally overrated Harmony Korine project, Kids.  Even though the 1995 trades depth for shock, it comes off as strikingly mature beside Clark's latest, Ken Park.  Even though his co-director is the massively talented cinematographer Edward Lachman (The Limey, The Virgin Suicides), the whole ordeal offers nothing in terms of story.  It's Raising Victor Vargas without an ounce of personality.  Ken Park is like sitting through Korine's ugly Gummo with pretty camera framing.

Starring:
James Ransone
Tiffany Limos
Stephen Jasso
James Bullard

Release: N/A
IMDb

May, a dark and gruesome study of dependency on one's friends and family, could be one of the year's most ineptly put together dramas.  Wearing its meanings on like one of the Megasale signs hung from the necks of homeless men on the highway, director Lucky McKee rams every idea with a sledgehammer, upping the gore without every establishing anything more than vagueness and shoddy filmmaking.

Starring:
Angela Bettis
Jeremy Sisto
Anna Faris
James Duval
Nichole Hiltz

Release: 6 Jun. 03
IMDb

For Bob Rafelson, just a few years after his career return with Blood & Wine, to make a film as bad as No Good Deed is a wholly depressing reminder that some directors (whether it be Wim Wenders or Peter Bogdanovich or John Schlesinger) are destined to spend the latter years of their time making films completely below their artistic abilities.  The cast, many of whom probably came into the picture based solely on the chance to work with the director of Five Easy Pieces, are mostly wasted in a bastardization of a Dashiell Hammett story.

Starring:
Samuel L. Jackson
Milla Jovovich
Stellan Skarsgård
Doug Hutchison
Grace Zabriskie

Release: 12 Sep. 03
IMDb

The classic Hollywood western died many years ago, and Open Range is unlikely to reawaken it.  Although Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall are two men who should seem perfect in these roles, neither completely sell a story that continues far too long and features plot threads that serve little purpose.  Annette Bening appears through much of the film's "civilization" sections, although one would be hard pressed to fully comprehend why.

Starring:
Kevin Costner
Robert Duvall
Annette Bening
Michael Gambon
Michael Jeter

Release: 15 Aug. 03
IMDb

Simple, careful family filmmaking that may seem a little too cheesy at times, Secondhand Lions takes pride in its adherence (near celebration) of a bygone era of family programming that isn't pandering or vulgar.  For what it's worth, the film isn't more than simplest of its elements, but it does offer a strong, affable diversion from the rest of its genre.  Nevertheless, Holes is the superior film.

Starring:
Haley Joel Osment
Michael Caine
Robert Duvall
Kyra Sedgwick
Nicky Katt

Release: 19 Sep. 03
IMDb

Long, tedious, and ridiculous, Nicholas Cage's adventure behind the camera with Sonny may be one of the great unintentionally funny dramas of the decade.  Filled with overwrought melodramatics and flaccid characters, the whole film moves with the ease of a downed elephant.  James Franco's emoting makes things especially bad, and Brenda Blethyn has never been worse.  The only good thing is that Sonny isn't half as bad as Spun.

Starring:
James Franco
Brenda Blethyn
Harry Dean Stanton
Mena Suvari
Josie Davis

Release: 27 Dec. 02
IMDb

I am admittedly not a fan of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it is thoughtful and subtle compared to the remake it has spawned.  Taking young, nubile actors and actresses and placing them in a story of horrendous gore isn't anything new, and this film adds absolutely nothing other than a completely false, abhorrently mean-spirited attitude to the original story, at least what remains of it.

Starring:
Jessica Biel
Jonathan Tucker
Erica Lerrhsen
Mike Vogel
Eric Balfour

Release: 17 Oct. 03
IMDb

Vampires and werewolves have never seemed as boring as they are in Underworld, an amalgam of Dark City and Blade without either of those film's cinematic achievement or storytelling prowess.  Kate Beckinsale, a wonderful actress, in unrecognizable as a tight-leather vamp without the least amount of spirit.  Gone are the days of Interviews with the Vampire, now we must shuffle in the era of Queens of the Damned.

Starring:
Kate Beckinsale
Scott Speedman
Michael Sheen
Shane Brolly
Bill Nighy

Release: 19 Sep. 03
IMDb