Pretty good flick, but not No. 2 all-time!

Rating: Null/10 (6 March 2000)

The movie could have done without the narration at the beginning and end of the movie. This, in fact, was the biggest problem I had with the movie. The acting and cinematography were excellent, without a doubt, but I got a little hung up on the storyline being told from the perspective of "Lester" as there were so many scenes that he was not in, and could have had no knowledge of having happened. That's one of those thematic flaws that seem to happen a lot. It's because of that that I think Sixth Sense is better overall as a movie, with the continuity along the same person's perspective being able to make more sense. American Beauty was a pretty good movie, and a 7 of 10 is a much fairer assessment as to where it belongs. But I truly do wonder sometimes what movie all the folks who gave it a 10 saw. I missed that one! Maybe it's just because with all the other dreck out there (right now especially) that they couldn't help but overvalue it. Better than Shawshank Redemption or Schindler's List? You must be kidding me!