Wedding Crashers (2005)

What I saw advertised at the time was a juvenile, trite film about a bunch of womanizers. But after hearing such good word of mouth, I decided to check it out. Sure, it's juvenile and about womanizers, but there's a story too! Plus crazy characters and hilarious writing.

Rating: C+

May I Be Frank (2010)

May I Be Frank is another nutritional transformation documentary, along the lines of Super Size Me and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. This one revolves around a New Yorker named Frank and a vegan restaurant in San Francisco. Not a lot of new ground is covered, but I can’t get enough of these before and after style docs. I find the process fascinating.

Rating: C+

Bringing Down The House (2003)

Although the cheese factor is high throughout the movie, there are plenty of funny moments to make it an enjoyable film.

Rating: C

Burn After Reading (2008)

I love the Coen Brothers as much as anybody, but seriously, this movie was all over the place. The only thing I can think of is that the point of the movie is that there was no point. It's pointless on purpose. An exercise in futility.

Dark humor only works if it's funny, and this script rarely was. A story unfolded which held my attention. That's all it did. I could have just as easily been watching the Home & Garden network for a couple hours.

Rating: D

Pina (2011)

I’m simply not that into dance, so this documentary about German choreographer Pina Bausch wasn’t that interesting to me. In fact, I fast forwarded through most of it. There was some nice music, and I can appreciate the set designs, but I’m not the target audience for this kind of thing.

Rating: D-

Always Outnumbered (1998)

An inner city tale of struggle, redemption, and courage.

Rating: C

Apocalypto (2006)

Say what you will about Mel Gibson being a drunk and anti-Semite, but the man sure knows how to direct an epic film. This was an impressive depiction of what life was like during a certain time in Central America. Beautifully shot and wonderfully acted by native people. Things get extremely violent, so much so that I was surprised they were able to get an R rating, but that's the MPAA for you. I enjoyed this film very much.

Rating: B+

Observe And Report (2009)

Lots of dark and crude humor, as expected. Many of the usual suspects that appear in Seth Rogen movies are present. This is the antidote to Paul Blart. My favorite scene was the severe beat down Seth gave to the street gang. Hilarious.

Rating: C+

Oblivion (2013)

Starts off quite strong, with stunning visuals, creative future tech, and a unique premise. You can immediately see why Cruise was drawn to this project. It hits all the Scientology sweet spots, dodging many of the pitfalls that Battlefield Earth fell victim to. (Very similar films actually) Past the midway point, the story gets a bit hokey. It gets harder to overlook plot holes and unanswered questions.

 By the end, familiar plot devices are used to carry us down very familiar territory. Elements of 2001, The Matrix, The Island, and a dozen other films are salvaged to piece together an ending. Too bad.

Rating: C+

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

I recently watched this for a second time. Not nearly as funny as I remember it being. Most of the jokes felt stale and relied upon the lowest common denominator to deliver meager laughs. Classic “skit stretched into a feature length” film.

Rating: C-

The Wedding Planner (2001)

Predictable and lightly cheese flavored.

Rating: C-

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)

An important documentary about the most well-known Chinese artist/activist, Ai Weiwei, but also about the state of government control and lack of freedom in China today. A terrific primer for those of us who are not up to date on Chinese political activism. (ie: almost all of us)

Rating: B-

Secret (Bu Neng Shuo De. Mi Mi) (2007)

A Taiwanese love story that takes place at a piano conservatory. Everything about the production is dreamy and over-the-top, from the sweeping camerawork to the sticky sweet personalities of the characters. It all felt artificial and dramatized. The romance ripe with cutesy banter, longing gazes, and head tilts. Gross. Then they throw in a bizarre time traveling twist and everything goes off the rails.

Rating: F+

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Fact and fiction are loosely handled in this docudrama about the creator of The Gong Show, among dozens of other game shows. Sam Rockwell is brilliant in his role. The script is messy, but I suppose it reflects the chaotic life of it's main character.

Rating: C+

The Yellow Sea (Hwanghae) (2010)

A gritty Korean crime drama with loads of violence, balanced by some decent storytelling. I’ve been quite impressed with Korean production values over the years. They put out high quality product. I liked this film, but I think I would have liked it even more if I had better understood a lot of the cultural elements. Also, the ending was pretty dark.

Rating: B-

Murderball (2005)

A highly entertaining, inspiring, and atypical documentary. It doesn't feel manipulated or flashy like many mainstream docs. The film, like the subjects in it, is rough around the edges. A must see.

Rating: B

The Animatrix (2003)

A very cool addition to the Matrix trilogy, unlike the second two feature films. The first 3 animated shorts were simply amazing. The other ones were varying degrees of good.

Rating: B-

The Kid With A Bike (Le Gamin au Vélo) (2011)

The kid with a bike is an obnoxious little French brat. Sure, his douchebag of a dad abandoned him, but that’s no excuse. The film would have been much better if it ended after 5 minutes when they both got hit by a car.

Rating: D-

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

Felt more like a lecture about global warming from Al Gore than a science fiction movie. Fails on every level.

Rating: F

Cry, The Beloved Country (1995)

I watched this rather than reading the book for a college writing assignment. It was a slow moving film about struggle in Apartheid South Africa. James Earl Jones plays his part well. Nothing I would have gone out of my way to see had it not been for an assignment. It was ok.

Rating: C

Killing Season (2013)

Contrived setup followed by a ridiculous fight to the death by two men in the woods. Very little about this was good.

Rating: D