Movie Worship: 2025

Nov 15, 2025

Novocaine (2001)

A dark dark black comedy thriller where Steve Martin seemingly resumes his role as the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors.

Rating: C+

City By The Sea (2002)

A cop drama with a lot of character development. Quality acting and a good story.

Rating: C+

Max Keeble’s Big Move (2001)

Watched this on a blind date on an outdoor screen in a park. The humor is geared toward tweens. No action on or off the screen.

Rating: D+

Eight Legged Freaks (2002)

Spoofy mutated spiders on the loose.

Rating: C

Frailty (2001)

I had to clutch my pillow for dear life during parts of this thriller. Downright disturbing. Great performances all around.

Rating: C+

Blade II (2002)

The first one was ok, but I can't think of a good reason why I had to see the second one. Some good fighting scenes, but not much else.

Rating: D-

Shooting Fish (1997)

Cute British con-artist movie with likeable characters.

Rating: C+

The Machine Girl (Kataude Mashin Gâru) (2008)

Over-the-top revenge flick from Japan with enough aortal spray to satisfy the most bloodthirsty viewer. The acting was actually much better than I expected. Don't watch with the kids.

Rating: C+

Corky Romano (2001)

This was really dumb. I'm a sucker for SNL movies. There were a few funny parts, but most of the time I was hiding my head in shame at how idiotic it was.

Rating: F+

The Time Machine (2002)

I wish I could travel back in time and change the ending. I liked the story, special effects, and even the futuristic creatures. Very weak third act.

Rating: C

Nov 10, 2025

Gomorrah (Gomorra) (2008)

A very disjointed Italian film that will leave you trying to piece together a plot for half the movie.

Rating: D

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

I prefer Simon Pegg when he's starring in his own silly movies, like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. This was very predictable, cliché, and not very funny.

Rating: D+

Mindhunters (2004)

A serial killer thriller with a decent cast.

Rating: C

Tyson (2008)

I was curious how James Tobak would handle a Mike Tyson biopic. The historical footage combined with candid interviews of Tyson were interesting, but the direction was bland.

Rating: C

Frozen River (2008)

Unlikable characters in a depressing story. Grating.

Rating: D

The silliness is out of control in this sequel (prequel?) to the Thai film The Bodyguard. Whereas the first movie had a somewhat coherent storyline to hold it together, 2 is a mishmash of action, violence, and bizarre jokes. Check out the first, skip the second.

Rating: D-

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The Origins part of this origin story was too thin. Popcorn fare that lacked flavor.

Rating: D+

The Nest (Nid de Guepes) (2002)

This French flick starts out slow and confusing, but slowly comes together until the action reaches "Assault on Precinct 13" proportions. The acting is pedestrian, but the shootouts make up for it. Lots of heavy weaponry and bullets flying.

Rating: C+

The Promotion (2008)

I laughed hard and often. The two banjo playing, gay neighbors are a hoot. Loved the customer comment cards.

Rating: C+

Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)

Not entertaining for kids or adults. Jokes aren't funny, the story is lame, and characters are boring. The one exception is Seth Rogan as The Blob. He's hilarious as usual. Waste of A-List actor voices.

Rating: F+

The Condemned (2007)

I was surprised by a semi-believable set-up. I would have appreciated more backstory on the 10 killers before they get to the island though. Enter with low expectations and you'll have a good time.

Rating: C

Nov 8, 2025

Bolt (2008)

Fun premise which was executed quite well. Terrific visuals and witty dialogue for adults. The action stays at a pretty high level throughout the film. Genius character development on the hamster. Whoever came up with that critter deserves a medal. He was hilarious. I liked this one much more than I thought I would.

Rating: B-

Melinda And Melinda (2004)

Another character driven Woody Allen film. Meh.

Rating: C-

Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

Sometimes it's just better to let your favorite shows rest in peace, even when they are taken before their time. Sure, I wanted loose ends tied up, but not at any cost. What we get are missing characters, a weak story, and cornball sentimentality. It wasn't terrible, but compared to the brilliant show, it was a big letdown.

Rating: D

Nov 6, 2025

The River Wild (1994)

I watched this in the theater and later on DVD. The rafting shots are authentic and believable. Acting is solid. Kevin Bacon plays a complex bad guy, as he has so many times in his career.

Rating: C+

The Memory Of A Killer (De Zaak Alzheimer) (2003)

A foreign Memento, only the memory loss is brought on by Alzheimer's. Despite a lot of jumping around, the story holds it together. Some finely filmed violence came as both a great surprise and a welcomed treat. My only complaint was the poorly cast hooker who looked about as good as a washed up whale carcass. Also, put on your reading glasses, because the subtitles come at you fast and furious.

Rating: C+

The Aviator (2004)

Too long. Too dark. Too crazy.

Despite a 3 hour running time, it still felt like pieces were missing. Many scenes didn't make sense, interrupting the flow.

Rating: C-

Blindness (2008)

The first half of the film looked very low budget. The scale of what was occurring was massive, but it seemed to be treated as a local epidemic. It didn't make sense. Too much time was spent locked up inside their prison. The real story was outside in the streets! That's the story I wanted to see.

The idea of nearly everyone in the world losing their eyesight is a fascinating one. The few with vision suddenly become superheroes. This concept eventually came to fruition in the excellent series See.

Rating: C