Ray (2004)

I don't see how any other leading male performer can outdo what Jamie Foxx did in this role. He deserved to win the Oscar. That said, the film itself does not, nor does the director. It's a good movie and I enjoyed it, but I think it could have been much better.

The story focuses too much on Ray's drug addiction and whoring around. While this may be factual stuff, I think the audience would have gotten the picture with half as many scenes devoted to it. Instead, they could have spent more time on Ray's earlier years. I would have liked to see more about how he became such a fantastic piano player. All we got was a 2 minute sketch of him dinking around at the age of 5.

Terrific performance, pretty good movie.

Rating: C+

Waiting For Forever (2010)

This wannabe Benny & Joon is the opposite of everything it’s trying to be. It’s not cute, funny, romantic, interesting, or touching. Waiting For Forever is exactly what the viewer experiences as they wait for the credits to roll. The male “romantic lead”, in this case, a juggling half-wit who squints more than Rene Zellicker, flits about the screen in Kmart pajamas. Is this supposed to be endearing?

Rachel Bilson, the female romantic lead, should have followed her initial instincts when she thought it was creepy to have a retarded puppy dog following her around from state to state. The entire film is pointless, as the jester in PJs would have been sodomized and murdered while hitchhiking across country, thus never making it to the first act.

Rating: F

Tigerland (2000)

Performances are very well done, the directing is gritty and in your face. Nice little movie.

Rating: C+

Cedar Rapids (2011)

An absolute perfect vehicle for Ed Helms and John C. Reilly to show off their comedy prowess. Cedar Rapids delivers the funny on all levels. Brilliant script, especially Rilley’s crude one liners. The supporting cast is great too. Certainly one of the funniest movies of the year.

Rating: B+

Empire Of The Wolves (L'Empire des Loups) (2005)

A week after seeing this, you'll barely be able to remember the plot. Dark and muddled, this French thriller has flashes of greatness, but never fully delivers a complete story. Skip it.

Rating: C-

The Tournament (2009)

International assassins compete to win a 10 million dollar cash prize. Last man standing wins. The plot was actually more complex than that, which was refreshing. Unfortunately, it ended up playing out like all the other movies of this genre—where the game players seek out revenge on the game makers. It’s been done a thousand times. The production value was higher than I expected. Doesn’t feel like a B movie. You could do a lot worse.

Rating: C-

Northfork (2003)

I expected big things from this film. The trailer was excellent. The Polish Brothers really impressed me with Twin Falls Idaho. The cast is superb. How they managed to make an incredibly bad film with all that is beyond me.

It's slow from start to finish. Strange and confusing in a bad way. There's no payoff at the end, and there certainly wasn't any payoff in the middle. This film could have been much better in the hands of someone else.

Rating: D

Sucker Punch (2011)

As talented as Zach Snyder is at making things look on screen, without a cohesive script, it’s simply unrewarding eye candy. I love hot chicks kicking ass as much as the next guy—probably more—but I need characters and a substantial story to go with it. I need to care. Sucker Punch is too much fantasy, too little reality. I’ll rewatch 300 and try to forget this one. It shouldn’t be very hard.

Rating: F+

Just Write (1997)

Not very well known, but a fun little comedy/romance to check out on DVD. Jeremy Piven is the main guy. It will remind you of his TV show "Cupid" they so stupidly canceled.

Rating: C+

Friends With Benefits (2011)

Funny, smartly written, and well cast. Plenty of eye candy for both sexes in JT and Mila. Woody and Patricia Clarkson provided additional comic relief. Exactly what I hoped it would be. No regrets seeing it in the theater.

Rating: B-

Black Sheep (2006)

Along the same lines as Slither, but with sheep of course. Well written and shot—you'll get what you pay for. Assuming you paid for zombie sheep ripping the guts out of their ill fated victims. If you didn't pay for that, well, could you send me some money? I'll promptly send you something you didn't pay for.

Rating: C

Rango (2011)

Another animated feature without an audience. I can’t see kids liking this, and it wasn’t clever or funny enough for adults. I can only guess it was a pure vanity project from Mr. Gore Verbinski. I barely suffered through till the end.

Rating: F+

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun Naui Geot) (2002)

The first in a trilogy of Korean revenge films. I only started this series after hearing good things about the second film, Oldboy, which I hope is better than this one. The cinematography and direction are fine, but the story could use some work. The viewer is left to assume a lot, since events happen with little explanation. It wasn't very tight. If you're looking for an action/thriller, you best move along. Blood doesn't flow until the anti-climactic ending. Depressing to say the least.

Rating: C-

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

I was a bit skeptical of this sci-fi romantic drama, but the chemistry between Emily Blunt and Matt Damon quickly won me over. Both are incredible actors that make you forget you’re watching a film. It was well balanced and smartly made. In the wrong hands this could have been a huge disaster. A great first time effort by director George Nolfi.

Rating: B-

The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

Samuel L. Jackson stars in a pretty strange thriller. The movie has a different feel to it than most. Sort of a "The Fisher King" meets "Shine" meets "8mm". A Sundance film worth checking out.

Rating: C+

Sanctum (2011)

A tense man vs. nature thriller with fantastic visuals and a solid production. I was easily caught up in their plight and found myself holding my breath during critical moments. All good things. Looks great on Blu-Ray. I didn’t miss the 3D, which is almost always overrated.

Rating: B-

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Like so many others before me, I made the mistake of reading the book prior to seeing the movie, and therefore became annoyed by the plethora of plot changes made by the screenwriter. In addition, the movie didn't flow like the book did. It felt jumpy; patched together.

Rating: C-

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

A solid legal drama/thriller. Not sure if they are going to continue making films based on the book series, but if they do, they’ve established some solid characters to build from. Fun seeing Macy with his “Shameless” hair and Cranston with a bit more than he sports on “Breaking Bad”.

Rating: C+

The Anniversary Party (2001)

Directed by Alan Cummings and Jennifer Jason Leigh, this is a perfect collaboration between two talented people. It's a drama that takes place in and around a house where the focus of the movie is on a married couple and their friends. If you are looking for fast action and crazy antics, skip this one. But, if you enjoy witty dialogue, subtle humor and great acting, check it out. I enjoyed watching the Sundance feature they included with the bonus features.

Rating: B-

Red Riding Hood (2011)

The first 30-40 minutes were pretty bad all around. The writing felt trite and the delivery wasn’t much better. The rest of the film was helped by the increased action. I thought they did a decent job of keeping the viewer guessing about who the wolf was. Still, you can probably skip this one.

Rating: C-

The Descent (2006)

I was already claustrophobic and really afraid of caves to begin with. Now I'm one step beyond whatever comes after that. No spelunking in my future. After seeing the initial preview, I quickly wrote it off as just another cheap horror flick.

That would have been the end of it had it not started showing up on many critics Top 10 list for 2006. Stephen King can't stop gushing about this movie. After surviving my first viewing, I can see why. We are spared another lame frat boy and ditzy girlfriend typecast session, where deplorable love spat dialogue is interspersed with cheesy jump cuts and meaningless gore.

No, the gore in Descent is meaningful, and doled out in massive, squirting doses upon the unsuspecting all female cast. Adding layers to their characters only makes things sweeter. I appreciated the hint of plausibility to the crawlers back story. It's things like that which separate the painfully average horror movies from the really good ones. This is a really good one.

Rating: A-

The Eagle (2011)

A very different adaptation from the other Roman Ninth movie, Centurion. This was a well-made and entertaining film. The cinematography is beautiful. Both are worth a rental.

Rating: C+

Envy (2004)

Not exactly what I expected. Funny at times, but this wasn't a comedy. I'd label it quirky and dark.

Rating: C

Hall Pass (2011)

It’s a shame this was a Farrelly Brothers picture instead of an Apatow one. It would have been a lot funnier. Hall Pass felt tired, forced, a deflated. Much like the wives at the start of the film. Owen Wilson isn’t funny. There’s no getting around that. But I blame the writing here. It was weak.

The premise of the movie had a lot of potential for laughs—few of which were delivered here. Nobody was allowed to cut loose like they did in better films such as Superbad, Bridesmaids, or Old School. The funniest gag of the movie was the “sneeze scene”. And the 30 second flash-forward clip after the credits rolled was funnier than the entire movie. You can safely skip this one.

Rating: D

The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

It sucked. Bad story. Predictable. Weak plot. Poor script. No chemistry. Weak all around.

Rating: F