300 (2006)

Visually stunning, violently satisfying, with stand-out characters to boot. This is what we hope for, but rarely receive, when going to see an action film.

Rating: B+

American Movie (1999)

I'd been wanting to rent this DVD for sometime after reading a lot about this documentary. I was happy they included his short film Coven in the extras.
Watched Coven first. A very low budget, black and white film about a freaky self help group. Glad I didn't pay $8 bucks to see it at Sundance when I was there. The movie did nothing for me, and the flimsy plot with bad dialogue was hard to follow. Rating: D-

American Movie, the documentary about the process of making Coven, and his first feature film, yet to be completed, Northwestern, was very entertaining. Slow and drawn out at times, but entertaining nonetheless.

A better title of the film would have been "How some white trash bums from Milwaukee managed to complete any film-making while drinking gallons of beer and dodging bill collectors."

Speaking of Bill, Uncle Bill was the hilight of this movie. A great scene is of Mark giving Uncle Bill a Thanksgiving Day bath after he got Bill drunk on Pepppermint Schnapps. You can't make this stuff up. That's why I love documentaries.

Rating: B-

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

A Western revenge story courtesy of Clint Eastwood. It’s no masterpiece, but it wasn’t terrible either. Could do with a bit of editing and more competent dialogue. The violence is on par with the times when it was released, which is to say completely unrealistic. I’d say it could be improved by a remake, but then again this plotline has already been done to death in countless other films.

Rating: C-

Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

A fascinating documentary about art, artists, graffiti, promotion, hype, obsessions, culture, marketing, and selling out. I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating: B-

Casa De Mi Padre (2012)

Simply not funny. I get that they were poking fun at Mexican, low-budget melodramas, and that it was purposely shot to look “bad”. That doesn’t make it funny. Felt more like a weak Saturday Night Live skit stretched into a feature length film, but in Spanish.

Rating: D-

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Felt like the kind of vampire movie the team behind Ghost Rider might make. In case you’re a moron, that’s a bad thing. I’ve had a better time watching an episode of True Blood.

Rating: D

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

I love Wes Anderson films, even if I don’t necessarily award them glowing reviews. They are always creative, interesting, entertaining, and quirky. These are commodities I appreciate in film. Moonrise Kingdom possessed all of these qualities, portrayed by the usual cadre of Anderson players. Cute story amidst a magical landscape.

Rating: C+

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

If you are a fan of the regular parade of Judd Apatow movies, featuring the now familiar cast of friends, then you will most assuredly enjoy this one. Lots of crude humor mixed with just enough emotional drama. Several current members of SNL add a boost of funny as well. I laughed a lot.

Rating: B

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998)

This is a relationship movie and a coming-of-age flick, but with a twist. You'll enjoy the banter back and forth between the interesting characters. No big stars, but I recognized several actors from other work.

Rating: C+

The Road (2009)

I love love love post apocalyptic films. Unfortunately, most of them are crap. This one is good, but quite dreary. I think I'd rather have the earth covered by zombies than the gray world depicted here. It held my attention, but at a price.

Rating: C

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (2006)

The film is perfectly crafted under the watchful eye of Del Toro. Great pains, and I do mean pains, were taken to develop these rich characters. As one accustomed to a great deal of movie violence, there were a few scenes that made me squirm. Is it the best movie of the year? No way. Is it the best foreign film of the year? Maybe.

Rating: B

School of Rock (2003)

I saw this in the theater, and the sound was waaaaay too low. One of the reasons you go to the movies is to be blown away by the audio,  instead, it was like watching the TV from the other room. But, the movie itself was still lots of fun. Fun story, great kid actors, and cool songs. Enjoyed it.

Rating: C+

The Gift (2000)

What a creepy little picture. I'm a total wuss when it comes to scary movies, and even though I watched this one during the day, I was still clenching my fist, scrunching down into the couch, and watching through one eye during many scenes.

Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi are both wonderful in their roles. Other good performances were offered by Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, and even Keanu Reeves.


The movie is technically a thriller, but many other elements come into play. It had me guessing (mostly incorrectly) until the end. Make sure and watch the director and actor commentary featurette.
Rating: B-

Ondine (2009)

An Irish indie version of Splash, with Colin Farrell in the role of Tom Hanks. The highlight of the film was the superbly acted role of Colin's daughter Annie, played by Alison Barry. Amazingly, this is her one and only role to date. Fantastic young actress. The story is engaging and quaint.

Rating: C+

Saw (2004)

I "saw" this on cable, and it was much better than I expected. That's usually the case with movies I think are horror films but turn out to be psychological thrillers. I noticed several plot holes, but I appreciated the attempt nonetheless.

Rating: C+

The Searchers (1956)

I'll never understand why people ooh and awe over the so called classics. Old movies are filled with two types of acting: over and bad. This western had both in spades. Add to that having to endure the so-called "night" scenes with noon day shadows and landscapes clearly shot in Arizona and Utah, even though everyone is referred to as a Texan, and you start to question if renting anything before 1980 is a good idea.

At two hours, this movie felt like three. Embarrassing stereotypes and racial slurs were rampant. I watched this because it kept showing up on people's favorites list. People are clearly stupid.

Rating: D

Welcome To Mooseport (2004)

Everybody Loves Raymond was cute, but like some early Tim Allen films, his small screen persona didn't translate well to the big screen.

Rating: D+

Into The Wild (2007)

A difficult film to review. Reminded me a bit of 127 Hours and the Herzog documentary Grizzly Man. It’s a very long film that takes the scenic route to reach its destination, much as did Chris McCandless, the man the film is based on. Acting was top notch. Hal Holbrook's performance was really touching. The Alaskan landscapes are beautiful. I can see what drew him there.

But I have to agree with some things I found online after watching the movie. It wasn’t very smart to head into the wilderness without proper training or preparation. An interesting story nonetheless.

Rating: C+

Prometheus (2012)

A very slick piece of sci-fi eye candy from director/producer Ridley Scott. Seamlessly blends creationism, aliens, and horror into an interesting package. I’ve read online that this is not a direct prequel to the Alien franchise, but rather a bridge point to future films that may be prequels, but more likely will exist independently inside the Alien universe.

Either way, it’s a terrific foundation for stories to come. I really liked the DAVID android and hope to see more of him in future installments. The rest of the cast did a swell job too. Looking forward to many of the questions raised in Prometheus being answered down the line.

Rating: B-

The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

Not your run of the mill horror film, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good. The premise is seriously absurd. It’s a big pill to swallow in order to make it to the who’s-who-of-nightmares wreaking havoc at the end. That was a pretty good payoff, however it doesn’t make up for the rest of the film.

Rating: C-

Safe (2012)

Classic action movie with lots of violence and slick production. Nothing to write home about, but it does the job.

Rating: C

Headhunters (Hodejegerne) (2011)

A dark Norwegian thriller that walks the line between creative and absurd. This is a Scandinavian film that I believe could be remade better than the original.

Rating: C-

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

I saw this at a Korean megaplex. Not a peep the entire film from the audience. If only it was like that in the States. Tons of action and booming sound. A good one to see on the big screen. I’ve long forgotten the intricate back story of the previous 3 films, but I had a general idea of how this latest edition fits in.

Renner has become the go-to action star of this decade. He certainly looked bulked up for the role. Story was rather clichéd, but the execution had a massive budget behind it, so it looked cooler than most.

Rating: C+

Planet of the Apes (2001)

One of the big disappointments of the year. There were so many possibilities for a better plot. So many creative ideas that they only touched on. The special effects, sound, costumes, etc were all great, but they just didn't use them to their best potential. Things could have been developed so much more.

The biggest letdown was the ending. I won't give it away, but not only did it not make sense, it was extremely anti-clamatic.

Rating: D+

Syrianna (2005)

An intense look into the ruthless world of oil. Although the story and characters can be a bit confusing at times, the film is very well made. Reminded me a lot of Traffic in style. Clooney is at the top of his game.

Rating: B-

Tropic Thunder (2008)

A comedy in the hands of Ben Stiller is never a typical comedy. There's always a dark, satirical quality to his jokes, which doesn't necessarily translate well to mainstream moviegoers. Like Grindhouse, Tropic Thunder features some hysterical fake movie trailers. There were plenty of really funny scenes, however I think many of the jokes will simply fly straight over the heads of the average popcorn eater. It's a twisted, thinking man's comedy.

Rating: B-

Driven (2001)

I'm not into Indy car racing or racing of any kind, but I enjoyed The Fast and the Furiuos, and I liked Driven. Gina Gershawn is hotter than ever. Skip the deleted scenes on the DVD... boring.

Rating: C

Casablanca (1942)

It takes a lot of mental fortitude for me to sit down and watch an old movie. I'm rarely impressed. But, I felt I had to see where all those moronic one liners came from, like "Here's lookin' at you kid", and "Play it again Sam".

Suffered through the black and white print with poor sound quality. Cringed at the shooting scene where the bullet somehow penetrated the white suit and body without so much as leaving a hole in the fabric, let alone a blood stain.It killed him dead though.

The story of this highly rated classic wasn't bad, and I was able to stay awake the entire time, so that's something. I still hope they all die horrible deaths from lung cancer, just to teach them a lesson for making me watch every actor on screen sucking on a cigarette like it was his will to live.

Rating: C-

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

A worthy follow-up to Twilight. This film strayed much further from reality than the original did, which left me feeling ungrounded. I thought the first film did a better job of balancing both worlds. Could be the change in director, or possibly the material in the second book. I wouldn't know—I didn't read them. Still, it was fun to watch.

 Rating: C

The Ring (2002)

More jumpy than terrifying, this was a well made 'scary' movie. They used similar techniques as The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project, in that it relied more on a fear of what wasn't there rather than throwing lots of gore and monsters in your face. Did a nice job of tying things up at the end.

Rating: C+

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Starts out a little kooky, but evens out once Snow White comes of age. Many creative characters and elements. The dwarves were particularly cool. Pretty good as far as fairytale adaptations go.

Rating: C+

Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004)

A historical German film about the final days of Hitler and the Nazis. Very well done. Adolf and his followers were a bunch of loonies. Kind of fun watching his dreams crumble to pieces all around him.

Rating: C+

Battleship (2012)

Terrible on all fronts—starboard, aft, etc. The plot suffered from as many holes as the destroyed battleships. The middling backstory and character development was awkward. The mini Friday Night Lights reunion was distracting. In fact, nearly every actor in the film comes from the small screen. I expected a lot more from Peter Berg, who used to be a competent director.

Rating: D-

The A-Team (2010)

Like the original TV show, it's understood the viewer must check reality at the door and go along for the ride. Absolutely absurd scenarios, but they look terrific. A lot of money was thrown at this film in post production. They did a good job of casting. Story wasn't bad. It's an entertaining piece of fluff. No more. No less.

Rating: C

Fast Food Nation (2006)

Picks up where Super Size Me left off and where Food Inc. continued, although not as good as either of those docs. Still, it makes you rethink your opinions of the fast food industry and immigration, the two main topics of the film. It was a bit dark, but I guess that's the point. It will leave you feeling depressed and second guessing that next trip to Mickey D's.

Rating: C

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

I liked the first one, so I checked this out. Mostly lame. The movie was more evil than scary. I'm not a big fan of evil.

Rating: D-

Next (2007)

When asked, most people wouldn't say they wanted the ability to see 2 minutes into the future as their superpower, but this popcorn flick makes it seem pretty cool. Cheesy, yes. But much better than I expected. The ending of this movie caught me by surprise. I was expecting another 20 minutes.

Rating: C-

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Thank you for finally making a decent kung fu movie without all the flowery imagery, main characters dying at the end, lame story lines, and artificial drama. Thank you for making a *funny* kung fu movie that still kicks serious ass--keeping things adequately violent and not cartoony. This movie is seriously messed up, but in a good way.

Rating: B-

Inside Man (2006)

Pretty intense, clever, and fun. Would have appreciated a better ending, but you can't win them all.

Rating: C+