Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

A fun, action-packed monster car-fest that keeps the gas pedal to the floor. No deep backstories here. Just explosions, Frankenstein rigs, and vehicular manslaughter.

Rating: C+

Whip It (2009)

A bit more Hollywood than I would have liked. I was hoping for something a bit grittier, but more polished than the documentary "Hell on Wheels". Still, who can resist the girlish charm of Ellen Page? I also have a soft spot (or is it a hard spot?) for cool chicks with tattoos. That made this a must-see for me.

Rating: C

Water For Elephants (2011)

Adultery, animal cruelty, prohibition, train murders. What’s not to love? At least the film does a good job of showing why the circus is an abomination.

Rating: C-

The Giver (2014)

An interesting interpretation of the book. The film brings up a lot of deep, philosophical questions that are worth thinking about from time to time. I’d still recommend reading the book, which is very short.

Rating: C+

The Great Raid (2005)

A slow moving war movie that doesn't pick up until the actual raid in the title. The characters fall flat, the storytelling is mostly one-sided, and the tone is very depressing. Skip it.

Rated: D

21 (2008)

The term "loosely based on the novel" immediately comes to mind. Sometimes that's not a bad thing. Here it spells implausibility. Events feel very amped up in order to deliver a Hollywood type film that contains enough eye-catching scenes to fill a movie trailer. For that reason you will be entertained, but left feeling a bit empty. Not unlike the way you feel when leaving Vegas.

Rating: C

All Is Lost (2013)

Robert Redford lost at sea—a mostly silent film. Realistic survival story if you have a few hours to kill and aren’t feeling sleepy.

Rating: C

Insomnia (2002)

It's amazing how good Robin Williams is in serious roles, and how reliably sucky he is when doing comedies. Scenery was beautiful. Good thriller.

Rating: C+

Easy Money (Snabba Cash) (2010)

The first film in a Swedish crime trilogy. Difficult to follow because of the choppy editing at the beginning. Could have been something special with a better director. Acting was spot on though.

Rating: C

Furious 7 (2015)

See my reviews for the last 3 or 4 films in this ridiculous franchise.

Rating: D

Death At A Funeral (2007)

I don't think it turned out as funny as they thought it would during the shoot, but I can't deny laughing quite a bit during some parts. There's no way all these disastrous events could ever happen at one funeral, but maybe that's the fun of watching it on screen.

Rating: C

A Man Apart (2003)

All in all it was a pretty good police drama.

Rating: C

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

A time traveling superhero hodgepodge. All over the place, but entertaining enough.

Rating: C

The Angel’s Share (2012)

Definitely needed the subtitles on for this Scottish film. Delinquents try to make something of themselves through the ancient art of whiskey distillery. Or something like that. over-the-top swearing became distracting. At least there was a happy ending.

Rating: C

Fearless (Huo Yuanjia) (2006)

Jet Li's goodbye to kung fu is a fine drama in addition to being an ass kicking exhibition. After so many of these films, you think you've seen it all, but then Jet comes along and shows off some new tricks.


Rating: C+

Jurassic World (2015)

I’ve enjoyed all the popcorn flicks in this series. They are complete escapism, especially when watched on the big screen. The story is always the same, but you watch for the incredible dinosaur action and booming sound.

Rating: C

Brubaker (1980)

Robert Redford tries to reform his prison from the inside out. Some nice performances and drama. Would have like to see a few more people get their comeuppance in the end though.

Rating: B-

TT3D: Closer To The Edge (2011)

Documentary about the TT races on the Isle of Mann. This was a sport I knew very little about. Quite interesting. Didn’t realize how dangerous it is. Enjoyed following some of the racers and getting a taste of what it might be like to be on a bike going that fast.

Rating: C+

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Add this to the list of films that inspire me to get off my butt and start collecting more stamps in my passport.

Rating: C+

Two For The Money (2005)

I kept waiting for the movie to get exciting, but the money shot never came.


Rating: C

Pirate Radio (2009)

I imagine this was an extremely loose interpretation of events that actually transpired off the coast of England in 1963. I certainly wouldn't jump on the bandwagon for calling this the British "Pump Up The Volume". It's amusing with a terribly cheese ball ending.

Rating: C

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Doug Liman pulls of a rare time shifting movie that’s both entertaining and mostly coherent. It’s Groundhog’s Day meets District 13. Packed with plenty of action, humor, and solid acting. I quite enjoyed Cruz’s transformation. One of the best action films of the year.

Rating: B+

Bubble Boy (2001)

A lot of fun. Really funny and one of those road movies that you somehow get sucked into, even if the premise is bad, like Joe Dirt. 

Rating: C+

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

After a disappointing and cartoony Spider-Man debut, I didn't expect Spider-Man 2 to turn out any better. I was wrong. The sequel was superior in so many ways.

The villain here is much more credible and somewhat reality based. There's no glossy, plastic suit to draw attention away from the action. I thought the mechanical arms would turn out novelty-like, ala Inspector Gadget, but instead they looked fantastic.

In addition to some really cool action and fight scenes, there was plenty of character and story depth that I felt was lacking in the first.

The final battle between the bad guy and Spider-Man was not formulaic. Spider-Man was not beaten to a bloody pulp, only to come back and finish off the villain. They changed things up a bit. Overall pretty entertaining.

Rating: C+

Run All Night (2015)

It’s a movie I’ve seen before under many different names, but I keep watching this same plotline because I crave action movies. This version was pretty good.

Rating: C

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Whatever magic the first film managed to cull from the fabulous source text was all but used up by the time the second film moved into production. The kids are whisked away to what appears to be the Caribbean, where they fumble around with talking animals—straight off the set of Dr. Doolittle. The director was going for a Lord of the Rings feel, but fell way short. I'm done with this franchise.

Rating: D-

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

What was cute, funny, creative, and original in the first Potter film, only comes off flat, disjointed, stale, and regurgitated in the second. Much to my regret, the red headed step-child is back, dumbing down each scene with inane comments and a faulty rod.

The "Oh, I'm so VERY evil" slicked back, blonde haired, Nazi mini-wizard plays his one note sneer throughout the entire film. All the special-ed Krippendorf pals are still tripping over themselves to kiss Harry's magical ass. And the featured evil creature looks like a retooled prop taken from the set of Tremors.

Rating: D-