Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)

 

I remember enjoying the vibe of this unique film from Jim Jarmusch. It features a funky mix of cultures and music. Certain oddities are endearing. 

Rating: C+

The Sixth Sense (1999)

It’s a different experience watching a second time, already knowing the twist and seeing how obvious it was in retrospect. I guess that’s how magic tricks work. Once the trick is revealed, you wonder how you didn’t figure it out before. 

Haley Joel Osmet and Donnie Wahlberg (as short as his scene was) acted the hell out of their roles. After such a serious origin, you wouldn’t expect Haley as an adult being so funny. 

Sixth Sense sparked many big twist/reveal movies, and for that it’s a classic. It also delivers on its central theme of facing your fears. 

Rating: B

Election (1999)

 

A reminder that bad decisions have consequences, but don’t necessarily ruin your life. I’d forgotten how sad some of these characters are. Worth a second viewing, but not as good as I remembered it. 

Rating: C+

Three Kings (1999)

 

David O. Russel delivers both an entertaining Hollywood movie and a message about the absurdity of war. War is about greed. Greed for land, power, and money, and everything that comes with having those things. The antidote is empathy, which is in short supply. The film delivers a somewhat hopeful message of how empathy can occasionally cut through that greed to do some good. 

Rating: B

Run Lola Run (1998)

 

I remember liking this film a lot more 25 years ago. Watching it again, I found myself annoyed at the editing. We get it, Lola runs!! The novelty at seeing three overlapping timelines isn’t enough to compensate for the lack of story development. 

Rating: C

Being John Malkovich (1999)

 

Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. Weirdness was guaranteed. I wish I could have been in the meeting when this was first pitched to Malkovich. What a bizarre and intriguing role to play. Loved the restaurant scene where he’s playing 100 different versions of himself. Truly a unique vision. 

Rating: B

The Life Of Chuck (2024)

I’m not sure what I just watched. An extended episode of The Twilight Zone? I'm confused by the timeline, because it seems the characters around Chuck didn't age. Those teachers were basically the same age as when he was a kid as when he was an adult--others too. 

And they didn't remember Chuck as a person when they crossed paths with him later. I'm assuming Act 3 all takes place in his mind while he's in a coma or some shit. It was frustratingly vague, even while the film itself was interesting. I’d hoped the third act would pull everything together. Instead the whole thing was an enigma dancing around smoke and mirrors. 

Rating: C

The Insider (1999)

 

Watching this in 2025 is a trip. Seems like 100 years have passed instead of 25. The pace of news is agonizingly slow as people send faxes, ship documents, consult The Yellow Pages, use pay phones, and read newspapers. Everything is outdated. 

Michael Mann’s style feels slow and clunky in this slow burner. It’s white collar legal stuff, so Mann relies on jump cut racoons and shadowy golfers to try and make it exciting. Doesn’t really work. 

Maybe the subject of nicotine and tobacco companies was a bigger deal back then, but the story seems insignificant in the face of the current tsunami of malfeasance and corruption washing over us on a daily basis. Stretched over 2 ½ hours, the film wasn’t very riveting. 

Rating: D+

Mad Props (2024)

 

A documentary for nerds interested in movie props, those who collect them, and those who make them. It was interesting to see these iconic pieces in people’s home collections, as well as the stories behind them. The film itself was very basic. 

Rating: C

40 Acres (2024)

 

A family farm defends itself from looters and killers in a post-apocalyptic world where resources are scarce. Sign me up! This isn’t Mad Max or a zombie flick. It’s a family drama set in a lawless future. Characters have depth. The audience is given a reason to care. The bad guys are scary. Action sequences are fantastic. A top 10 movie of the year. 

Rating: B

Heads Of State (2025)

 

Cartoonish in execution. The production value was plenty high, but they skimped on the script. Nothing feels believable, so the danger isn’t suspenseful. 

Rating: C-

Thunderbolts* (2025)

I dabble in Marvel shows from time to time to remind myself why I generally avoid them. They often start out with promise, like this one, before becoming a jumbled mess of superpowers and explosions. Thunderbolts at least had some interesting characters with bits of humor. 

Rating: C-

Ballerina (2025)

 

Another surface level John Wick universe shoot-em-up. Little in the way of creative storytelling. Typical action movie tropes. Non-sensical plot devices. They make these girls study ballet for years, but never provide rational justification. It’s not like the boys are becoming licensed plumbers as part of their training.

Time is only a concept. Wick appears to be just up the road; able to hop on a 30 minute train ride to the big finale when called upon, despite the lair being a super-secret remote village. It’s lazy writing that most action films subscribe to. 

How terrible is this assassin cult at their job of assassinating if one fly weight ballerina can dispatch their entire village in one evening? 

Rating: D+

The Ballad Of Wallis Island (2025)

 

A very unconventional musical, of sorts. It’s quirky, funny, sweet, and sad. I enjoyed the songs and characters. 

Rating: B-

28 Years Later (2025)

 

After being blown away watching 28 Days Later at Sundance, I was excited to see Danny Boyle taking the reins again for this third installment. I expected it to be a similar tone and style, but he made some odd choices this time around. Some I liked, some I didn’t. 

Plenty of tense scenes and gore to keep your heart rate up. The film is almost completely devoid of humor, except for an unexpected bit in the middle. I wish they would have leaned into that more. Not as good as I had hoped. 

Rating: C+

Deep Cover (2025)

 

Improv actors recruited to help ensnare low level crooks get in way over their heads, yet stay committed to their roles. As far-fetched as that sounds, the script is quite good. Nice combination of violence and humor. Reminiscent of the HBO series Barry. 

Rating: B-

Fight Or Flight (2024)

 

Everything about this script is preposterous. It makes Bullet Train look like a documentary. And if you get that reference, then like me, you tend to cut action movies a little slack in pursuit of quenching your bloodlust. Bust out your best slack cutting scissors for this one. It’s terrible. 

Rating: D-

Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)

 

Led Zeppelin fans will love this documentary. Not because it’s groundbreaking in cinematic style or anything. But because it’s the origin story for one of the greatest rock bands of all time. 

Hearing how they came together, created their music, and the journey along the way, was magical. I appreciated that they aired performances of songs in their entirety. Something music docs rarely do. Narration is almost entirely comprised of interviews with the four members. It’s a bare bones doc filled with incredible content. 

Rating: C+

Predator: Killer Of Killers (2025)

 

The latest in the Predator franchise. I didn’t realize it was an animated movie until I pressed play. I find it difficult to get fully engaged in a cartoon. The story and action were fine, but it lacked the suspense that comes from a live action feature. 

Rating: C

The Man From Nowhere (Ajeossi) (2010)

 

A lot of similarly looking Korean dudes are thrown at you right from the start. It’s hard to keep everyone straight, since there’s not much character development beyond the main protagonist. Plenty of gruesome fight scenes throughout. Acting and dialogue took a backseat. 

Rating: C

The Accountant 2 (2025)

 

The original film made my Top 10 list for that year. This sequel suffered from muddled storylines bookended by adequate action sequences. 

Rating: C

Friendship (2024)

 

Tim being Tim. The film plays more like a bunch of interconnected comedy skits rather than a traditional feature. If you haven’t seen Tim’s previous stuff, you might be left wondering what the F you are watching. Despite the weirdness of it all, I laughed a lot. Some scenes are hilarious, but you would be hard pressed to explain why. 

Rating: C+

The Farewell (2019)

 

Character-heavy Chinese drama about a family who come together to celebrate their mother/grandmother before she passes. However, the grandmother doesn’t know she’s dying because Chinese culture dictates they don’t tell her. It’s bitter sweet. 

Rating: C+

Black Bag (2025)

 

British espionage with a lot of dialogue. It’s fine. Not exciting enough. 

Rating: C

A Complete Unknown (2024)

 

I’ve never been a fan of Bob Dylan’s music. His voice annoyed me. It’s only been in recent years that my ears have been worn down enough to appreciate his sound. Timothée Chalamet’s renditions of Dylan’s music is impressive. There were a lot of other talented musicians too. It’s the live performances that elevate the film. 

Rating: B-

Cold In July (2014)

 

There was never a real explanation as to why this benign family man who works at a framing shop decides to join a vigilante death squad. And while that sounds like a promising premise for a movie, Cold In July was a let down. Half the film was folks driving around slowly in cars. 

Rating: D

Top 10 Films of 2023

 

Rank	Title	Year	Country	Grade
1	The Promised Land (Bastarden)	2023	Denmark	B+
2	Mayhem! (Farang)	2023	France	B
3	Flora And Son	2023	Ireland	B
4	The Creator	2023	US	B
5	The Holdovers	2023	US	B-
6	American Fiction	2023	US	B-
7	Mountain Queen: The Summits Of Lhakpa Sherpa	2023	US	B-
8	In The Land Of Saints And Sinners	2023	Ireland	C+
9	Kill	2023	India	C+
10	Plane	2023	US	C+

The Night Comes For Us (2018)

 

Indonesian action flicks rarely skimp on fight scenes and creative kills. This is no exception. Squeamish viewers need not apply. But all the mayhem was overcompensating for the lack of a cohesive story arc. Motivations made no sense. Fight scenes dragged on too long. Main characters endured superhuman damage that never seemed to impact their ability to brawl. 

Rating: D+

The Gray Man (2022)

 

Terrible title. Sounds like a sad senior sitting alone at your local Denny’s. The Russo Brothers gave Michael Bay a run for his money with a hefty portion of explosive action sequences, with only a light dollop of story development. 

Was it entertaining? Sure. Did it make a whole lot of sense? No. Characters magically teleport from place to place. They get sliced and diced, but carry on like it was a small scratch. Various factions in the C.I.A. kill one another (and other law enforcement) without the slightest hesitancy. 

This thriller is not a deep thinker, but it packs a punch. 

Rating: C

Sinners (2025)

 

I enjoyed the first half, discovering the character layers of the twin brothers. Music was used to great effect in the film as well. The vampire part felt disconnected from the first half. This would have been a much better film if it were simply the Klan versus the twin brothers and their crew. No vampires. 

Rating: C

The Menu (2022)

 

Let’s hope my obsession with Top Chef never lands me at the likes of a closing night like the one featured in this film. Implausibly disturbing. Will make you crave a cheeseburger. 

Rating: C

Novocaine (2025)

 

Gimmicky and way over-the-top. It went from implausible to outright silly. The bodily harm became exhausting. He may not feel pain, but finishing this movie was a real one. 

Rating: D+

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2022)

 

Not really a mockumentary, animation, or a comedy. It’s something I watched that made me go “hmm” that I found mildly interesting. Apparently in the Marcel universe, tiny household items are sentient and living all around us, and nobody gets freaked out by it. 

Rating: D+

Mickey 17 (2025)

 

I had high hopes going into this one. The concept, cast, director, and production all pointed toward a hit. But the execution was murky. The story never felt authentic, wavering somewhere between a comedy, sci-fi, and action movie, but not really delivering on any of those. It was watchable, but not exciting or very interesting. Missed potential. 

Rating: C-

Nothing Compares (2022)

 

A bit sad watching this documentary knowing that Sinead O’Connor passed away a year after its release. The filmmaking style didn’t really appeal to me, but as a big fan of her music, the content did. I loved seeing her perform live back in 1997. 

Rating: C+

The Fabelmans (2022)

 

A semi-autobiographical story of Steven Spielberg’s life, directed by the man himself. My thoughts kept drifting to my two nephews who are aspiring filmmakers themselves. I enjoyed seeing the process of early movie making, with editing that was so labor intensive. The mini-films within the film were fun. The long runtime allows for depth of characters that is lacking in most movies today. 

Rating: B-

Emily The Criminal (2022)

 

Aubrey Plaza does a fine job, but the script is dreary. Desperate people doing desperate, illegal things. There are very few light moments to hold off the despair. 

Rating: C-

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

 

An epic telling of the Pinocchio fairytale that isn’t watered down for kids. The animation is excellent. An A list of voice actors. Nice bits of humor. 

Rating: B-

Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) (2018)

A patchwork family of hustlers and lost souls do what it takes to get by in this bittersweet Japanese film. The acting was really good, especially by the kids. 

Rating: C+

The Woman King (2022)

 

Female African warriors battle to protect their kingdom from another tribe and slavers. The storytelling felt simple and shallow. It would have worked better as a series. 

Rating: C

Rare Exports (2010)

I was beguiled by the premise and misleading reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. This film might appeal to a small Finnish audience, but it will bore nearly anyone else. Not much happens. It’s not scary, funny, or violent enough. The story never comes together. 

Rating: D