Encanto (2021)

I enjoyed this a little more because of the terrific theater sound. Strange Colombian tale about a magic house that gives out special powers to its occupants. 

Rating: C

Raya And The Last Dragon (2021)

 

Goofy dragons with special powers spend their lives helping the citizens of a Disney fantasy world be kind to one another. It’s not as bad as it sounds. 

Rating: C

Zootopia (2016)

Creative, cute, and clever. Seems geared more toward adults, but kids may like all the furry animals, even if they have no idea what’s going on.

Rating: C+

Aladdin (2019)

Only survived 10 minutes and two schmaltzy songs before I’d had enough. Found it more and more grating by the second and called it quits.

Rating: F

Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018)

Creative and fun when it’s being creative and fun. More overbearing than the first in parts. The Disney princesses were a nice touch.

Rating: C

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Turns out you can’t just put all the superhero movies in a blender and produce a delicious smoothie. Very messy.

Rating: C-

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006)

Very entertaining for adults as well as kids. I laughed quite a bit, especially in any scene with Scrat. He has a must see bonus feature all of his own that is hilarious.

Rating: C+

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

It was nice to pull away from the main Star Wars narrative for a mostly stand-alone film that didn’t require a college level course to keep track of all the characters and space lingo. Sure, much of the acting and dialogue were wooden, as you’d expect in a Lucasfilm production, but the theater experience was still entertaining.

Rating: C

Welcome To Me (2014)

At its best when going completely off the rails with the talk show within the movie. Interesting concept that had some decent laughs as well. I love when Joan Cusack plays deadpan. She’s great. 

Rating: C

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Like most superhero movies, the backstory and character development of the first half was much more enjoyable than the flash and bang of the second half. In the end, it’s basically a kid friendly Iron Man.

Rating: C

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

I, Robot (2004)

I, Robot was part Matrix, part Men in Black, and part A.I. Alex Proyas, who directed the cult classic The Crow, did a decent job with the material he was given. Better than I thought it was going to be.

Rating: C+

Knocked Up (2007)

Refreshingly inappropriate and hysterically funny. Humor on every level, but most of it resides below the waistline.

Rating: B

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

I recently watched this for a second time. Not nearly as funny as I remember it being. Most of the jokes felt stale and relied upon the lowest common denominator to deliver meager laughs. Classic “skit stretched into a feature length” film.

Rating: C-

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

A predictable MTV plot, but still a good time.

Rating: C+

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

A fun homage to Tron and old school video games in general. Only the hardiest nerds will catch all the references. I could have done without that terrible Rhianna song midway through, but other than that, it was lighthearted fun.

Rating: C+

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

Having enjoyed their various exploits on the small screen, it’s a comedic delight to watch Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk together in a feature length film. The script is arguably ridiculous—purposely so. It riffs on myriads of horror flicks that have gone before it. What’s great is the goofy banter between Tucker and Dale as they unknowingly stumble into the mistaken identities of two psychopathic killers. Not the greatest ending, but overall it was a fun time.

Rating: C

3:10 To Yuma (2007)

The acting is what really stands out in this Western. You may not agree with the choices made by the characters, most of which appear to be bad ones, but you can tell they believe in what they are doing.

Rating: B-

Serenity (2005)

The movie is great as a stand-alone feature, but if you've seen the series on TV or DVD, it's even better. All the TV characters are there, albeit taller on the big screen. As far as I can tell, the movie jumped around the TV series timeline, but also went far ahead to where the show was slowly taking us. It gave fans the closure that we so rarely get from our favorite TV shows that get prematurely canceled.

Rating: B-