The River Wild (1994)

 

I watched this in the theater and later on DVD. The rafting shots are authentic and believable. Acting is solid. Kevin Bacon plays a complex bad guy, as he has so many times in his career. 

Rating: C+

Coco (2017)

A unique story with vivid animation and songs. I like that they sprinkled Spanish words into the dialogue. Held the attention of the adults and kids I watched with.

Rating: C

Thumbsucker (2005)

A decent indie centered around a teenage thumbsucker and his attempts to find his way in life. Some witty parts and characters, but overall forgettable.

I see potential in the director. His next film will be much better. On a side note, the soundtrack is fantastic, especially the Elliott Smith songs. Not enough to up my rating, but worth noting nonetheless.

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

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

A mostly deflated version of the original, like most sequels that are churned out to make money.

Rating: D+

Snitch (2013)

There is no way any significant portion of this film could be “inspired by real events”. The way things unraveled, there is only one believable ending: everyone near and dear to this family gets slaughtered by the cartel as payback. Witness protection you say? Are they going to put his entire extended family into witsec? It’s a bit of dramatized fun, but nobody’s buying it.

Rating: C

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009)

Creative and fun. Entertaining for kids with plenty of grown up humor for adults. Sounds simple enough, except for the dumpster full of animated duds that have bombed in dramatic fashion. Well done.

Rating: C+

Traffic (2000)

This was an interesting portrayal of drug culture in today's world. The film had a real gritty, realistic mood to it, and the various characters slowly blend together into a complete story. The best thing about the picture was the solid cast of actors.

Rating: B

The Woodsman (2004)

Kevin Bacon is fantastic in this. The story is pretty dark, along the lines of "Storytelling", for those who saw it. I liked the fact that the filmmakers took a major leap in tackling material that normally doesn't make it to the screen. It was handled very well.

Rating: B-