Ladder 49 (2004)

 

It's no Backdraft. A series of flashbacks tell the story of a fireman who's caught in a roaring fire. Overly dramatic and anti-climatic. 

Rating: D+

Fracture (2007)

 

A feature film length episode of CSI or The Practice. A good episode.

Rating: C+

Drive Angry (2011)

Aimless driving and violence with Saturday Night Live worthy utterances from Nic Cage in between. His hair has reached new heights in ridiculousness.

Rating: D

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

One thing the Twilight series has done right is hiring quality indie directors to helm their films. Having seen David Slade's movie Hard Candy, I was expecting something a little more edgy. I didn't see it. Everyone's been saying this was the best of the series. I beg to differ. I feel the first one was the best, followed by the second, and you guessed it—the latest is my least favorite.

The first half of the film is bogged down in "heavy" teenage drama played out through boring monologues. There's a lot of unromantic kissing. I simply don't feel the heat between Bella and Edward. It feels forced and creepy. Maybe it's all the white clown makeup the vampires wear.

What it really comes down to is this: Any single episode of True Blood is generally more entertaining than these films.

Rating: C-

Twilight (2008)

I was glad I was able to see this film not having read the book, heard about plot points, or watched any of the previews. I enjoyed it for what it was, not for how faithful the book adaptation was or wasn't.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Acting was solid, story pacing was nice, the cinematography was gorgeous, and the action wasn't bad. I was expecting things to be much more watered down.

What interested me the most was the excellent direction. The name Catherine Hardwicke didn't ring any bells. Sometimes these kinds of films are given to unproven first time directors who've previously been making music videos or commercials. Had I known she directed the controversial film "Thirteen" I saw at Sundance back in 2003, I wouldn't have been worried at all.

Rating: C+

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)

Something was off from the very start. The word cartoony comes to mind. The bizarre choice to go with a CGI baby didn’t help matters. What were they thinking? The entire thing felt like the cheesy third X-Men film. Sure, there were a lot of beheadings, but they looked ridiculously fake. Definitely the worst of the series.

Rating: D+

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)

How have I seen 4 of these, and in the theater no less! I didn’t even read the books. I kind of like not knowing what’s going to happen, unlike everyone else in the theater. I’m invested in the characters and will see this series through to the end.

This installment was slower than the others and had a lot of girly romance. No surprise that it’s not one of my favorites. Still enjoyable to watch, and it sets thing up for an interesting finale. Not sure how I feel about imprinting on a baby.

Rating: C

Red Riding Hood (2011)

The first 30-40 minutes were pretty bad all around. The writing felt trite and the delivery wasn’t much better. The rest of the film was helped by the increased action. I thought they did a decent job of keeping the viewer guessing about who the wolf was. Still, you can probably skip this one.

Rating: C-