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-

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Angry woman takes things to the extreme to reinforce the message that no means no. The dark humor and writing was more fun in the first half than the second. 

Rating: C

An Education (2009)

Smartly written, although a bit dry at times. I think I would have liked the story a little more if David hadn't been so randomly odd. Still, the characters were well developed and relatively consistent throughout the film. It's not a terribly exciting story, but not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Rating: C

Public Enemies (2009)

Heat: The Prequel. It's a typical Michael Mann drama, with a touch of overacting. My favorite characters were the Texas lawmen.

Rating: C

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

A worthy follow-up to the original. I like how it incorporated many real life financial scenarios into the plot. I guess that's the big reason Stone felt compelled to do a sequel. Solid performances and storytelling, but nothing that got me overly excited while watching.

Rating: C+

Drive (2011)

I think this would have worked much better as a cable TV show. It would have been cool to develop these characters further (rather than killing them all off) and offering up an unsatisfying ending. Because that’s what this movie felt like--a great pilot to a new show that wrapped things up too soon. I wanted more getaway jobs, more chase scenes, more romantic development of the two leads, and more Ryan Gosling kicking ass.

Rating: C+