The One (2001)

The plot was a stretch, but a good stretch. Jet Li was in fine form. Solid special effects for the time.

Rating: C+

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-

Orion And The Dark (2024)

With Charlie Kauffman calling the shots, I kind of hoped it would be weirder. Some cute moments and themes, but mostly straightforward with a bit of cheese. 

Rating: C-

Gunpowder MIlkshake (2021)

 

With a title like that, my expectations were already low, which turned out to be prophetic on my part. There are no genuine interactions in the film--just highly dramatized scenes straight from your least favorite movie clichés. 

Part of the problem is that the city appears to be solely populated by The Firm and other individuals tied to organized crime. Artificial characters inside an artificial city spewing artificial lines that will have you groaning repeatedly. 

Rating: F

Righteous Kill (2008)

Dark and moody. Far too stylized to be believable. Just a long buildup to the inevitable twist ending. Unsatisfying and over acted.

Rating: D-

San Andreas (2015)

Complete scientific lunacy paired with a nonsensical script. What can I say, I’m a sucker for disaster movies. This wasn’t a good one.

Rating: D

Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)

Yeah, I watched it. I'm a loyal Robert Rodriguez fan, what can I say. Most of the film is juvenile, as expected, but there are moments that were entertaining.

Rating: C-

The Lookout (2007)

A mostly overlooked film that deserves to be seen. Characters are given time to develop, and the story is engaging. A nice effort overall.

Rating: B-

Spy Kids (2001)

Watched this with my nieces. I'm a big Robert Rodriguez fan, so I figured it couldn't be all bad. I have to admit, he pulled off a pretty decent family action film.

Rating: C+

American Gangster (2007)

Solid film all around. Packed with top of the line actors. Plus you have Ridley behind the camera, so everyone looks great. The big budget enables a very authentic setting and art direction. Not one of my favorite mob/gangster movies, but a good one.

Rating: C+

Sucker Punch (2011)

As talented as Zach Snyder is at making things look on screen, without a cohesive script, it’s simply unrewarding eye candy. I love hot chicks kicking ass as much as the next guy—probably more—but I need characters and a substantial story to go with it. I need to care. Sucker Punch is too much fantasy, too little reality. I’ll rewatch 300 and try to forget this one. It shouldn’t be very hard.

Rating: F+

Watchmen (2009)

I wasn't sure what kind of movie to expect going in, and now, having seen it, I'm not quite sure what kind of movie I saw. I thought of "Sin City", but in full color, including the requisite Bloody Red. However, Watchmen aspires to be much more than Sin City. It's a thinking man's movie in addition to being a "bones popping out of skin" man's movie. There are plenty of shout-outs to Snyder's previous film "300" as well.

I liked the back and forth storytelling style we've grown accustomed to from shows such as LOST. There's a lot happening onscreen, but I never felt confused. Zack Snyder's signature touch is transfused in the celluloid. Characters are rich and obscene. Long dramatic stretches will abruptly be interrupted with extreme bouts of violence. The kind of brutality that is so over-the-top that it makes you giggle with immoral delight.

Visually, it's a great film, but conceptually, the story is not as compelling as it would like to be.

Rating: B

Faster (2010)

It’s been ages since I saw Billy Bob in a role where he wasn’t playing a greasy deadbeat. I guess he’s through with acting. Faster sets the bar really low for revenge flicks. The barely there plot is an afterthought. The Rock is a one-act set piece that can be adequate given the right material. He didn’t shine in Faster.

Rating: D+