Solaris (2002)

I had to see this one since it was directed by Steven Soderbergh. Strange story and concept, which I was happy to go along with, but there were far too many loose ends. The movie took its sweet time getting to the end, which was left up to the interpretation of the viewer. I hate that. I prefer to see what the writer and director have to say. Left me feeling cheated and confused.

Rating: D

Salvador (1986)

An early Olive Stone film. James Woods, grittier than ever, plays a drunken journalist covering the mayhem in El Salvador around the Reagan era. Oliver puts his personal political agenda all over the film, as usual, but don't be surprised if you end up siding with him when it's over.

It's a very aggressive film, not holding back on anything. The violence is in your face, the gore factor is high. Mass open grave sites, bullets to the head, nuns being raped, torture, and mutilation. Not the kind of flick you want to show at a party. (at least not one I want to be invited to) If you can deal with all that, there's a good movie underneath it all.

Rating: C+

Predator (1987)

I watched this for my 3rd time I think, this time on Blu-Ray. I guess they did as much as they could with the picture quality, as it wasn't the usual crisp Blu-Ray image.

The movie itself holds up fairly well over time. You can't help but chuckle at Arnold's classic 2 or 3 word catchphrases. Plus, it's the only movie featuring two US governors as action heroes.

Rating: C+

A Day Without A Mexican (2004)

The premise of this movie sounded both funny and original, so I gave it a shot. What a huge disappointment. Everything about this film screams B movie: the acting, direction, editing, story, etc. It was very poorly made. But worse than that, they took a funny concept and completely ruined it. Everything they intended to be funny--wasn't.

While some of the music in the film was catchy, that doesn't mean I need to hear the entire song while an endless montage of clips goes by that adds nothing to the film. Save yourself some time and hire a couple Mexicans to watch this film so you don't have to. You'll thank me later.

Rating: F