In The Valley Of Elah (2007)

A compelling story told very well. Tommy Lee just gets better with age. Prepare to have your opinions challenged. 

 Rating: C+

House Of Sand And Fog (2003)

Two outstanding performances by Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley. Both Oscar worthy and both contained in a painfully depressing movie. Hollywood screws us like that all the time. It's a rarity to enjoy such fine acting in a light comedy. Maybe that's why crap like White Chick makes money while The House of Sand And Fog is seen by few.

Rating: C+

The Host (2013)

An alien invasion as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl, who appears to have written the script as well. The “romance” was forced. Both of them. There were countless plot holes and unexplained scenes.

For example: There is only one top secret entrance into the caves that has never been discovered by someone who wasn’t first shown, and yet two trucks are shown driving out of there not 5 minutes later. Seems like it would be pretty easy to find the entrance by following the road to the giant garage door. I could go on and on.

The only way they could have saved the film is if they had been forced to stick Wanda into a chubby middle aged dude in order to save her life, instead of the young nubile hottie that was so miraculously available. Her new beau would have had to choose between dumping her on the spot or spending the rest of his life trying to convince himself, and others, that he wasn’t gay. Roll credits.

Rating: D-

Wild America (1997)

The premise was ok; three brothers head out across the US to film wildlife. Too bad they detoured into schmaltzy dialogue and cheese filled scenes. 

Rating: D-

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

A solid legal drama/thriller. Not sure if they are going to continue making films based on the book series, but if they do, they’ve established some solid characters to build from. Fun seeing Macy with his “Shameless” hair and Cranston with a bit more than he sports on “Breaking Bad”.

Rating: C+