F1: The Movie (2025)

 

A peek into the world of Formula One with Brad Pitt at the helm. A typical redemption story told through high stakes, high speed racing. It’s a sport I’ll never be into, but the fast action held my attention. 

Rating: C+

Dune: Part Two (2024)

It was fine. I had to watch some recap videos to remember what happened three years ago in the first one. The sequel doubled down on the holy prophecies and sand worms.

How does one board their entire clan on one of those things anyway? How do you get off? How do you steer them? How do you stop the worm from going underground? Don’t bother asking these questions. The movie has no answers. It’s fine. 

Rating: C

Dune (2021)

 

I thought they did a pretty good job developing the story without confusing the audience. The desert planet was full of creative surprises. Love those dragonfly ships. At two and a half hours, I felt some editing was in order. Plenty of extended shots with dramatic music playing that could have been whittled down. But I’m definitely in for the next installment. 

Rating: C+

Collateral (2004)

Cool, dark thriller by Michael Mann. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx are at their best. The script is polished and the violence nicely paced. This film could have been an unbelievable mess in someone else's hands.

Rating: B-

No Country For Old Men (2007)

The Coen Brothers deliver a disjointed film that could have been great. The period and set location are spot on. Performances are great, from the lead characters, all the way down to the one-scene extras. Some of my favorite lines were delivered from gas station and hotel attendants.

The film moves at a disturbing pace, with flashes of violence coming at you in regular intervals. My complaint is that things started to get fuzzy the last quarter of the film. Scenes which were implied should have been shown, and others were simply ignored. It was as if the director opted to rip several chapters at random from the book and pretend as if everything was ok. It wasn't.


This, combined with a lackluster ending—chalk full of loose ends—will leave the viewer feeling robbed of a satisfying movie experience. Don't tease us with greatness and then under deliver.

Rating: C+

Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall opens with a ridiculous chase scene between Bond and an unknown bad guy. At this point in the film, I have zero emotional investment, so my eyes are glazing over as motorcycles hop across rooftops like it’s the interstate.

This is the kind of chase scene that takes months to shoot, requires dozens of stuntmen, and an IQ lower than 7 to believe any of it is possible off screen. A good action film needs to be realistic enough so that I can at least give them the benefit of the doubt that what they are showing me is conceivable in real life. Otherwise, it’s pure fantasy and I could care less which characters live or die.

Frankly, I expected more from a Sam Mendes helmed Bond movie than rehashed plots and generic gun-play.

Rating: C-

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Woody Allen? Seriously? You're telling me Woody Allen directed this? But it's shot in Spain, not New York. No, really, Woody Allen? To say I had given up on his ability to create any more worthwhile films would be an understatement. I've been disappointed far too many times in the last 10+ years. So you can believe me when I say I was gravely suspicious of all the positive press surrounding his latest. At long last, old Woody delivers.

The film is gorgeous—a visual love poem to the city of Barcelona and the surrounding area. I've walked the steps of that ancient city myself and have a hard time pulling up memories that are more pretty to look at than many scenes in VCB.

The cast is gorgeous as well. Acting? Come on. Perfect. Story is ok—a bit convoluted. I'm not thrilled with the unfulfilling end either, but overall, a great effort.

Rating: B-