A Real Pain (2024)

I pulled the plug on this one mid way through. Culkin’s character was so grating and obnoxious, I simply couldn’t take it anymore. Perhaps there’s a point to it all at the end of the film that I wasn’t willing to wait around for. Not enough interesting stuff was happening to make me care. 

Rating: D-

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

Even at four hours long, it still feels like massive amounts of backstory and plot development went missing. The film jumps from one scene to the next, glossing over plot holes and reason. It seems every devoted fanboy and girl has shut their collective brains off in fealty to Marvel, which continues to reward their devotion with one nonsensical film after the another. 

Rating: D+

Vivarium (2019)

Reminiscent of Cube, S.F.W., and maybe Saw, in that the main characters are trapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a mystery they can’t escape.

As a viewer, it’s fun watching something weird and different, but these types of films often have trouble coming to a satisfying end. Twas the case with Vivarium.

Rating: C

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

While the first was fresh, fun, and original, the sequel went back to the well too many times. Thank goodness for the new character named Madison adding some much needed laughs. 

Rating: C

The Village (2004)

M. Night brings together a fantastic group of actors for one of his most original films to date. Suspenseful and surprising. If only all of his films were this good.

Rating: B

Now You See Me (2013)

Preposterous, but fun. Magicians behaving like borderline superheroes in a mix of The Italian Job and Tomb Raider.

Rating: C

Adventureland (2009)

The critics made this film sound smarter than it really was. Good, but not great.

Rating: C+

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

I had no intention of seeing this since the entire concept seemed stupid. Superman is invincible. Batman is some dude in a suit. Pretty obvious how this would play out. However, I wanted to see Suicide Squad and discovered it was the third in a series, so I watched Man Of Steel and now this one.

The opening of BvS addressed one of my chief complaints about Man Of Steel and superhero movies in general—they always seem to destroy more stuff and kill more innocent people than if they’d just let the bad guy do his thing. So I liked that this was Bruce’s motivation for wanting to take out Superman.

My expectations for this film were very low. I gave Man Of Steel a ‘C’ and I predicted this would be worse. It wasn’t. BvS had more flair. The plot was more interesting. Sure, it came down to a big fight between the two costumed men at the end, but I guess that’s a requirement of the genre.

I watched the 3 hour extended version, which still felt like a lot had been edited out. I wasn’t bored and felt entertained most of the time. No small feat.

Rating: C+

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Far more ridiculous than the original. The plot is a disaster. They treat magic like a superpower that defies all logic and reality. This sequel was unnecessary.

Rating: D

American Ultra (2015)

I love movies like this. Average flunker turns super agent. It’s a shame the TV show Chuck couldn’t have been more like this—less cheese, more ass kicking. There’s nothing deep about American Ultra, but it was fun to watch.

Rating: C+

Zombieland (2009)

A lighthearted, ultra-violent, road comedy, that also happens to be a zombie flick. Lots of funny, dark humor. There's a nod to Scream, with the rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse. While there's not much meat to the story, simply watching a few days in the life of some zombie survivors is entertainment enough.

Rating: B

Roger Dodger (2002)

A ladies man uncle takes his 16 year old nephew under his wing for a night in New York with the intent of teaching him the ways of bedding a lady. Lots of funny, content heavy dialogue back and forth. There are some underlying themese at play, and although it's not a perfect film, it did impress me.

Rating: C+

The Social Network (2010)

Impressive how they took a seemingly boring subject and weaved a compelling drama out of it. That's David Fincher for you. Surprisingly funny throughout too.

Rating: B

30 Minutes or Less (2011)

Right up Pineapple Expresses' alley. Bumbling fools committing crimes, saying funny crap, and blowing stuff up. Terrific cast of funny guys. Nice to see Nick Swarsdon able to escape Adam Sandler’s unfunny clutches long enough to star in a movie that doesn’t totally suck. Aziz kills it as usual. Danny McBride is hilarious in anything he does. Order a pizza and enjoy this rental.

Rating: C+

Holy Rollers (2010)

Hasidic Jew drug mules in a movie based on a true story. One of those topics I’m not very familiar with, so had to check out. Interesting, but not as compelling or deep as I would have liked.

Rating: C

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

I can appreciate what this movie was trying to do, but in the end, I really didn't want it done. It's one of those indie films that likes to shock it's audience by engaging minors in adult situations with plenty of harsh language. There are some good scenes here and there, but it's mostly depressing.

Rating: C-