Nobody 2 (2025)

 

Not as fun as Nobody 1. 

Rating: C

American Fiction (2023)

A clever twist on African American stereotyping in film, but also a story of a typically dysfunctional family coming together in their own way. It doesn’t feel like a comedy, but I laughed out loud a lot. Smartly written and well acted. 

Rating: B-

Peppermint (2018)

A below average female revenge flick with a weak ending. 

Rating: C-

Bumblebee (2018)

The reviews on this were quite complementary, which tricked me into seeing it. Maybe this Transformers offshoot had a bit more storytelling than the rest of the franchise, but that didn’t make it any more watchable. The acting wasn’t great. The plot was Zzzzz. Dialogue was cheeseball. Action was ridiculous and trite. Best thing going for it was the soundtrack.

Rating: D-

Fast & Furious (2009)

Like a moth to the flame, I return to this franchise knowing I'm going to fry my brain. The original cast is back together for some car chases and explosions. Terrible plot filled with holes. Dialogue sucked. Acting was mediocre at best. What did I expect?

Rating: D-

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Third in the Cloverfield franchise and the dumbest of the bunch. Reminded me of Event Horizon, where nothing makes sense--just a mishmash of confusing sequences that somewhat resemble a story. Doesn’t work as a standalone film or as a necessary installment in the series.

Rating: D-

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

On par with the other Kong movies I’ve seen. Entertaining and flashy, but not groundbreaking cinema.

Rating: C

Steve Jobs (2015)

Not the Steve Jobs film I thought I’d be seeing. It was almost a theatrical play, mainly taking place at product launches, revolving around a few key players. Sorkin dialogue is rampant, as one would expect. Jeff Daniels reprising his The Newsroom role drove the point home. Acting is sharp. Nominations likely deserved. Screenplay is noteworthy too. That’s about as far as I’m willing to go.

Rating: C+

The Drop (2014)

A low key gangsteresque drama that proved to be mildly entertaining.

Rating: (C)

Miami Vice (2006)

I want to start off by saying that this film had virtually zero connection to the original TV show. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it could have passed as any other undercover cop flick.

The flash and fun is gone, replaced with dark and dismal. The story holds up, but so does an episode of CSI. We expect to be more entertained than a normal night at home with the tube. A popcorn movie. This one was missing the pop.

Rating: C-

Public Enemies (2009)

Heat: The Prequel. It's a typical Michael Mann drama, with a touch of overacting. My favorite characters were the Texas lawmen.

Rating: C

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

It doesn’t look like they are going to stop making these, and I’m as much to blame as anyone. I’ve seen the first 5. I can’t help myself. This latest installment breaks all laws of physics, depicting action sequences that not even a highly Caffeinated teenage boys would believe. I watch these films to see what a 100+ million dollar budget looks like when it’s spattered across the screen. None of it will make sense, but it’s pretty to look at.

Rating: C-

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

I did such a terrific job of avoiding all mentions of this film prior to seeing it, that I had myself convinced it was about a high school football coach leading his team to victory by using a set of special plays in the Silver Linings Playbook. Turns out I was way off, which is how I like it.

I love going into movies ignorant of what I’m about to see. So I instantly went from liking this movie to loving it once Jennifer Lawrence came onscreen. I enjoyed her character because I love girls who are honest, slightly crazy, and aggressive about what they want. (Ideally, that would be me, but it’s been a while since that was the case)

Anyway, all interactions and conversations between Jennifer and Bradley’s characters were golden. Smart, funny dialogue. We can thank David O. Russell for taking an average story and elevating it to an award winning level. After all, this is the man that brought us Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, and The Fighter. This is definitely the crowd pleaser I heard it was.

Rating: B+

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+