Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

 

Heavy on the religiosity and convoluted mystery that ultimately didn’t feel all that rewarding. It was fine. 

Rating: C

The Running Man (2025)

 

The reboot was a very big departure from the original, which isn’t a bad thing. The updated gameshow and premise were quite promising. A lot of originality in the first half of the film. Typically, it wasn’t sustainable. The script took a dive in the second half, culminating in a cringeworthy ending. Wasted potential. 

Rating: C-

Melinda And Melinda (2004)

 

Another character driven Woody Allen film. Meh.

Rating: C-

Weapons (2025)

 

A disturbing, and oddly funny horror film centered around the disappearance of a classroom of kids. Scares come in many forms. The mystery is revealed in layers. Therapy will be needed by all. 

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+

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado (2018)

A sequel that doesn’t have much to do with the original except for some key returning characters. It’s not bad for what it is. Pace is steady and violence is pervasive.

Rating: C

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Turns out you can’t just put all the superhero movies in a blender and produce a delicious smoothie. Very messy.

Rating: C-

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+

Everest (2015)

I’ve never understood the lunacy of wanting to climb Mt. Everest. Then again, I run ultramarathons, and people say the same thing about long distance runners. I get the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing something hard, but the risk of life is just too great to be worth it.

The movie itself does a good job of walking the casual viewer through what it’s like to prepare for and hike Mt. Everest. The story is compelling and a bit depressing.

Rating: C+

Inherent Vice (2014)

A confusing fruit salad of characters who meander and mumble their way through a plot that never quite delivers coherency. And believe me, it pains me to say that, because I’m a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan. But this effort is a stark turn in the wrong direction.

Rating: D

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

The gorgeous visuals and striking cinematic compositions are back. This graphic novel-film mash up really does it for me. The original Sin City is one of my favorite films of all time, so any sequel has impossible shoes to fill. With that said, A Dame To Kill For is very entertaining. Many of my favorite characters from the first are back, plus a few new ones. I didn’t find the plot quite as gripping as the original, but it does the job. Definitely worth seeing.

Rating: B-

Sicario (2015)

The audience is kept in the dark for much of the film, just like our main character. Cinematography and authentic location shoots were high points. However, none of the characters are all that likeable. We are along for the ride on an intense operation, but I never felt fully invested. Not so much a movie as a very well staged reenactment of a covert op.

Rating: C

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+

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

A worthy follow-up to the original. I like how it incorporated many real life financial scenarios into the plot. I guess that's the big reason Stone felt compelled to do a sequel. Solid performances and storytelling, but nothing that got me overly excited while watching.

Rating: C+

Planet Terror (2007)

This is Rodriguez's contribution to Grindhouse, an unabashedly violent, trashy piece of cinema that young men crave. What separates it from all the other zombie pics, and especially from the early gore films it mimics, are the fantastic characters. Rodriguez and Tarantino can't help themselves. They create dynamic, entertaining characters without even trying to.

It's too bad this double feature wasn't a huge money maker, as I would have liked seeing the 2 for the price of 1 model really take off.

Rating: B-

Men In Black 3 (2012)

It’s almost always a mistake to work time travel into your movie plot. It’s rarely done right. I didn’t enjoy this third installment nearly as much as I remember enjoying the first two. The whole thing felt like rewarmed leftovers. A few cute moments here and there, but overall very bland.

 Rating: C-

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+

Jonah Hex (2010)

The first third of the film isn’t bad. The last two thirds are. The story unravels and plausibility goes out the window. And yet Megan Fox is super hot, so there’s that. Reminded me of Wild Wild West, a film you don’t want to be compared to. I did enjoy John Malkovich playing an over-the-top villain. Will Arnett was terribly miscast in a non funny role.

Rating: D+

True Grit (2010)

Chalk this one up as a win for the Coen Brothers. A classic western tale retold through a dark, funny, gritty lens. The acting is brilliant across the board. Terrific job casting. I loved the quick witted dialogue of the young heroine. Bridges is a wonder to behold. Equal to, if not better than his washed up country singer role last Oscar season. I wasn't overwhelmed by the slow ending, but everything leading up to that was excellent.

Rating: B+