O (2001)

 

Another depressing film based on Shakespeare’s work. 

Rating: F+

Fight Or Flight (2024)

 

Everything about this script is preposterous. It makes Bullet Train look like a documentary. And if you get that reference, then like me, you tend to cut action movies a little slack in pursuit of quenching your bloodlust. Bust out your best slack cutting scissors for this one. It’s terrible. 

Rating: D-

Trap (2024)

 

The latest from M. Night Shyamalan. The premise and execution in the first half of the film wasn’t bad. But then plot holes popped up in nearly every scene, with the ending being one giant one. One can only suspend belief so far. 

Rating: C-

Wrath Of Man (2021)

 

Guy Ritchie’s latest shoot 'em up. More than your usual money truck heist flick. There are a lot of moving parts, but eventually all is explained. Quite violent. 

Rating: C+

Wicker Park (2004)

I didn't expect this to be so well done. Somehow the director manages tie together a twisting and turning plot full of non-sequential flashbacks into a satisfying film.

Rating: B-

40 Days & 40 Nights (2002)

He thinks 40 days is a long time to go...

Rating: C

30 Days Of Night (2007)

Pretty decent as far as vampire movies go. They took a simple idea and fleshed out an entire film from it. Very gory. I kept having flashbacks of Kill Bill. You could do much worse in looking for a scary movie.

Rating: C

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Almost nonstop action, violence, death, and mayhem the entire film. Loved it! Ridley Scott knows how to keep his audience’s heart pounding.

Rating: B+

Town and Country (2001)

Hey, let's cheat on and screw everybody on screen. Crap.

Rating: F

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

A solid Pulp Fiction style crime thriller with great characters, acting, and a healthy dose of violence.

Rating: B-

Sin City (2005)

Don't make the mistake of confusing this Robert Rodriguez film with his Spy Kids series. Your children will be in therapy for many years as a result. Sin City is an ultra-violent work of art. It's beautiful on the big screen. The tag team of Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Tarantino did a magnificent job translating the graphic novel into a film. The characters are rich and colorful within a matter of minutes... whereas other movies can't seem to develop a character by the time the credits roll.

The violence was as creative as it was excessive. I saw things in this film that will be with me for a lifetime, and I'm ok with that. Like Kill Bill, much of the violence is so violent, that you can't help but laugh at the pure brutality of it--at least I couldn't help it. Mickey Rourke deserved at least an Oscar nomination for his role.

If you get a chance, check out the "Recut" version on Blu-Ray. It is reordered, extended, and packed with exceptional special features.I can't wait for Sin City 2 coming out in 2013. I'm nervously optimistic at the very idea, yet terrified it will somehow tarnish the original, like the two Matrix sequels did to their originator.

Rating: A+