Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)

 

Local octopus helps mend a cleaning lady’s heart. Lots of feels. Happy ending. 

Rating: C+

All The King’s Men (2006)

Sean Penn returns as the mighty orator, delivering Oscar inspired speeches from stone steps. Nobody can deny he's a fantastic actor, as is the rest of the all-star cast. But isn't anyone else growing tired of seeing Penn in grandiose dramatic roles? The movie is dark, slow moving, and a bit dry.

Rating: C-

Cold Mountain (2003)

What a great supporting cast! Kidman and Jude law were adequate, but it was the small performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, and others that made it fun to watch. My favorite cameo was Jack White of The White Stripes. Not happy with the downer ending, or else I would have rated it higher.

Rating: C

Big Miracle (2012)

A feel-good eco-friendly whale-hugging family film based on a true story. An amicable John Krasinski helped to keep things more entertaining than they should have been.

Rating: C

Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her (1999)

This is the girl movie to end all girl movies. Just look at the cover. it's got like 6 girls on it. I watched with my sister and her husband. Sort of an intertwining stories movie, with plenty of strong female roles to go around. Not bad, but not great either. Calista Flockhart needs to locate her boobs.

Rating: C

Take Shelter (2011)

Movies about mental illness are hard to watch, just as I’m sure it’s hard to live with. Take Shelter is slow moving and kind of depressing. I thought the ending was a copout. You can’t spend the entire film watching the main character come to terms with his illness, and then jerk the wheel towards him being a visionary at the last second. Some nice performances were wasted on this project.

Rating: D+

13 Going On 30 (2004)

Jennifer Garner lets loose and has a ball portraying a 13 year old girl in the body of a 30 year old woman--a hot woman at that. Very witty and well acted. Enjoyed almost everything they threw at me.

Rating: B-

Machine Gun Preacher (2011)

Gritty true life story about a born again biker who lets the calling to help the Sudanese children consume his life. It’s a pretty amazing tale and they did a good job of bringing it to the screen. Gerard Butler is on his A game as usual. He plays a very flawed character attempting to make amends for his past sins. It certainly shines a light upon a terrible problem that is much easier to ignore. Definitely worth a rental.

Rating: C+

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

I think this was my third viewing, but it's been a long time. I enjoyed seeing Tim Burton's vision after viewing decades of his work. He was a master craftsman from the start. This was such an original movie when it came out, and it holds up well over time. Very funny, touching, and unique.

Rating: A-