Vanilla Sky (2001)

 

Tom Cruise acts the hell out of this confusing script. 

Rating: C

Bullet Train (2022)

 

A shoot-em up firing mostly blanks. Implausible doesn’t even begin to describe it. The flash and bang will hold your attention, but ultimately you’ll end up wishing you had gotten off at the first stop. 

Rating: C-

Knives Out (2019)

An Agatha Christie style murder mystery that will have you guessing some of the twists, while others are so convoluted that they aren’t worth guessing.

Rating: C

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Benicio Del Toro continues to make fascinating films. This reminded me of a cross between E.T. and a reverse Splash. Maybe a bit of Cocoon thrown in. Anyway, I liked it. An authentic and literal fish out of water love story.

Rating: B

Man Of Steel (2013)

This movie should be called Total Destruction, because it destroys nearly everything on screen. Superman cries out in anguish over killing the main bad guy, not giving a thought to the thousands of people he accidentally snuffed out while fighting said bad guy. So yeah, it’s your typical superhero movie. They did a good job on the backstory though.

Rating: C

Cecil B. DeMented (2000)

Another twisted film by John Waters. As far as anti-Hollywood movies go, it was pretty good.

Rating: C

Mud (2012)

The two young leads are going places. Authentic performances in a film that had more to say than I anticipated. 

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+

Midnight Special (2016)

Interesting premise. It takes a while before you know what’s going on. Things unfold slowly. It’s never clear why the ladies are dressed like polygamists. But anyway, you’ll spend the entire film waiting for a big payoff at the end. Something happens, but it wasn’t enough to justify all the buildup.

Rating: C

Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

One of those semi-depressing movies where you watch everyone make one bad decision after another until they finally choke on the consequences of their actions. No complaints about the acting or cast. All helped to take a simple story to the next level.

However, don't expect to feel uplifted at the end. Also, I should have married Marisa Tomei. She looks absolutely amazing for her age. Plus, we share the same birthday.

Rating: C

Bug (2006)

Not a good time. If you ever thought insanity was a disease, this movie will lend credence to your viewpoint.

Rating: D

The Runaways (2010)

Pretty dark stuff for a movie about teens. Reminded me of Thirteen mixed with Ladies and Gentleman, The Fabulous Stains—both better films in my opinion. That's not to say that Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning didn't embody the rock legends they were portraying. It's certainly a departure from Stewart's Bella role. For music fans, especially those with an affinity for riot grrls, it's worth a viewing.

Rating: C

Premium Rush (2012)

I think Quicksilver, with Kevin Bacon, was the last bike messenger movie I saw. Can’t say I was chomping at the bit to see another one. This film felt beneath JGL’s talent level. Maybe he used it as a way to get in shape for another role? Very average film with a lot of biking action.

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+

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+

8 Mile (2002)

Yeah, I tuned into the Eminem Show along with $58 Million worth of others opening weekend. How could I turn my back on Curtis Hanson who directed L.A. Confidential and Wonder Boys? The movie was pretty good. Didn't try and be more than it was, or turn Eminem into some glorified pop star overnight like that steaming pile of Mariah Carey Glitter.

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+

The Woodsman (2004)

Kevin Bacon is fantastic in this. The story is pretty dark, along the lines of "Storytelling", for those who saw it. I liked the fact that the filmmakers took a major leap in tackling material that normally doesn't make it to the screen. It was handled very well.

Rating: B-

Tigerland (2000)

Performances are very well done, the directing is gritty and in your face. Nice little movie.

Rating: C+

Bad Boys II (2003)

Ridiculous is the word that comes to mind, over and over again. Everything is over-the-top to the point of becoming farcical. Should we have a Hummer plow through shantytown homes down the mountainside? Sure, what the hell. Very little thought is given to realism in Michael Bay films. Just as long as it looks cool on screen and stuff is blowing up. This is slightly better than the first, but not by much.

Rating: D+