The Truman Show (1998)

 

What’s interesting, after all this time, there still hasn’t been a real show like The Truman Show, which means the plot is still ahead of its time. The closest thing I can think of is something like The Joe Shmo Show, where an entire fake reality show was constructed for one unsuspecting contestant who thought it was all real. 

The movie is clever and entertaining. It was fun spotting various background actors that went on to bigger roles. I still don’t love the third act and how it ends. Would have enjoyed seeing Truman enter the real world, if even for the first few minutes. Maybe show him a few years in the future living in a small shack with his true love in Fiji. 

Rating: B-

Windtalkers (2002)

 

John Woo directs this over-budget stinker. There is a sprinkle of Navajo code stuff, but it’s mostly endless monologues and battle scenes. 

Rating: D

Beyond Borders (2003)

 

Mostly disjointed storytelling with weak attempts to manipulate your heart strings. 

Rating: D

Jane Got A Gun (2015)

A paint by numbers revenge western of sorts. Bits of action sprinkled with flashbacks. You could do worse.

Rating: C

Miracle (2004)

It's a feel good movie, nothing more, nothing less.

Rating: C+

Sympathy For Delicious (2010)

Great concept, poor script. There were a 100 ways they could have gone with the idea of a modern day healer, and they chose to have him be a skid row DJ? Unlikeable characters in a script that made little sense.

Rating: D

Life (1999)

This is a departure from the usual Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence crap.It's not exactly non stop funny, but it still entertains from start to finish.

Rating: C+

Super 8 (2011)

It dawned on me halfway through the movie that films like Goonies and E.T. are a lost art. Fortunately, Abrams and Spielberg team up to create a hybrid of both. The movie is told through the eyes of childhood friends. The dialogue is fun and funny. JJ borrows the few good parts from Cloverfield to keep the audience in suspense. I won’t go so far as to say this is a childhood classic, but it’s certainly refreshing to see someone headed in that direction for a change. I had to suffer through previews for The Zookeeper and Mr. Poppers Penguins. It was like a hobo crapping in my eyes.

Rating: B+