300 (2006)

Visually stunning, violently satisfying, with stand-out characters to boot. This is what we hope for, but rarely receive, when going to see an action film.

Rating: B+

American Movie (1999)

I'd been wanting to rent this DVD for sometime after reading a lot about this documentary. I was happy they included his short film Coven in the extras.
Watched Coven first. A very low budget, black and white film about a freaky self help group. Glad I didn't pay $8 bucks to see it at Sundance when I was there. The movie did nothing for me, and the flimsy plot with bad dialogue was hard to follow. Rating: D-

American Movie, the documentary about the process of making Coven, and his first feature film, yet to be completed, Northwestern, was very entertaining. Slow and drawn out at times, but entertaining nonetheless.

A better title of the film would have been "How some white trash bums from Milwaukee managed to complete any film-making while drinking gallons of beer and dodging bill collectors."

Speaking of Bill, Uncle Bill was the hilight of this movie. A great scene is of Mark giving Uncle Bill a Thanksgiving Day bath after he got Bill drunk on Pepppermint Schnapps. You can't make this stuff up. That's why I love documentaries.

Rating: B-

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

A Western revenge story courtesy of Clint Eastwood. It’s no masterpiece, but it wasn’t terrible either. Could do with a bit of editing and more competent dialogue. The violence is on par with the times when it was released, which is to say completely unrealistic. I’d say it could be improved by a remake, but then again this plotline has already been done to death in countless other films.

Rating: C-

Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

A fascinating documentary about art, artists, graffiti, promotion, hype, obsessions, culture, marketing, and selling out. I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating: B-

Casa De Mi Padre (2012)

Simply not funny. I get that they were poking fun at Mexican, low-budget melodramas, and that it was purposely shot to look “bad”. That doesn’t make it funny. Felt more like a weak Saturday Night Live skit stretched into a feature length film, but in Spanish.

Rating: D-

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Felt like the kind of vampire movie the team behind Ghost Rider might make. In case you’re a moron, that’s a bad thing. I’ve had a better time watching an episode of True Blood.

Rating: D

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

I love Wes Anderson films, even if I don’t necessarily award them glowing reviews. They are always creative, interesting, entertaining, and quirky. These are commodities I appreciate in film. Moonrise Kingdom possessed all of these qualities, portrayed by the usual cadre of Anderson players. Cute story amidst a magical landscape.

Rating: C+

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

If you are a fan of the regular parade of Judd Apatow movies, featuring the now familiar cast of friends, then you will most assuredly enjoy this one. Lots of crude humor mixed with just enough emotional drama. Several current members of SNL add a boost of funny as well. I laughed a lot.

Rating: B

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998)

This is a relationship movie and a coming-of-age flick, but with a twist. You'll enjoy the banter back and forth between the interesting characters. No big stars, but I recognized several actors from other work.

Rating: C+

The Road (2009)

I love love love post apocalyptic films. Unfortunately, most of them are crap. This one is good, but quite dreary. I think I'd rather have the earth covered by zombies than the gray world depicted here. It held my attention, but at a price.

Rating: C

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (2006)

The film is perfectly crafted under the watchful eye of Del Toro. Great pains, and I do mean pains, were taken to develop these rich characters. As one accustomed to a great deal of movie violence, there were a few scenes that made me squirm. Is it the best movie of the year? No way. Is it the best foreign film of the year? Maybe.

Rating: B

School of Rock (2003)

I saw this in the theater, and the sound was waaaaay too low. One of the reasons you go to the movies is to be blown away by the audio,  instead, it was like watching the TV from the other room. But, the movie itself was still lots of fun. Fun story, great kid actors, and cool songs. Enjoyed it.

Rating: C+

The Gift (2000)

What a creepy little picture. I'm a total wuss when it comes to scary movies, and even though I watched this one during the day, I was still clenching my fist, scrunching down into the couch, and watching through one eye during many scenes.

Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi are both wonderful in their roles. 
The movie is technically a thriller, but many other elements come into play. It had me guessing (mostly incorrectly) until the end. 

 
Rating: B-

Ondine (2009)

An Irish indie version of Splash, with Colin Farrell in the role of Tom Hanks. The highlight of the film was the superbly acted role of Colin's daughter Annie, played by Alison Barry. Amazingly, this is her one and only role to date. Fantastic young actress. The story is engaging and quaint.

Rating: C+

Saw (2004)

I "saw" this on cable, and it was much better than I expected. That's usually the case with movies I think are horror films but turn out to be psychological thrillers. I noticed several plot holes, but I appreciated the attempt nonetheless.

Rating: C+

The Searchers (1956)

I'll never understand why people ooh and awe over the so called classics. Old movies are filled with two types of acting: over and bad. This western had both in spades. Add to that having to endure the so-called "night" scenes with noon day shadows and landscapes clearly shot in Arizona and Utah, even though everyone is referred to as a Texan, and you start to question if renting anything before 1980 is a good idea.

At two hours, this movie felt like three. Embarrassing stereotypes and racial slurs were rampant. I watched this because it kept showing up on people's favorites list. People are clearly stupid.

Rating: D

Welcome To Mooseport (2004)

Everybody Loves Raymond was cute, but like some early Tim Allen films, his small screen persona didn't translate well to the big screen.

Rating: D+

Into The Wild (2007)

A difficult film to review. Reminded me a bit of 127 Hours and the Herzog documentary Grizzly Man. It’s a very long film that takes the scenic route to reach its destination, much as did Chris McCandless, the man the film is based on. Acting was top notch. Hal Holbrook's performance was really touching. The Alaskan landscapes are beautiful. I can see what drew him there.

But I have to agree with some things I found online after watching the movie. It wasn’t very smart to head into the wilderness without proper training or preparation. An interesting story nonetheless.

Rating: C+

Prometheus (2012)

A very slick piece of sci-fi eye candy from director/producer Ridley Scott. Seamlessly blends creationism, aliens, and horror into an interesting package. I’ve read online that this is not a direct prequel to the Alien franchise, but rather a bridge point to future films that may be prequels, but more likely will exist independently inside the Alien universe.

Either way, it’s a terrific foundation for stories to come. I really liked the DAVID android and hope to see more of him in future installments. The rest of the cast did a swell job too. Looking forward to many of the questions raised in Prometheus being answered down the line.

Rating: B-

The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

Not your run of the mill horror film, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good. The premise is seriously absurd. It’s a big pill to swallow in order to make it to the who’s-who-of-nightmares wreaking havoc at the end. That was a pretty good payoff, however it doesn’t make up for the rest of the film.

Rating: C-