| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Enemies - R | Torn again, on one side I can how a hagiography of a cop-killer would strike many as repulsive, but it would also be hugely historically inaccurate to claim that Dillinger wasn't a kind of twisted folk hero. That aside, the movie is done with great style, and even with luminaries like Depp and Bale, the film does a nice job of sucking the viewer back in time. | August 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Coraline - PG | It's a nice film so don't think I'm knocking it, but a lot of the problems I thought it would have came through very clear. The story is dumbed down, Americanized and kiddified. Coroline isn't strong and independent, she's got a sidekick and oft seems more petulant than determined. There are some creepy bits, but the darkness of the original tale is absent. It's beautiful, fun, spooky, but totally goofy where it should have been epic. | August 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Scarface - PG | An startling film for its time, despite lame comic relief and some hugely didactic speeches. The film has been pretty much eclipsed by the Pacino remake, it's a hell of kick to view this as an alternate universe version of the same story. | May 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Futurama: Bender's Game - Unrated | First we had 'Score', which tied up most of the series' loose ends and was still as moving and hilarious as anything from the show's heyday. Next came Backs, which was limp and sore-headed, and totally destroyed what was till that point a sweet relationship. And now, we have 'Game', which has, and I can't believe I'm writing this, made me think the show's cancellation wasn't all that big of a loss. These writers have completely run out of ideas. Everyone acts like a stereotype of themselves. There's no point to anything. (The plot actually retcons itself 2 or 3 times to reach new depths of groaning stupidity.) The last half of the film is just Tolkien references. Not in-jokes, just references. "Look, Fry is Gollum! The Professor has a hat! LAUGH!" | May 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Disney's Aladdin - G | I saw this again after many years, and you know what, I remembered every dang song in it. What I didn't remember was how frickin' annoying Williams was and how completely flat this film is compared to 'Mermaid' ect. I mean it's not terrible, it just left me totally disinterested. | April 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie - PG | Years later I can now appreciate how much this film stuck with the comics rather than the watered down kids show. Does that make the dialog any less goofy or the wisecracks any less flat? No, but still much better than it could have been. | April 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| A Night at the Opera - Unrated | Watch this. It has much of the funny. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Watchmen - R | A perfect adaptation of something brilliant, but oddly enough, it didn't wow me. I almost felt like, well since it was so very faithful, there were no surprises for me. But I'm not taking away from the score, the filmmakers did a damn fine job, and for once Hollywood has treated source material with the respect it deserves. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Hitman - R | Ok, I have to say I was impressed by this. Great use of color and editing. Good actors (Kurylenko especially. Olyphant was a little flat, but then again 47 is supposed to be stoic) it had a nice structure, good pacing, and some honest depth to the characters. Sorry, I can't join the band wagon of beating up on this movie. As action, it does what it's supposed to damn well, and comparing it to other video game movies is like comparing a ballet to mud wrestling. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| You Can't Take It with You - Unrated | Gee, fluffy and subversive at the same time. I love Capra. | February 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Sahara - Unrated | An excellent war film, Bogart elevates what could have been forgettable propaganda into a classic of valor and sacrifice. | February 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - PG-13 | Better than I guessed. The family stuff is mawkish, but the action scenes kick as much ass as any of the previous films. | February 10, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Happening - R | The greenie version of Left Behind, sadistic and didactic in equally obnoxious measures. Dark, dreary, dragging, and ultimately pointless. Goofy when it should be chilling, and tiring when it should be warm. Another winner from M. Night! | February 10, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Unrated | Well yes it's brilliant, you're not waiting for me to tell you that. | February 10, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Beowulf - PG-13 |
The animation is gorgeous, the story ancient, and Neil Gaiman is one of the most creative writers living today. Why then this doughy, moronic WWF/God of War crossbreed! A whiny effete Grendel and an abundance of cgi man-batch cement the repulsion. So yeah, at this point I think we can pinpoint Avery's tin ear for human speech as the weak spot of this as well as Silent Hill. (And I guess the upcoming Wolfenstein film, which will be condemned by his hand to marble-mouthed suckitude.) |
February 4, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Dark Star - G | Very primitive, but it's dark quirkiness belies Carpenter's future (past) promise. | February 1, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Frost/Nixon - R | This looked rather underwhelming to me, but I was duly impressed. The film of course eschews any neocon retconning, and portrays Nixon as the creepy, moral-less jerk he really was, and yet humanizes him to a point of sympathy. The pseudo-documentary style is a bit too precious for me, but that's just taste. | February 1, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Spirit - PG-13 | At what point did Frank Miller completely lose his cotton-pickin mind? The Spirit could be made into a good movie, but not with this truckload of artifice and just plain ridonculousness. | January 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| My Name Is Bruce - R | An awesome b-movie, added to immensely by Campbell's Stooge-level self deprecating sense of humor. Now I'm all thirsty for some Shemp's Old Tyme Whiskey! | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Blood Legacy - R | Apparently, someone saw Manos, the Hands of Fate on the same day them rented 10 Little Indians, and decided there wasn't enough incest in either of them. Viola, this thing! | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Wasp Woman (Insect Woman) (The Bee Girl) - R | Silly premise, executed poorly do to extremely sloppy edits. Oh, and, boring as an old carrot. Oh yes, Corman is a great director! (insert eyeroll here) | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Gran Torino - R | Something of a throwback to the Westerns of old, though with more emphasis placed on age, regret, and redemption. There are some problems with doing a modern film in this style, but quite a few interesting benefits as well. | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Biohazard: Degeneration (Resident Evil: Degeneration) - Unrated | Suffers from the worst instincts particular to anime as well as some degree of stilted translation. And it still manages to be better than anything Mila Jovovich has done, EVER. | January 3, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Punisher: War Zone - R | Some good gore effects, but chocked with lousy acting. | December 28, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The African Queen - Unrated | An amazing display of Bogart's range. | December 28, 2008 | N/A |
867 ratings
524 reviews
