Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
A solid story provides a good foundation for Murphy’s comedy and charm. May have been the first film to truly define the style of the 80’s, and definitely the first film to expose the previously and strangely ignored subculture of Beverly Hills. In terms of the edginess, profanity, loose, casual…
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Inglourious Basterds (2009)
It looks like Tarantino finally wants to start making real films now. This is not the silly amalgamation of quirky characters typical of his previous work. Tarantino has crafted something more meaningful. This film has not one, but two real stories with real drama. From the first scene on the…
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Rocky III (1982)
Good continuation of the story. The characters are all evolving wonderfully. So I guess between Rocky II and Rocky III is when Rocky started taking steroids. He is noticeably more jacked in this one. The last scene is great, and the last shot is perfect.
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Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
The action and one-liners are obviously over-the-top for comic effect, but it’s just too much. Why would Clive and Giamatti do this? Nice to see Clive delivering babies and back in a BMW again.
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Walker Payne (2006)
Patric’s always pretty cool, but this plot’s a little simple. Strickland is delicious.
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The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A little boring. Decent performances all around, but none of them stick out as particularly dramatic.
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Religulous (2008)
Bill’s got some balls to take on religion in this country. This is something not even Michael Moore has done. Way to go. I wonder if they had bodyguards on location with them. Unfortunately, Maher takes a few gratuitous jabs while making his arguments. I know this is his schtick,…
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Stripes (1981)
Clearly a vehicle for Murray, and he’s got a certain panache. But comedies of the early 80’s were just rough. Nice cast. Ramis might be one of the most unfunny comedians of the 80’s. He’s always got a stupid little grin on his face.
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Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008)
A good effort by Bell. Very personal. He explores the problem by talking to an impressive number of people, thoroughly trying to show both sides of the issue. But which side is he on? Either way, I’m not sure that arguing for or against steroid use really addresses the root…
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Rocky II (1979)
Story’s a decent extension of the original. Despite the cheesy sound effects, the fight at the end and his victory speech gave me the Rocky chills. There’s still a magic there. I can see why they kept making them. Stallone is Stallone. The shy Shire was perfect.
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Harlem Nights (1989)
Murphy tried to make something stylish and swanky and authentic, but it misses the mark a bit. Story is a little dull, pacing of scenes and dialogue is a little off, editing is a little loose. Some good swearing humor, but that’s about all that stands out. Nice cast of…
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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
More silliness from Brendan Fraser. He’s been working out, but he’s still as unfunny as he’s always been.
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Funny Money (2006)
Not the knee-slapping wit piece they wanted it to be. Overacting and horrible dialogue makes it theatrical and dumb. Poor Chevy. Only a glimmer of what he once was.
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The International (2009)
A lot going on. There were moments when I had to stop and try to figure out who everyone was and what was motivating them. No matter, though. Owen is magnetic enough to keep me into almost any plot the whole time. Exquisite camerawork, location shooting, and editing. A very…
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Leviathan (1989)
Doesn’t compare to its contemporary deep-sea movie, The Abyss. I wonder which one went into production first. Cheesy story, and some crappy acting. Not one good shot of the monster.
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Moon Over Parador (1988)
Cute, light 80’s comedy. Good Dreyfuss material. The blond Raul Julia looks and talks just like Javier Bardem’s Silva in Skyfall.
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
Pretty horrible. Amazing that this movie didn’t end two movie careers.
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Marty (1955)
What bothers me is that the story isn’t really about Marty changing and becoming a better person. It’s about a guy who finally gets lucky and finds a nice girl. Who cares? The only emotional moment is at the end when he turns his back on his friends and family…
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Ted Williams (2009)
Decent footage, although I feel like they missed some great stuff. What about his meeting with Babe Ruth? (On one special day, July 12, 1943 at Fenway Park, Ted Williams met Babe Ruth for the first time. He was in awe of being in the presence of the Babe, who…
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The Hangover (2009)
A lot of superficial, unsophisticated humor. People acting stupid/being punched/falling over/getting injured/throwing up/being naked is funny? Randomness is funny? Cooper, who is supposed the be the cool one, has the looks but doesn’t have the lines. None of the characters really have any depth. There’s just nothing smart about this…
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Shot Heard ‘Round the World (2001)
Good companion piece to Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush. Nice that Thomson and Branca are both still alive for interviews. But how do they really get along if one thinks the other cheated?
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Teen Wolf (1985)
Not especially touching or funny and a little corny, but not bad for its time. Every high school movie in the 80’s had a weird/cool sidekick with a goofy name (Stiles) and cute girl with a funny name (Boof). So formulaic. The simplistic synthesized score is awful.
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Deception (2008)
Surprisingly good, with just the right amount of dialogue, acting, suspense, violence, and emotion. I can see what Heath Ledger saw in Michelle Williams. She is stunning in this one.
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Reservation Road (2007)
Nice simple story. Probably Ruffalo’s and Phoenix’s best performances.
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Wall Street (1987)
A larger look at the system and not a very deep look at any of the characters, which is unfortunate. Hannah’s horrible, and it’s not a very polished production. Mediocre camerawork, along with unremarkable dialogue and some sound issues.
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Meet Dave (2008)
Much funnier than I expected, but a bit long. Murphy really can still do comedy. Banks is so darn cute.
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Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Nice story, great animation, and some good comedy. The anime segment was awesome. Pretty good for a non-Pixar animated feature. Pixar’s set the bar pretty high for this sort of thing.
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Dragnet (1987)
Made during a time when a crappy story was better than no story at all. Two comic geniuses, but it’s pretty flat. Hanks tries his best with the material, but it just doesn’t work. Lots of sexy extras.
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Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Nice animation, but the story and comedy aren’t nearly as sharp as Pixar’s.
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JCVD (2008)
Had no idea Jean-Claude could be this down-to-earth. Always thought he was a loser, but he seems like a really cool guy. Interesting meta-film. Seems like Van Damme has a pretty realistic and healthy view of himself and Hollywood. Perhaps a hair too preachy and a hair unrewarding in the…
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Up (2009)
Classic Pixar, with unique and emotionally deep characters, real comedy, a sense of adventure, and truly exquisite animation. Magical ending. I almost lost it. The trailer looked a little silly, and the lack of full-length trailers, internviews, “making of” specials didn’t really excite me about going to see the it.…
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Speed Racer (2008)
Some cool effects and some nice homages to the cartoon, but not particularly smart or exciting.
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Femme Fatale (2002)
Just couldn’t get into the story. Romijn is the centerpiece of this movie. She’s unquestionably hot, although she’s got serious competition in the delicious Rie Rasmussen. Loved the shot of Romijn falling into the water.
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The Color of Money (1986)
Not the classic I wanted it to be. Would have liked to see this a little darker and grittier, maybe even in black and white. Newman’s cool, if not a bit scripted. Gratuitous shot of Mastrantonio’s flapjacks.
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Run, Fatboy, Run (2007)
Pegg’s got it: the expressions, the timing, the delivery. It’s a joy watching him do comedy. A surprisingly touching story.
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Fires of Kuwait (1992)
Nice footage and an interesting story. Torn’s voiceover is pretty good. I know IMAX is all about landscapes, but showing the faces of the interviewees would have made it a bit more personal.
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The Greatest Places (1998)
Unspectacular footage, voiceover, and effects. Just a showcase of IMAX technology, and not a very good one at that.
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Home (2009)
Beautiful sweeping photography, much like that of the “Planet Earth” series, from what must have been a Steadicam hanging from a helicopter. But the bird’s eye views are, unfortunately, accompanied by a bird’s eye view of biology and ecology. The lack of new and specific information makes it seem a…
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The Great Global Warming Swindle (2007)
It’s a convincing argument from a lot of people who seem to know what they’re talking about. Many of the interviews are framed badly, but the graphs are pretty and voiceover is articulate. Definitely felt good to hear that maybe I’m not such a horrible person after all. And then…
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Carlin at Carnegie (1983)
Groundbreaking for his time, maybe. But it seems a bit juvenile now.
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Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)
Goldberg’s definitely cool (I like all the swearing) but only moderately funny. How does her computer start talking?
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Surf’s Up (2007)
Quality animation, witty dialogue, and adult humor to rival Pixar’s productions. LaBeouf’s great at voiceover. Definitely made by surfing lovers. Beautiful ending.
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The Parent Trap (1998)
The effects are surprisingly good, and Lohan turns in a surprisingly convincing performance for such a young girl. It’s too bad she was wrapped up with these kiddie movies. Would have been interesting to see if she could have pulled off a dramatic role as a youngster.
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Cocoon: The Return (1988)
Not as touching as the first, but not a bad sequel. The aliens were a bit goofy.
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Cop Land (1997)
Fantastic Scorsese-ish cast, and a nice Scorsese-ish story, but it wasn’t as engaging as I would have liked it to be.
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Mr. Baseball (1992)
I always knew Selleck had comic ability. Nice to see a young Frank Thomas and Haysbert in another baseball role.
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I’m Not There. (2007)
The multiple actors playing a single character are a novelty. But other than that, it’s nothing special.
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Terminator Salvation (2009)
As a big fan of the franchise, I found this one to be extremely faithful to the storyline and a nice continuation of the story, with all the appropriate homages to the previous films. But I really would have liked to see Connor sending Reese back in time at the…
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RocknRolla (2008)
The Ritchie formula: well-spoken, quirky, but generally simple men fill the screen with “witty,” lingo-filled exchanges on their quest to find a stolen/misplaced/lost object of particular affection, glued together with funky and razor-sharp edits and angry guitars. Not an improvement over or any more original than his previous films. It’s…
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Star Trek (2009)
Nice personal story, nice implementation of previously existing characters (except for Spock’s awkward Vulcan salute and Kirk’s femininely crossed legs at the end of the film), nice cast, nice effects. Even the story is good, if a bit confusing with all the time travel stuff. It was Abrams, so I…
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Seven Pounds (2008)
The last few minutes are dramatic, but the build-up doesn’t keep me. For 95% of the time we’re watching the film, we’re watching a guy who is obviously conflicted doing things we don’t understand. Is the ending worth the wait? Not sure it is. Why the title?
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Deja Vu (2006)
A few plot holes, which you’re bound to have with a time travel movie. Denzel is Denzel. Caviezel’s pretty sinister in this one. Patton is delicious. Polished, glossy photography from Tony Scott, but the editing and sound effects for some of the “high-tech” scenes are a bit cheesy.
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This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
I get the parody, but it’s just not funny enough. You actually have to sit through the rather boring and barely existent story and wait for the funny situations and remarks to come. Guest’s later stuff was better.
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Ganja Queen (2007)
Pretty moving story (or performance). Amazing that they were able to reconstruct the story without any voiceover and a minimal amount of graphic text. A lot of coverage of a case I’ve never heard of. I wonder if she did it.
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Leatherheads (2008)
Pretty good feeling for the period, but nothing special. Not dramatic enough to be moving, not goofball enough to be a Coen brothers comedy.
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Adventureland (2009)
Not dramatic enough for a drama, not funny enough for a comedy. The hero isn’t noble enough, the villain isn’t mean enough. Mediocre in just about every way. Captures the 80’s pretty well, though.
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The Accused (1988)
Foster was a cutie. McGillis was sexy but would have been sexier if she wasn’t so militant. Heavy stuff for mainstream 1988, no?
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Sex and the City (2008)
Underneath the superficial fashions and looks, this is a story about human nature and growth. Touching and well-made, I have to admit.
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Australia (2008)
Nice little story, nice little slice of history, but the movie is epic in scale, and what’s there almost isn’t enough to carry its length. A couple of touching, dramatic moments, but all the time in between is a bit sparse. Jackman’s a stud, and the kid is wonderful.
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The Graduate (1967)
A couple of awkward script/acting moments, but overall, an intelligently shot film with some really nice performances. The last moment is kind of interesting. A little more variety in the score would have been nice.
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Death to Smoochy (2002)
A tongue-in-cheek, goofball, theatrical comedy like The Producers. Good zingers and nice performances all around.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Interesting concept, which originated in the 1951 original. But it’s a bit sloppy how they tacked on the strained relationship between stepmom and stepson. Reeves, who is perfect playing blank-faced alien types. Jaden Smith needs to be pulverized.
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Valkyrie (2008)
A good little history lesson. And good to see Cruise take on a role like this. Pretty polished, to be expected from Singer.
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The Sweetest Sound (2001)
Mildly interesting for a genealogist. Berliner is a good collector of footage, but the voiceover is not poignant enough to be this slow and boring, and all the computer effects are downright annoying.
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Taken (2008)
Pretty solid direction, pretty ruthless performance. Never could have pictured Neeson as an action star, but he pulls it off.
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The Quiet American (2002)
Beautifully shot and scored, but the slow-moving story lacks any serious drama. Caine is cool as usual, and Fraser is surprisingly tolerable.
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Bobby (2006)
Awkwardly draws its drama from the RFK assassination without having much drama of its own.
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The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
Tamer fare from the Farrelly brothers, which is a good thing. Great ending. Stiller’s looking a bit old, but he’s still got it. Monaghan’s cute.
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Deck the Halls (2006)
So stupid. I’m beginning to think Broderick has no talent, and that he really just lucked out with the scripts of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Election.
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Shooter (2007)
Wahlberg has always had a certain swagger that’s very appealing. Some nice killshots, but the story just isn’t dramatic enough.
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Freedom Writers (2007)
Weak. Superficial story, ridiculously stereotyped characters. If inner city schools had this many stereotypes, they would be BORING, not scary. No subplot, no humor, no surprises. Dangerous minds, only with a less attractive teacher.
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Gung Ho (1986)
Neither funny nor dramatic. Barely kept my interest. Even as a kid, I remember thinking it was pretty awful. Might have been the first movie I saw in the theater that I hated.
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Decent story, but some of the science is a little silly. Montalban’s muscle suit is a bit ridiculous. He claims it was natural, but there’s no way. A cute and svelt Kirstie Alley surely didn’t appreciate being called “Mr. Saavik” for the whole film. My favorite bit of trivia is…
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The Producers (2005)
Pretty tolerable for a musical. The singing and dancing is actually pretty good. Cute characters, cute lines. Broderick’s expressions are a bit annoying, but Lane and the others make up for it.
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Gran Torino (2008)
Eastwood certainly takes his time telling a story. In the first hour and a half, a zipperhead does some gardening. The last few minutes have some drama, but they’re not worth the excruciating setup. Desperate to find the hint of humor that would have made it tolerable, I tried my…
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The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Norton plays it cool. He’s far better in this role than Bana and in great shape. Good CGI fight in the end. Nice long shots so you can really see what’s going on. We want more of this. If it’s really a sequel (and it really seems to be, even…
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Bedazzled (2000)
As hot as Hurley is, my detest of Fraser made this movie nearly unwatchable.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Meandered a bit. He knew a tugboat captian and worked at sea for a bit, but it hardly seems like he had a life. Instead, we focus on his relationships with his girlfriends and his mother. No guy friends? He’s not a terribly redeeming character, either. He just keeps walking…
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Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Wonderful. Patel turns in a brilliantly mature performance for a 19 year old. True talent. Pinto is incredibly delicious. And the best kid acting I’ve seen in a long time. Music and score add wonderful energy to the story. I was put to task to find a flaw, and I…
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Ghost Town (2008)
Very funny, mostly because Ricky Gervais is a genius. He is the master of awkwardness. Kinnear does a great job supporting him.
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Pretty Woman (1990)
Nice story, and pretty well-made. Though released in 1990, this might be the last great movie in the spirit of the 80’s feel-good genre. Roberts pulls off the stripper with a heart of gold. Gere is charming. But what’s the real lesson here? That’s it’s OK to be a hooker?…
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Nancy Drew (2007)
OK for kids. Roberts is a cute girl with the right bloodline. In 5 years, she’ll be on top of the world.
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I'm a photographer, web developer, travel enthusiast, and movie buff living in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.In the summer of 1993, I started writing reviews for every movie I saw and haven't looked back. I'm up to 2,374 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
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