American Gangster (2007)
Interesting story of a real guy, played admirably by Denzel. A bit long and slow, though. Showing Crowe struggle a bit more as the protagonist would have made it a bit more dramatic.
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Ed (1996)
Utterly stupid. Is this the best LeBlanc could do riding the success of Friends?
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Last Dance (1996)
Not very moving. Morrow is appealing, but Stone fails to pull off the Oscar performance this movie needed.
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The Flintstones (1994)
An honest effort. Shelley Long would have made a better Wilma, though.
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Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
Not horrible, but definitely lacking the originality of the first one.
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The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)
Good kung fu. The wire work was fantastic. You can tell this is when Jackie Chan was making the transition to American film. He brought some of his humor back with him to China.
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To Die For (1995)
Kidman was cute, for sure. But what a lame movie. There’s just not much to it.
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Death Sentence (2007)
A nice surprise! Not bad at all for a 20 year-old director. A well-told story, thrilling and unflinching action, and one of Bacon’s best performances. I like how he is a little unstable, yet we still root for him. Takes both talented writing and acting to accomplish that.
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Rocky V (1990)
Surprisingly good dialogue, and the streetfight was good, but it’s not a Rocky movie if he doesn’t step in the ring. He should have faced Tommy in the ring at the end.
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Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Quality filmmaking, quality cast, and quality acting for sure. Just not sure the story is dramatic enough.
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Iron Man (2008)
Everyone loves it, and I think I know why. This has the best character development and realistic grounding of any superhero movie. But there’s a problem: there’s no drama. The effects are fantastic, and Downey adds a bit of personality, but what does Iron Man risk? What does he have…
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Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)
Depressing, for sure. But is it anything else?
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Hitman (2007)
Don’t care about the mindless, bloody action since the characters are so ridiculous. Olyphant is better than this. Kurylenko is pretty foxy.
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Some Like It Hot (1959)
Cute for an older movie. This may have been one of the first real, dialogue-driven, big star, ensemble cast, mainstream comedies in film history. Lemmon’s got a knack for comedy, Curtis holds his own. Monroe is pretty hot and charming, but she’s a little all over the place. She lacks…
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Burn After Reading (2008)
Almost funny, but not quite. Just odd. Some surprise blood, a Coen brothers tradition.
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The Invasion (2007)
Pretty creepy. Effects and score work well to make things even creepier. Kidman and the supporting actors do a great job.
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A Good Year (2006)
A light movie, fun to watch. A nice departure for Ridley. Crowe is pretty cool. Cotillard is foxy.
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High Anxiety (1977)
Didn’t even crack a smile. How did anyone ever think Mel Brooks was funny?
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Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Made during a time when all movies were a little awkward. Filmmakers wanted to try something different, but they weren’t sure how to do it. Bad acting, bad editing, and a score featuring two themes: “Something Bad is Approaching” and “Conan is Victorious”. One thing is for sure: Arnold had…
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School for Scoundrels (2006)
Not bad, lots of twists. Thornton is always cool, and Heder pulls it off.
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Nice collection of young actors, but a really silly movie. Swanson was a knock-out.
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The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Corny, unrealistic, and some really crappy effects. It’s just not that believable.
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Waitress (2007)
OK story, hints of comedy. Russell is good at playing distressed characters. When she’s happy, she’s just not as believable.
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I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
Not horrible. Just wish Adam Sandler was a little funnier.
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Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal (2008)
Interesting profile of Fleiss. She comes across as a girl who has her issues but really just wants to make something of herself and have a good time doing it. Her breakdown with the birds at the end really humanizes her. Nice footage and editing. Well-told.
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The Kingdom (2007)
Good stuff. Knew Berg knew what he was doing back when he did Very Bad Things. Really powerful action sequences. Fantastic cast. Everyone shines without overpowering the film. An ensemble success. Electra was horrible, but Garner has been wonderful in supporting roles lately.
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The Dark Knight (2008)
Ledger, who I never considered a particularly good actor, delivers by far the best performance of his career. What a way to go out! Eckhart does a great job, as well. The make-up and costume design better win some awards. Bale and Freeman do it again. Gyllenhaal fills in adequately…
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Ghostbusters (1984)
A little silly, and the effects are a little dated, but a classic 80’s quirky science movie. I’m guessing I would have rated this higher back in 1984. Would have liked to see fewer “fame” montages and more personal ghost encounters. Murray steals the show. Potts is cute. What was…
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The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
One of the slowest, least interesting movies I’ve seen in a while. The little girl who is supposed to carry the movie is very mediocre. And so are the rest of the actors. Is it the acting or the writing?
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WALL·E (2008)
An amazing Pixar combination of fantastic animation, writing, and characters. How they made these robots and machines emotive and funny is absolutely brilliant, and the comic timing is fantastic. A real treat. Lots of Apple homages. If Apple made an iBot, it would be Eve.
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10,000 BC (2008)
Like a lot of Emmerich’s work, he makes the effort to create a sweeping epic, but the result is an empty story driven by hollow, overly good-looking characters, a pointlessly moving score, and useless effects. I was hoping for something a bit more anthropological.
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Wanted (2008)
Entertaining, but a lot of the action is extremely far-fetched. McAvoy pulls off the American thing, and Angelina is Angelina.
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The Hammer (2007)
Impressed by the story. Carolla’s comic genius is there, albeit slightly masked by the knowledge that part of it is scripted. I’ve gotta see more from him. It can only get better.
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Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
Fantastic interviews, wonderful editing. Even the filler footage is pretty good. But while the frenetic pace keeps things “exciting,” it’s almost too fast.
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Charlotte’s Web (2006)
Great voices, fantastic animal effects, and about as touching as the original.
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Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
A huge pile of crap. Amazing that they went so wrong with this one. Landis has killed the franchise. Bad writing. A lot of plot tangents, including a lot of theme park fluff that doesn’t need to be in there. From catching drug dealers to smugglers to saving kids from…
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Sexual Life (2005)
An interesting story about interconnectedness. A nice little cast, with just the right mix of familiar faces and rookies. Eion Bailey is appealing. He’s got that Jason Patric thing going on. Banks is a hottie.
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Alpha Dog (2006)
Driven by natural performances by some pretty minor actors, it’s kind of fun to watch. Foster is pretty intense.
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Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Soderbergh recovers from the subpar Ocean’s Twelve. This one’s smart and edgy again and not just a bunch of movie stars goofing off. The cast keeps getting better and better.
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Recount (2008)
Not bad. Obviously, no one thought it was good enough to be a real movie.
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Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
What I find most amazing about this film is how private and personal the video footage is. These were the days before mass media made everyone paranoid to be in front of a camera, and we see these people completely exposed, almost indifferent that there is even a camera there.…
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The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006)
Kind of funny, kind of educational. I wonder how much trouble they are going to get into for calling cocaine a “fun” drug, and for saying that “fun” drugs are “basically harmless.” Nice cameo by Belding.
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Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2006)
Scurlock (one letter away from documentary filmmaker Spurlock) takes a decent hack at the financial system, doing his best to draw attention to a very real problem. With a bit of opinionated voiceover and more incriminating evidence, he’d be Michael Moore.
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There Will Be Blood (2007)
An emotional look at the downward spiral of success. Plainview is an interesting character, and the sets (or lack of sets) really makes it feel like you’re out there with Plainview looking for oil. The costumes and dialogue and mannerisms really set the time, and the dissonant string score really…
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The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Like a long TV episode, with a few cool 3D effects. Good in that the TV episodes are geniusly funny, bad in that it wasn’t any funnier.
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Cloverfield (2008)
A cross between The Blair Witch Project and Godzilla, and better than both. The overfly amateurish (don’t most people try to keep the camera level, at least?) video footage is a bit hard to watch at first, but redemption comes later. Ominous, scary, and believable, this is the best monster…
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Juno (2007)
Reitman is definitely influenced by the Wes Anderson troupe. He uses that style as a starting point but then mixes in his unique brand of “trendy quirkiness,” relying on cool, trendy dialogue, obscure cultural references, and contrived awkwardness to make things smarter and funnier. Mixing all that up, though, “confuses”…
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Trekkies (1997)
Reminds me a lot of The King of Kong in that it’s a bunch of fringe characters, and we’re not quite sure whether or not we should be taking them seriously. In this case, with Crosby leading the interviews, one must assume that this was a serious look at Trek…
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Why We Fight (2005)
A bit wobbly. Not quite as resolute as Michael Moore’s films, but interesting nonetheless. Eisenhower’s speech is interesting, indeed.
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Black Snake Moan (2006)
A weird one. Polished despite its grittiness, good performances despite a lack of a story. I don’t know what kind of drugs she had to take to look like that, but Ricci’s body is unbelievable.
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Credit goes to the filmmakers for returning to the visual style of the original movies of the series, and the Indiana Jones movies have the best punching sounds ever. But I’m not sure if “modernizing” Indy, even if it’s just the 50’s, really works. By extension, would a movie about…
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Threesome (1994)
A deeper story (and not just these guys having sex or talking about having sex), or even a single subplot, would have made things a lot more interesting. The cheesiness makes me feel like it tried to be one of the last 80’s movies. Charles is pretty cool. This film…
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National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze (2003)
Pretty horrible movie, but Boti Bliss and Cameron Richardson are particularly hot.
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The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
The Wes Anderson quality and quirkiness is definitely there, and he usually gets by just fine with only a marginal story, but this just isn’t enough.
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Just One of the Guys (1985)
So horrible. Cheesy story, horrible acting, and barely casted. Zabka isn’t enough.
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Employee of the Month (2006)
Cook is not annoying. Shepard was actually more entertaining. Simpson is cute but not showcased nearly as much as she could have been.
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The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Pretty raw stuff. A few too many “cool” kids doing “cool” things, though. A dramatic story, instead of just dramatic characters, would have helped. Van Der Beek is refreshingly slimy and disturbed. Biel’s body in this one is just about perfect. Victor’s travel sequence is genius.
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Batman Returns (1992)
Nothing special, and neither is Keaton. Pfeiffer’s Catwoman might be the sexiest female character of the 90’s.
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Superman (1978)
Reeve becomes a hero for our generation. Kidder is perfect. Haackman’s just getting warmed up, in both the series and his career. The flying is a little wobbly, but overall, the effects are passable. Didn’t realize Superman Returns copied/paid homage to so much of the dialogue from this movie.
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4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
About what I’d expect for the sequel. Mostly identical characters and effects from the first, with only a hint of newness.
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Rocky Balboa (2006)
The computer simulation as the motivation for his final fight was a bit weak, not to mention an insult to the recently departed Adrian. If she was consistent with previous films, she definitely wouldn’t have allowed him to fight this one, especially after the brain damage suffered in Rocky 5.…
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Brokedown Palace (1999)
Not bad. They could have dramatized the story a bit more, I think. Beckinsale sure is tasty.
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24 Hour Party People (2002)
Some great music and some decent comedy, but it doesn’t quite have the roadie charm of Almost Famous.
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Starman (1984)
Bridges is pretty good, although his dialogue does not really represent what a super-advanced alien might say. Music and effects are a bit dated, but I remember them being quite effective back in the day.
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Americano (2005)
With wonderful music and a fun, casual shooting style, it’s got a great feel. Like “Go”, an unflinching yet genuine look at young people being themselves, trying to get some fun out of life. Just wish the story had a bit more drama. Jackson has presence. I don’t think he’s…
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The Number 23 (2007)
A bit of a disappointment. The number paranoia is kind of interesting, but not enough to carry a plot. Carrey is better as a psychotic in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Kelly is definitely cool. There was never another actor, before him or after him, who could smile that big and still look cool. And man, he was in great shape. O’Connor’s no slouch, either. The story’s a little patched together, but the musical numbers are good. The long takes are…
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28 Up (1984)
So nice to see how some of these borderline kids have really turned things around. And we owe thanks to them for allowing us to get such a deep look at their lives. Having literally known them their whole lives, it’s amazing how vulnerable they seem even at age 28.…
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Lucky You (2007)
If you like poker, it’s kind of interesting. But the story is blah, and the acting is even more blah. Bana’s losing steam fast, and this must be the most uninspired performance of Barrymore’s career.
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88 Minutes (2007)
Better than I thought it was gonna be. Enough twists to keep it interesting, although there is so much going on that it borders on the confusing. Pacino’s getting old, but he’s still got it. What’s with his hair, though?
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The Kid from Left Field (1953)
As formulaic as they come. Cameos from real ballplayers would have been nice.
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Flyboys (2006)
Some cheesy acting and not much of a story, but some fun flying sequences.
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Silent Rage (1982)
The first Terminator. Wasn’t Norris an action star? How come we don’t see any action? I saw one good kick. So cheesy. People actually thought this was good?
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Max Dugan Returns (1983)
Filled with unnaturally fast banter and almost-witty wit, typical of Neil Simon. Broderick is goofy but pulls it off. Charley Lau is, predictably, all business.
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Margot at the Wedding (2007)
Nice cast, and a different look at Jack Black. But what the heck was this movie about?
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Into the Wild (2007)
Well-shot, fitting music, great cast, and many wonderful supporting performances, but not emotional enough to carry it’s length or win the boy an Oscar. Chris is mildly interesting, but is he really a hero? Someone to be admired? Sure, he hates society. But what’s his real message? That you’re better…
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Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Horribly dumb. Could it be any more of a plug for the studio and it’s merchandising?
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Lightning Jack (1994)
Hogan’s still coasting on Crocodile Dundee. Cuba never gets the chance to open his mouth and be annoying and is pleasantly tolerable.
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Baraka (1992)
A brave, unflinching, meditative portrait of the world. Definitely chill, but you get into it after a bit. Was there supposed to be a message from the order in which the images were shown? A definite focus on old culture, mostly Asian. Was this intentional, given they make up the…
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No Country for Old Men (2007)
With unflinching violence and little score, the no bullshit, gritty approach makes this Texas story very real and engaging. The 1980 setting, and the authenticity of it, makes things that much creepier. But not a single person in the theater thought it was going to end when it did, and…
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Beowulf (2007)
Quite an accomplishment, it seems. The CGI characters are jarring and disappointing at first, with their dead eyes and “too smooth” movement, but you get used to them. There seems to be an argument that there is no reason to have done the entire film in CGI, and I might…
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Popeye (1980)
Awful in so many ways. I even remember hating it as a kid. Williams was lucky to get work after this. A perfect movie for Duvall. She can be as crappy and annoying and skinny as she wants, and she fits the roll perfectly.
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21 (1977)
Evidence that unchallenged, spoiled children often become unfulfilled, frustrated adults, while children with natural curiosity, a zest for life, and experience facing hardship go on to be more productive, focused, and happy people. The ominous music at the end always gets me. Kudos to Apted for keeping up with this.
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Ring of Fire (1991)
A mediocre IMAX film. The on-field baseball footage was very cool (let’s see an IMAX baseball documentary already!), but the “cultural” stuff from Indonesia was a waste.
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Game 6 (2005)
The Red Sox game footage was more interesting than any other part of the movie, unfortunately.
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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 2,363 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
Some of these reviews contain spoilers, so if that bothers you, don't read!
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