Apollo 13 (somehow I'd managed to miss it for 30 years). As good as it's reputation.
Free Fire - imagine one of those Quentin Tarantino scenes where a drug-or-gun deal goes wrong, and everybody kills everybody in a warehouse shootout. Now imagine that's the the plot of the entire film.
Kong: Skull Island - watched it twice, just to see if it got any better. It didn't. Even the CGI monsters suck - not because the CGI is rendered badly, but because the conceptual designs are crummy. Samuel Jackson really needs to take a break - there must be other black men in Hollywood with SAG cards, who would appreciate a chance to work.
Wait Until Dark - Audrey Hepburn flick from 1976, a taught, noir thriller with Audrey playing a blind woman with something valuable in her apartment that three ruthless thugs are determined to get. It's a little pedestrian, but only a little, and Audrey is always beautiful and charming, no matter the plot.
John Wick Chapter 2 - Picks up right where episode 1 left off. The only thing missing is the puppy, but we're beyond motivation now. It's just a beautifully choreographed dance of death and mayhem.
Coraline - Another Tim Burton nightmare fairy tale, with the usual quirky charm. A good double feature for Frankenweenie.
Alien: Resurrection - watched this in conjunction with AlienCubed, which I saw in theaters ages ago. Both suck, Cubed by far the hardest. Resurrection barely redeems the franchise, even as it puts the whole thing mercifully to rest. Well, except for those new prequels...
Jackie Brown - speaking of Tarantino - a more coherent plot than the typical Tarantino film, probably because he adapted it from a novel. Otherwise, a pretty typical Tarantino film, based on cheap and cheesy Z-grade exploitation films of the 1970s. Less comedy than usual, but still some brutally absurd surrealistic moments.
Ghost in the Shell - Wow, what a disappointment. If you're an obsessed fan of Anime, Hentai and Manga, you'll probably love this. For a live action film, it has all the look of the manga cartoon. Unfortunately, the screenplay has all the predictable wooden dialogue of a manga cartoon, as well, which means it's dumb, obvious and excruciatingly dull, for any viewer over the age of 6. Scarlett Johannsen has never been more wasted as an actress. But she looks good.
Jack Reacher & Never Go Back - Meh. I haven't read any of the books, but even I think Tom Cruise is too short to play this guy. Give somebody else a shot at a franchise, for Chrissakes, Tom.
xXx The Return of Xander Cage - As much fun as the original Triple X, if you liked that one, you'll enjoy this. It gives several tongue-in-cheek nods to both the first xXx and the sucky sequel, which, personally, I would have ignored as it if never exXxisted. I like Vin Diesel, and I really wish he could find a franchise (besides those gearhead Fast & Spurious cartoons) with a few good scripts. I had high hopes for the Riddick character, and Xander Cage as well, but they just haven't had the juice to blow up like they could have. And yet, Stallone keeps pumping out Expendables sequels...go figure...
Donnie Darko - I only watched this because of all the rave reviews it got. The last time I was so completely and baffingly misled by public opinion, I wasted 80 minutes of my life watching Army of Darkness (don't ask). Donnie Darko wasn't THAT bad, but I wasn't nearly as impressed as I'd hoped to be. I mean, it's fairly interesting, as far as it goes, I guess I was just expecting something more in the way of a philosophical statement and there is none, beyond the hopelessly bleak: "Every Living Creature on Earth Dies Alone." If John Hughes had suffered a bout of suicidal depression and decide to make an existentialist version of Ferris Beuller, it would have been Donnie Darko.
Guardians of the Galaxy2 - It's a sequel, alright - yeah, buddy. And Marvel - woo-hoo. Truth be told, it's as perfect a sequel to the first Guardians as you could ask for, but at this point, I'm waiting to take a look at Wonder Woman and after that, I don't care if I don't see another superhero movie for at least thirty years. I can't remember when I got so burned out on a particular genre. Maybe when I realized I was too old for Saturday morning cartoons.
A Monster Calls - Cool CG fairy tale, just dark enough to be interesting to older audiences as well. Highly recommended.
The Desk Set - Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn. What would have been breezy and cute for Doris Day and Rock Hudson just kind of lays an egg for Tracy and Hepburn, both a bit long in the tooth to be playing these characters. Their stellar talents save it, but just barely.
Teacher's Pet - Speaking of Doris Day and being too old for the part - O.M.G, Clark Gable as a romantic interest for Doris Day!? EeEeEEeWw, gross!! I mean, Doris was always playing younger than we KNEW she really was, but damn. Still, the comedy works, though only as far as any Doris Day romantic comedy works.
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"I don't mean to sound bitter, cynical or cruel - but I am, so that's how it comes out." - Bill Hicks