X-Men: The Last Stand

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006) - July 19, 2006
A decent but essentially mediocre superhero film, though it definitely could have been worse. I was enjoying it up until about half-way through, after which I was still basically entertained, but I was just getting a bit sick of it. It wasn't all that compelling. It was certainly well acted, and competently directed by Brett Ratner, but... I don't know. There was a lot of stuff happening, and I don't know if it all tied together as well as it should have (if that makes sense). **1/2

Jason and the Argonauts

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) - July 16, 2006
Though cheesy and badly dated, this was essentially entertaining. About Jason, and his quest to travel to the other side of the Earth to procure a magical artifact. I don't think there's a single element of this film that has aged well. Ray Harryhausen's special effects, though obviously not even a little bit realistic, were a highlight. **1/2

District 13

DISTRICT 13 (2004) - July 15, 2006
This movie starts with an elaborate chase scene which, even if the rest of the movie had sucked, would have been worth the price of admission alone. It then follows it up with a bunch of action scenes that are just as good, if not better than the first one. Good stuff. The plot, involving a walled-up slum in France, is interesting enough to keep things moving during the down-times (which are long enough to keep the action from becoming overwhelming, and short enough to ensure the film maintains a brisk pace throughout). The movie was really well directed, particularly the action (it's always nice when a director realizes that you don't need to have a million cuts a second to make an action scene exciting). ***1/2

You, Me and Dupree

YOU, ME AND DUPREE (2006) - July 12, 2006
First off, I should say that I just don't buy Matt Dillon as a romantic lead. I've got nothing against him, I think he's a good actor, but he's just wrong for this type of part. He just doesn't have the kind of charisma to pull it off (plus he's got kind of a sleazy vibe going). As for the other performances, Kate Hudson was fine, and Owen Wilson was Owen Wilson. The movie itself was a predictable, unfunny, overlong bore. It wasn't good. It was flatly directed, and filled with cliches. Of course, it's hard not to wallow in cliches in a genre as well-worn as the romantic comedy; the trick is to make it feel fresh even when it's not. This did not feel fresh. *1/2

Foreign Correspondent

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) - July 11, 2006
Joel McCrea stars as an American reporter who goes to England and finds himself embroiled in a sinister conspiracy. It was entertaining throughout, featuring typically stellar direction by Hitchcock, and an engaging performance from McCrea. ***

High Sierra

HIGH SIERRA (1941) - July 7, 2006
While it wasn't really a bad film, considering that this was basically a heist movie starring Humphrey Bogart, this wasn't quite as electrifying as one might hope. Bogart is quite good (no surprise there) as a man who is released from jail and immediately recruited for a heist. The movie isn't really about the heist, though. A big chunk of the screen-time is devoted to Bogart's attempt to woo a girl, a subplot that's almost entirely pointless and doesn't really go anywhere. The movie is never entirely boring, mostly thanks to Bogey's performance, but aside from that it was pretty underwhelming. **1/2

Little Miss Sunshine

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006) - July 6, 2006
A delightful, entertaining and surprisingly funny film about a family and their journey to get to a beauty pageant. The film featured one of the best ensemble casts I've seen in a while; every role was played to perfection (Alan Arkin was a scene-stealer as the surly grandpa, and Steve Carell proved he can do drama as well as he does comedy). The movie was really well written, and the characters became people we really cared about. It was also one of the funniest films I've seen in a while (who knew a car horn could be so funny?), and did a really good job balancing the hilarity and the poignancy. This was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. ****

Superman II

SUPERMAN II (1980) - July 2, 2006
Another enjoyable Superman movie, though this was probably the weakest of the three. Zod, with his obsession with making people kneel before him, made a good villain, and Christopher Reeve was as good as ever as Superman. Though I have to say, Superman's apparent ability to give a person a mini-lobotomy by kissing them is a little bit disturbing. What's the deal with that? ***

Superman

SUPERMAN (1978) - July 1, 2006
Like Superman Returns, this was quite good, but quite long. Though this film's run-time seemed a bit more justified, given the fact that it covered everything from Krypton's explosion, to Clark Kent landing and growing up in Smallville, to his eventual move to Metropolis and emergence as Superman. It was hard not to compare it to Superman Returns; while Christopher Reeve was just as good if not better than Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey is clearly the superior Lex Luthor. Also, the special effects in this one seem pretty hokey, particularly when compared to Superman Returns. I think Superman Returns is the superior film, but this was still pretty good. ***

Superman Returns

SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006) - June 30, 2006
A good, if somewhat overlong superhero movie. Brandon Routh was pretty much perfect as Superman/Clark Kent, as was Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor (I liked that he had an evil scheme befitting a supervillain of his stature). And Bryan Singer's direction was quite good, but... it was so long. At two and a half hours, there was so much movie crammed in there it seems like they could have split it up into two movies. Oh well. It was still a better than average superhero film. ***

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006) - June 28, 2006
Wha happened? This was definitely a disappointment. Not that it was really terrible, but it pales in comparison to the first one. There were a few scenes here and there, glimmers of what made the first one so good, but for the most part it's missing the spark of that film. It didn't help that it was significantly darker than COTBP (both figuratively and literally), and unlike that movie, felt seriously overlong at around two and a half hours. It also didn't help that all the stuff with Davy Jones was dark and unpleasant. Bleh. Let's hope the next one is better. **1/2

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003) - June 27, 2006 (Second Viewing)
A rollicking adventure, and a superb film. Perhaps a bit on the long side, but that's a minor complaint, considering how enjoyable it is. Perfectly directed by Gore Verbinski, and featuring good performances all around (even Orlando Bloom). And then there's Johnny Depp, whose performance is as brilliant as it is bizarre, and who steals every scene he's in. Even if the movie sucked, it'd be worth it for that crazy performance. It didn't suck. ***1/2

Click

CLICK (2006) - June 21, 2006
About a man who finds himself in possession of a "universal" remote that can pause, fastforward and even skip time, this was a decent movie. The big problem was that the first half wasn't all that great; though the concept sounds pretty foolproof on paper, it just wasn't all that interesting (for the first half at least). But then at some point, a bit more than half-way through the movie, the tone changes pretty drastically, from silly comedy to something quite a bit more serious. Though it got somewhat melodramatic, this section of the movie was pretty good (a lot more Twilight Zone-y and a lot less silly). Plus, Adam Sandler gave a surprisingly good performance (though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering how good he was in PDL). It was essentially entertaining throughout, but yeah. A bit uneven. Plus, the absence of the two Sandler regulars was definitely felt. Where were they? **1/2

The Big Sleep

THE BIG SLEEP (1946) - June 19, 2006
An faithful adaptation of the book by Raymond Chandler. I was a bit confused while reading the book, and equally confused while watching the movie. I didn't mind so much while reading the book, because it was exceptionally well written. I minded a bit more here; flatly directed by Howard Hawks, the movie didn't exactly move at a brisk pace. Not that it was bad (Humphrey Bogart was pretty much perfect as Philip Marlowe), but perhaps a bit overrated. **1/2

Paradise Now

PARADISE NOW (2005) - June 18, 2006
A powerful movie about a couple of suicide bombers. Very well directed, well acted, and generally well made. The movie did a good job presenting both sides of the issue. And... I have nothing else to say about this film. Doritos are delicious. ***

Topper

TOPPER (1937) - June 16, 2006
About a freewheeling couple who die, and then decide to help out a stodgy banker as a good deed to get into heaven. Cary Grant was good, but Cary Grant is always good (and his part was too small). The movie itself was kind of iffy; it was basically plotless, and the main character (the banker) wasn't all that interesting. It was essentially entertaining but it did start to drag a bit towards the end. **1/2

The Lake House

THE LAKE HOUSE (2006) - June 14, 2006
Though the premise of this movie is a bit gimmicky (a man and a woman who live two years apart somehow write to each other via some kind of time-traveling mailbox), it works. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock were both really good, which helps. The obligatory fake-breakup felt even more artificial here than usual, and the movie does a really bad job keeping the last "twist" a secret, but aside from that this was pretty good. ***

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005) - June 12, 2006
A really enjoyable film noir buddy comedy / murder mystery. Written and directed by Shane Black, who wrote the first Lethal Weapon, and who does a good job here directing for the first time. The movie was surprisingly funny, with most of the laughs coming from the interplay between Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer (who were both quite good). The self-aware narration was sometimes a bit too clever for its own good, but aside from that, good stuff. ***1/2

The Omen

THE OMEN (2006) - June 9, 2006
A decent but overlong and kind of mediocre horror movie. The performances were good (Mia Farrow was really sinister as a demonic nanny, and it's always nice to see David Thewlis on the big screen), and it was reasonably well directed. The main problem was that, aside from a few creepy parts, the movie just wasn't scary. There were long stretches where you could almost forget you were watching a horror movie; it didn't seem to be building up any kind of tension, or dread. Plus, at almost two hours, it was definitely too long. **1/2

Cars

CARS (2006) - June 7, 2006
Well, this seemed like a good movie, but I'll have to watch it again to know for sure. I was really tired, and though I tried my hardest, I wound up falling asleep in the middle of the film. So yeah, another viewing is going to be necessary, especially since what I did see was good. NO RATING