Blade (1998)

Not bad, really. Though the effects translated poorly to TV, this was a solid action/thriller. It bordered on campiness at times -- I thought it would have been a better choice to go ahead and EMBRACE the camp. It almost took itself too seriously at times, and that ruined what could have been truly fun.

That big climax with the blood god took too long to set up and the pay off wasn't worth it (although Frost reassembling a'la T2, but with blood rather than liquid metal was hellacool). And , in “The Grifters,” Mom sexually approaching son was desperate, sad, and disgusting... here, it's just disgusting.

C-

Gates of Heaven (1980)

Supposedly about pet cemetery patrons, but veers off into the boring, petty lives of the cemetery owners. Maybe if I believed in a doggie heaven I'd be more into these pathetic stories...but I seriously doubt it.

I'll just go on record as saying that I think Morris lucked out on "The Thin Blue Line." He has no concept of the difference between "interesting" and "mind-bogglingly boring," choosing static shots of nonsensical images to focus on at length, often with no dialogue to soften the stare-time. Ugh.

D

Coming Home (1978)

Fonda and Voight are good, but the story isn't as brutal as it could/should be. Instead of being powerful because of the destructive impact war has on everyone, it focuses on the pedestrian destruction caused by the "neglected wife finds true freedom with sensitive stranger" storyline.

I had to pause the movie a couple of times in the last 20 minutes just to relieve my ears from the pounding "background" music -- even though the scene changed, the music REFUSED TO STOP.

C+

La Ronde (1950)

It's possible I'm too moral or in love or something to really enjoy a movie about disposable relationships. Or it could be that the film purports to be about love but turns out to be about sexual couplings instead. But the story shifts focus often, so it doesn't risk boring you with a particular couple and I really like the narrative device, especially the introduction.

B-

Donnie Darko (2001)

This is one weird film. I'm still not sure what it was all about, but it doesn't really affect the fact that it was beautiful. My word. How did they cram so much inventiveness into one film? How did they know just how far to go with the characters to make them believable and sad and only slightly ridiculous? If they just got lucky, that's cool for them. If this was their master plan, they're freakin' geniuses.

A

Frailty (2002)

My expectations were really high for this film before seeing it and that worked against it somewhat, but not too much. It's only an hour and 40 minutes, but it seemed much longer, for some reason. I could see twists coming before I should have been able to and the young Fenton's overacting got on my nerves - he did things that no child (in my opinion) would do.

With all of those complaints, I still think Frailty is pretty damn good. Bill Paxton is awesome and I love that we only see Fenton's perspective during the flashbacks -- we don't get the whole picture. “Is Dad crazy?” we wonder. “Probably,” we answer. And yet... he's so sincere. That kind of ambiguity is rare, and it deserves high praise.

A-

The Rookie (2002)

I thought it could have been tightened up quite a bit and the dramatic tension increased. Quaid and Griffiths were good, of course – it’s the script that let them down. Too many of the "color characters" just flat could not act; and his son was less cute than annoyingly cute – a bit like Jonathan Lipnicki. There's no denying it's an inspiring tale, though!

C-

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Everyone looks hot and tired in this road movie. I guess that's the point, but it makes for one tedious movie. And Henry Fonda is a bit too muted for my liking.

C

Last Year at Marienbad (1962)

Oppressively weird...story? memory? nightmare? I'm not too sure. It folded back on itself, messed around with scenes, and confused me thoroughly. It didn't bore me, but the pleasures of an hour and a half of a brow wrinkled in puzzlement are few. I think the way to watch this is without a view to "figuring" anything out. Just approach it in the same mode in which you'd listen to a poem. Savor the beauty, admire the ambiguity -- don't try to solve anything.

C+

The Longest Day (1962)

A veritable cameo-fest, which actually came in handy: there were so many roles that having some played by readily recognizable stars made it a bit easier to keep track. The first two hours - the waiting, planning, etc. - were awesome. Once the attack actually began, we got into territory I knew somewhat better and it wasn't so interesting (of course, I know that's not quite fair as this was probably one of the first films to undertake the story at this scale, but I can't help it that it's not the first one I saw!).

Really a good film, too bad it was released the same year as Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill a Mockingbird; one year earlier and it probably could have nabbed Best Picture.

A-

Panic Room (2002)

I loved the little touches, like Jodie Foster feeling around the toilet tank in the middle of the night for the flusher - it's a new house and she doesn't know it by rote yet - and Jared Leto, a poor little rich white kid sporting his wanna-be-cool cornrows.

The mom and the girl were smart, but not unbelievably so and every time I thought "why don't they just..." they went ahead and did what I thought they should, where most scripts leave you screaming at the victims' stupidity. I also love that they didn't tell us what happened to Forest Whitaker's character at the end, we're allowed to fill in that blank.

This is a quality film, starting at the very beginning with those gorgeous titles...quite possibly the most arresting credits I've seen.

B+

Changing Lanes (2002)

I didn't quite buy the Ben Affleck character…he was so eager to destroy this guy and then do a 180 less than a day later. I've been thinking about Samuel L. Jackson's character and my initial impression that he was just a victim has become less cut and dried. I debated this a bit with a friend afterward – she thought that his retaliatory actions were wholly inappropriate while I felt that he only exacted what was deserved. I think I've changed my mind.

Decency is not optional, no matter who you are or what's been done to you. The film did its job -- I was swept up throughout (until the finale, that is). Everything worked out a little too neatly for both characters and I don't think that serves justice as fittingly as the filmmakers obviously believe it does.

B-

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

There was 12-15 minutes of interesting movie here – but the bulk of the film was spent on an incessantly squealing Mickey Rooney and ballerinas cavorting with children in flower outfits.

D+

Following (1999)

Although this movie reminds me of lots of other movies, therefore it can't be called entirely original, I liked it. I see Nolan working with the screwed up timeline he perfected later in Memento. It's short – hour and 10 minutes short – and that's a good thing. The acting's great, the story's tight and interesting, and there's not a chance to get bored.

A-

Cry-Baby (1990)

I realize that this is supposed to invoke memories of the teen films of the '50s & '60s, but it doesn't. Maybe it's because it can't quite capture the innocence that was part of the package back then -- that might not be it, but something is most definitely missing…perhaps it’s just the desire to see that kind of stuff!?

It does work really hard at making sure that nothing makes too much sense and stereotypes are firmly in place. No depth here! The songs are fun and Depp is wonderfully sincere. But, once you stop hoping that there'll be more to it, you start hoping it'll be over soon, and that ain't a good thing. Plus Kim McGuire (Hatchetface) is truly difficult to look at.

D+

Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947)

Pretty dang good, but the film wasn't true to itself a few too many times – "Aw, you drunk! I'm leaving and I'm taking the kid 'cause she's not safe with you…" then later, "No matter what condition she's in, the kid's safe with her.” Also, they blame a "fantasy" affair on an overactive imagination, when 20 minutes earlier an admission was made by one of the alleged participants! Nevertheless, Hayward does a good drunk and the early marriage scenes make you believe the two are in love.

B-

David Copperfield (1935)

The first half – covering David’s childhood – is charming. Both the boy and his Aunt Betsey made me smile much while watching. The second half, however, left me cold. I found it to be just way too much. Too much...but always assured that everything would come out right for young Copperfield in the end – even though many of his troubles were his own fault. The result was that I just didn’t care too terribly much for the hero in the end.

C+

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

I am crazy for Kirk Douglas and movies about movies. Hey! How could I miss by checking out this movie about the movies STARRING Kirk Douglas? Not quite up there with All About Eve, but it's darn close.

I thought "isn't that just like life" after watching it; it's a great parable. The heartless producer who uses people for his own ends, but those he's used emerge the better for their affiliation. If only we could divorce ourselves from the hurt pride and hurt feelings and immediately expose the gems left behind by all experiences, we'd be able to die right there, for we'd have nothing else to learn.

A

Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001)

If I were an actor, my ultimate goal would be to make it into a film in which I could star opposite Haley Joel Osment. He is beyond good -- he is heartbreakingly believable and I'm excited to see all he'll do.

The story is fantastic while we're at "home." It's pretty good when we're with Joe. It falls apart once the aliens come on the scene. Wasn't it ambitious enough? Did we have to do TWO leaps into the future? And, even though I didn’t actually have to see his manic face, Robin Williams couldn’t help over-hamming it in voice-over.

B+

Love and Death (1975)

So many great one-liners and short enough that it didn't get tedious. One of the great Allen comedies with the sole agenda of cracking up the audience.

B+