Knife in the Water (1963)

Affluent couple pick up a hitchhiker and take him along on a day of sailing. Tight, tense three-person drama. Quite good.

B

A Christmas Carol; aka Scrooge (1951)

In my opinion, the best "Christmas Carol" adaptation. Heartbreaking in parts -- without being cloying -- and absolutely joyous in others. Sim is terrific.

A-

The Alamo (2004)

Booooorrrrring. Billy Bob Thornton's the only thing this film has going for it. The "drama" is forced with swelling music and ridiculous sentimental touches (Bowie has a gun in each hand though weak and confined to bed…Houston sees Travis's son go by in a buckboard during one of the "retreats"...Crockett plays the fiddle in accompaniment to the Mexican Army's battle song...give me a BREAK). Just way too hokey to be taken seriously.

C

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)

Silly & enjoyable -- but almost too silly to entertain anyone between the ages of 13 and 25.

B-

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Interesting story of greed and human nature. Takes too long…hammers home points long after they've sunk in…but still, a deserved classic.

Weirdly enough, it's Bogart who almost ruins things -- everyone else has a naturalness about them (well, maybe not the Mexican bandits -- this is the origination of the classic "steenkin' badges" line), but Bogart is almost sweating to convey his character's descent into madness. Shoulda taken it down a notch.

B

The More the Merrier (1943)

Way too slight/predictable to be of any consequence - and Jean Arthur kinda grates. I have no trouble, however, seeing why all the women in the film would bat their eyes in McCrea's direction.

C

Before Sunset (2004)

Almost as good as the first - and that's saying something. The talk flows easily and interestingly.

B+

The Clearing (2004)

Wow - I liked this movie so much more than I could have imagined I would. Told extremely well and with a minimum of flash. A movie that should have a bigger audience.

Mirren is, as ever, simply marvelous.

B+

Angels in America (2003)

What's all the fuss about? There's just so much here that, when all's said and done, boils down to damn near nothing.

Thompson's angel is kind of irritating and Pacino…well, I don't think Pacino's as good an actor as he once was. I believe I'd even go so far as to accuse him of being a ham. He doesn't only indulge in chewing the scenery, but in nibbling on his co-stars as well. Every time he had a monologue, I almost went to sleep -- the guy's a bore.

Wright, Streep, Shenkman, and Kirk are all amazing in their roles (more than one per customer), but I think the story got more attention for its "gays are people too! But weren't in 1985!" hit-on-the-head-with-a-hammer message than for any real story merit. Iron-Jawed Angels was robbed, I tell you!

C

Harry & Tonto (1974)

Widower's long-time apartment is torn down and he needs to find a new place for himself and his cat. Almost plays like someone's boring home/vacation movies - everyone's too low-key and the main character's just like every old guy with stories I've ever met. Not really worth following him around.

D+

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Sappy & sloppy. Free-thinking teacher comes and wakes up the housewives-to-be at an all-girls college…but she learns a thing or two as well! What a surprise!

Takes far too many shortcuts, e.g.: her out-of-nowhere relationship/break-up with the Italian professor and Dunst's ice-princess with a breaking heart. There are some good facets, but they're dragged down by the rest of the predictable film. Obviously striving to be a female Dead Poet's Society -- but it misses the mark by a wide margin.

C-

Shrek 2 (2004)

An improvement over the first installment -- I think adding Antonio Banderas as a rival sidekick was terrific. There's certainly a "more of the same" aspect and the first sequence of movie homages felt tired. I enjoyed it -- but I wasn't blown away.

B

A Home at the End of the World (2004)

Anyone who thinks that Colin Farrell might just be a flavor-of-the-month party boy should be, after seeing this one, convinced that the kid's got pure talent. The story kinda meanders a bit -- but there's power and beauty and a hell of a lot of fantastic acting here. I enjoyed the "grown-up" scenes the best, but I've heard others say the first half is the stronger half. This is one of those movies that cast a spell on me -- but I doubt most will like it.

B

Prime Suspect 3 (1993)

A bit too much going on -- too many names and accents to keep things easily straight. Still, Prime Suspect's good stuff if only due to the presence of Mirren.

B