The Smiling Lieutenant (1932)

Chevalier's "charms" are a mystery to me…but I liked this film anyway. He's caught between two women: a princess and a beautiful musician…he knows which one he wants, but they have different ideas. A pleasure.

B

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Streisand & Hoffman are delightful as the Fockers…but the movie as a whole just kinda ambles along. It's pleasant and made me chuckle -- but there was no hint of the I-can't-catch-my-breath fits such as the first one gave me.

C+

De-Lovely (2004)

Who thought it would be a good idea for "old Cole" to be sitting outside of the action commenting on it? If this storytelling conceit were the only offputting this about this movie, it may have still passed muster...but the entire film just feels all wrong and it's boring, to boot.

Near the end of the film, someone tells Cole something like "you've had such an interesting life." I was left wondering why they didn't film THAT then, since what we've got here is a huge episodic yawn. His wife, in a moment of irritation, tells him that the whole world has spoiled and indulged him and for what? Just a little bit of music. Exactly.

D-

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Loved this movie --wonderfully droll. Lots of in-jokes for fans of zombie movies!

B+

Haiku Tunnel (2001)

There is some incisive secretarial humor here (saving an easy task as a fallback in case going gets hard…the tendency to say "just a secretary" rather than "a secretary" when asked about the job), but that's not enough for a feature-length film. The structure is interesting, but the main character isn't very. He's not an irritant, exactly, but neither is he worthy of my attention. Mildly amusing -- nothing more.

C

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Everything about this movie is just as it should be. It's long, but it doesn't feel long. It's also not afraid to be dark. One of my favorites -- for Christmas or any time.

A+

The Santa Clause (1994)

I love Christmas movies, so I may be a bit softer on this one than it truly deserves. It just works for me. I especially like the scenes in which Allen is adjusting to his new life…trying to reconcile the magical with the regular… the scenes at the North Pole seem like filler in comparison. Great Christmas movie to play "in the background" while decorating or popping cookies in and out of the oven.

B

Collateral (2004)

Fun, fast ride. Foxx is a surprisingly effective protagonist.

B

Smooth Talk (1985)

Does such a good job of capturing the feeling of being a girl at the "in-between" age -- that age where one feels ready to experiment, but without any real idea what that might entail…Gets truly tense at the end.

One complaint - I thought her much older sister was her much younger sister the first couple of times I saw her on screen. Odd-looking woman-girl that caused unnecessary confusion.

B-

Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

I really hate most films from this era -- the "swinger" mentality grates, as does the fragmented storytelling style. Not as horrible as most with this vibe, but definitely not my thing.

C-

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Feels intimate and natural -- not exploitative in any way. This is a fantastic movie.

A

The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)

Cultured woman counts the onset of WWII as a bother that shouldn't affect the gracious living of her family. Not played for laughs, but it should've been…that might have been a good movie. As it stands, all it winds up being is a heavy-handed lesson movie about how everyone should be pitching in a time like this...those who help find love & purpose; those who don't are lonely and sour. Consider the release year: it's rah-rah Americanism, pure and simple.

C-

The Cat's Meow (2002)

The story behind the movie is the interesting thing here. It's quite disappointingly told, however. I should have just researched and read what I could on the internet about this episode than to have sat through this "maybe this is what happened" bore.

C

The Incredibles (2004)

Pretty entertaining and inventive -- but it didn't "wow" me like I thought it should (based on word-of-mouth and reviews). Good family film, but I've laughed harder and been more touched in much smaller films.

B

Three Smart Girls (1936)

Fast-paced comedy about sisters trying to ruin their father's impending wedding plans in order to facilitate a reunion with their mother instead. Enjoyable throughout (except for the awkward breaks to show off Durbin's singing voice).

B

Go for Broke! (1951)

Not bad story of a WWII unit comprised of Japanese-Americans. Kind of preachy at times…kind of boring and poorly acted at others…but it's earnest and short. Easy to take.

C+

Close Your Eyes (2004)

Extremely uninvolving story of a hypnotherapist who can "see" into others' thoughts and a little girl who holds the key to murders. Gets really convoluted at the end. The lead woman is boring and the lead guy (whom I usually like a whole lot) is wooden.

D+

Ghost Story (1981)

What a complete POS. No suspense whatsoever and a "duh" payoff. Stupid.

D-

2 Brothers and a Bride; aka A Foreign Affair (2004)

I had a horrible experience trying to watch this film…I had it in from Netflix, but about 3/4 of the way through, the DVD got hung up. I tried to clean it at least a dozen different times and finally gave up. Though the movie wasn't all that great, I'd sat through more than an hour of it, dagnabbit, and I wanted to see how it ended. So, I had to get a replacement DVD sent...which hung up in exactly the same place. I was able to piece together what was happening by keeping with it...trying to fast-forward through pieces and ignoring the pixelation and the drop-out sound. I really can't believe I went through this much trouble for a fairly uninspired "duh, I wonder who's gonna get together" story.

D