Danny Deckchair (2004)

Middle-class man in a rut gets a crazy idea to tie balloons to his lawnchair to see if he can get it float…he succeeds and winds up finding himself. Sweet (if predictable) film. Hard not to like this one.

B-

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)

Feels like one movie for the first act…and completely shifts gears (for the better) in the second. Not aces, but fun.

B-

The Terminal (2004)

Almost unendurable in its forced cutesiness. Does Hanks think that foreign = retarded boob? And how does he go from not understanding simple, slowly-spoken English to grasping idioms (such as "story of my life") with no difficulty? Ridiculous story - and stupid caricatures abound...Tucci's and Zeta-Jones' being the most embarrassing.

D+

Finding Neverland (2004)

I don't like "true" stories that blatantly change facts and I don’t like the distraction of children who can't act (both elements are present here).

It also felt deflated…very muted. During the first hour and 15 minutes, there were about 3 interesting (and semi-magical) scenes. The dang thing didn't even really get involving until the play "Peter Pan" went into rehearsals. Although the film was passable after that point, it still relied too heavily on sentimentality and emotional cheats.

C+

The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)

Absolute charmer about a rich man going undercover as a salesman in one of his own department stores to ferret out troublemakers.

B+

Friday Night Lights (2004)

Fantastic sports movie. Never hokey. Everyone involved did an extraordinary job in this cleanly-told based-on-a-true story about a town basing way too much of its identity on how some young kids do in a game. Almost heartbreaking -- reminded me of "Go Tigers!"

B+

Ride the Pink Horse (1947)

Interesting noir-lite. The back-story is deliberately shadowy and it's pretty effectively structured. The big problem with this film are the two leads: Montgomery (too slight to be the tough guy the script calls for) and Hendrix (too caucasian to be a wise but wide-eyed senorita).

B-

Johnny Eager (1942)

Parolee is still in the game…but doing a nice job of keeping his PO in the dark. Pretty square story - and pretty dull performances (especially by Lana Turner), but Van Heflin pulls this movie up a couple of notches all by himself. He gives an almost tender performance as Johnny's #2 man with a drinking problem and a conscience.

C+

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Offbeat…maybe a little too much so. I'm probably too far outside of the demographic to truly appreciate it. Regardless -- I was entertained.

C+

Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

It's kinda cute. Sorta like an Astaire/Rogers movie -- but without Fred & Ginger or the sparkle they delivered. Lots of song & dance numbers and a slight comedic story to hang it on. There's also a weird tangent that comes up a few times involving a man who can do different types of snores -- I don't know WHAT'S up with that.

C

Sideways (2004)

The four principals are flawless in their roles and the story is marvelous. I had only a couple of quibbles (regarding Church's character), but nothing film-diminishing. This movie is the kind of wonderful that works in more than one way. Extremely funny...quite a bit wistful...and oh-so-human. Maybe it's not perfect, but it's close.

A

Ladder 49 (2004)

Life (and death) in the firehouse. Pretty good…but I found the huge jumps in time to be problematic (I was always doing quick math). This could have been solved by putting datelines (like "year 1", "year 7" or something) and by aging the people -- especially the wife who, after 10 years of marriage and two kids, should have certainly had a haircut.

B-

Kinsey (2004)

Probably the best biography I've ever seen. Entertaining, thought-provoking, informative, and so dang interesting.

I think this man is a hero for attempting to educate and eradicate misconceptions about sexual behavior…I remember being victim to some of the myths he debunks. It's an unforgivable tragedy that, even after he'd exposed the lies, these myths continue to be circulated. As an adolescent in the late '70s and early '80s, I still believed that masturbation could destroy the possibility of fulfilling sex later on and that the "source" of female orgasm was physically located in the vagina (rather than externally).

It's painful to know that so many equate sexuality with wantonness and avoidable frigidity with holiness -- and downright disgusting that "moralists" (and, unfortunately, Christian leaders) insist upon ruling the bedrooms of its adherents...I can't help but believe that God is pained by the fact that His gift to us has been restricted by prudes.

A-

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Powerful story -- though I thought the storytelling could have been a bit better. Felt episodic at times and far too "square." Still, a must-see heartbreaker about the capacity for human cruelty and senseless slaughter and of the shame we should feel for pretending it didn't exist.

B+

The Village (2004)

What a huge disappointment. It's obvious what the "twist" is (I figured it out before I ever even rented the thing) -- but I thought that it wouldn't matter much if the film itself was well done. It isn't in the least. The dialogue is laughable…the blind girl's not blind-acting enough...and the retarded man-boy is hostile and frightening for no discernible reason. Sloppy and stupid.

D+

Stander (2004)

Covered a story I'd not heard…in apartheid South Africa, cop gets fed up with his duties and decides to see just what he can get away with by robbing several banks. Goes on a little long, but very interesting.

B

Intimate Strangers (2004)

Interesting film that unfolds bit by bit. I guess it's rather small…but evocative. And hopeful.

B-

So Proudly We Hail! (1943)

Incredibly square movie. Army nurses work during WWII -- they squabble some…they fall in love some…and they bore way too often. Told in a for-no-reason flashback format.

D+

Kings Row (1942)

Melodrama in a small town…as Robert Osborne said , it's kind of "the Peyton Place of its day" (though not nearly so overwrought). I enjoyed it quite a bit.

B-

In Old Chicago (1937)

Ridiculous fictional story of brothers going their separate ways in the early days of Chicago (one's a gambling saloon-owner; one's a too-honest-to-be-for-real lawyer; and one's a momma's boy), who turn out to be the O'Learys of the famed cow that started the great Chicago fire. Not worthwhile.

C

Closer (2004)

I deliberately waited a full day before writing down my thoughts about this film because I needed some "processing" time.

Sitting in the dark theater, there were moments when I was just hating the movie…it seemed so needlessly hurtful. But, when I was able to stand back from the film as a whole -- reflect on the totality and truthfulness of the story -- I was just wowed. I'm still wowed.

A

Garden State (2004)

A small-feeling film…but a very effective and heartwarming one. Even the quirky touches felt real rather than forced. I ended up feeling kinda proud of Braff for writing such a good story and directing it with assurance. This is a good one -- the type of film everyone pretended "All the Real Girls" was.

B+

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Rather than "so stupid it's funny," it winds up being just "so lame it's sad." Also "so poorly acted by the two leads, it's amazing." What a waste of film.

D-

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Can't touch the original, but it's interesting and would probably be graded much more highly if I weren't comparing it to anything.

B

Take the High Ground! (1953)

Drill sergeant knocks fresh-faced recruits into soldierly shape by insulting them less harshly than junior high girls insult each other. Yawn. Drill sergeant has a love interest (who's shot only through a filter when shown in close-up) with a somewhat questionable past, allowing him treat her like crap. Double-yawn.

C-

Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)

Army psychiatrist treats damaged men…but, surprisingly, the film's not depressing. Tony Curtis is welcome comic relief and Peck does his part to liven the mood as well. A couple of the therapy sessions get a little heavy-handed…but, for the most part, nicely done.

B