Walk on Water (2005)

Israeli (agent? hitman?) is given a low-pressure assignment after losing his wife. He acts as tour guide for a young German, who happens to be the grandson of a Nazi war criminal. The principals are fully drawn and sympathetic. Nice work all around, though the denouement felt a little too neat for me.

B+

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

Oh… the ACTING. Ugh…the dialogue! Secret expedition returns from Venus with a live specimen that grows rapidly and begins terrorizing Italy. See -- they've got to capture it alive because if they don't figure out how it works, humans will never be able to breathe the atmosphere on Venus. No one ever asks the obvious "why do humans need to breathe on Venus" question, though. Too bad 'cause it could've saved a lot of time. Just a monster movie padded with ridiculous science talk and a wholly unbelievable romance. Skip it.

D+

Lackawanna Blues (2005)

Warmhearted memoirmovie. I have affection for many of the characters - but it's so bursting with characters and story-lines that it feels disjointed more often than not. And who keeps thinking it's a good idea to cast Macy Gray in stuff?! Stop it.

C

Layer Cake (2005)

Had to pause a couple of times just to slowly think through what was happening (nothing was confusing, really, there was just so much), but wow. Great.

B+

3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Good psychocological western about a family man desperate for cash agreeing to guard the leader of a hoodlum gang until he can be put on the title train. Nice subplot about the family man's desire to make his wife and boys proud exaggerating his sense of duty beyond expectations...but rightly.

B+

Thunder Road (1958)

Every scene is ripe for the mocking. Keely Smith is particularly wooden/amusing.

D

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Well, it's probably the best Tennessee Williams adaptation I've seen. Not high praise from me, though. Typically overwrought.

B-

Ride the High Country (1962)

The soundtrack almost kills this…it seems to want to make every scene a lighthearted romp. That aside -- good film. A little simplistic, but good.

B

The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)

Sometimes a film can be so uncomfortable that it makes me feel like I'm a prude. This is one of those.

The incestuous undertone and clearly disturbed daughter were just too much. Best thing about it was the hairdressing son…and he's too small a part.

C-

Look at Me (2005)

Unhappy, unremarkable daughter of a celebrity father who (when he's not belittling her offhandedly) ignores her, begins to find herself. Nice interweaving of a couple of stories linked through the daughter. Felt very natural - beautifully directed and acted.

A-

Sin City (2005)

I thought that the visual style would get old after a while - but it looked gorgeous the entire time and really fit the story rather than seeming like a conceit. Never boring. A truly incredible film.

A-

Primrose Path (1940)

Girl from the wrong side of the tracks (and I mean hovel wrong…prostitute mother & drunk dad wrong…) falls in love with a diner owner and leaves her past behind her. One of those stories where my sympathies changed partway through once I really got to know the principals. It's a good one, though the McCrea's fair-weatherness really pissed me off.

B-

Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

Started off really oddly - Gary and I looked at each other like "what the hell?" But once Sing enters the picture, things really take off, making this one of the most enjoyable action/comedies in my memory.

B+

The Ghost Breakers (1940)

Weird, low-key "comedy" about a girl inheriting a haunted castle and a guy solving its mysteries rather offhandedly. Has a for-no-reason zombie and takes way too long to get to the castle. Kind of a muted bore.

D+

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Watchable throughout…but Henry being played off as an affable womanizer bothers me. Maybe he was, but I rather doubt that a man who could have his second wife beheaded because he wanted someone new could be as much of a benign boob as Laughton seems.

C+

Winchester '73 (1950)

Exciting little western focusing on a rifle won, stolen, and passed around.

B

Frequency (2000)

Despite a couple of huge "but if that…then why…" holes, but it works if you don't think too hard. Quaid and Caviezel are great.

B

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2002)

I came to the conclusion, while watching this, that I don't think Will Ferrell is funny. Old School, Elf, and now this have all been flops in my book. This does have a couple of chuckle scenes…but far too few. Paul Rudd plays it straight and comes off the best.

D+

The Conformist (1971)

I admit it: I'm too stupid to understand this boring movie.

D

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

Looks terrific, the soundtrack is marvelous, and the casting is amazing. It's the screenplay that's the problem. Everything seems so unnecessarily rushed and I just don't get that. Were they not planning for sequels?

C+

The Big Sky (1952)

Buncha guys pole to Blackfoot country to trade. It's way too long and lots of it is boring. Beginning is the best.

C