A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Gena Rowlands plays a mother of three who’s clearly losing it.  Her husband’s not helping matters as he almost seems to get off on her loony instability.

It’s a loud, shrill, repetitive annoyance.

D

Raising Arizona (1987)

Nicolas Cage is a vanity-free genius and anyone who says otherwise is getting tripped up by his sketchy role selection process.  But, truth be told, even in the garbage, he’s magic.

Thankfully, this isn’t garbage and it can still make me laugh after a half-dozen viewings over the last 25 years. An absurd and hilariously quotable gem.

A+

Battle Royale (2000)

Lean and mean precursor to Hunger Games.

There's not a whole lot of character development, but there was just enough for me to differentiate between the kids. My son and I both really liked it.

B+

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

Starts off pretty strong with a quick engagement and lots of laughs provided by Chris Pratt, but then kind of fizzles. At best, the comedy in the back half is mild. At worst, it’s cliched.

Just not worth the time.

C-

Of Gods and Men (2011)

Lovely picture of a small group of monks in an Algerian monastery selflessly ministering to their community. When civil war breaks out, their safety is threatened and they must decide whether to stay or go.

It takes its times and gets us in the groove of their day-to-day life together.

B+

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are genuinely likable, so I’m not sure why I disliked this movie so much.  Part of it was definitely the Anakinish voice-over during the bendy-doll webslinging: “Hey! I’m swingin’ here!” -- like it was aimed at a juvenile audience.  But why?

I just can't figure out why anyone bothered making this reboot.

C-

This Is the End (2013)

One of those "laughed so uncontrollably I got a little embarrassed in the theater" movies.  The script just went for the funny almost every second & it paid off 95% of the time. I’ve never cared much for Jay Baruchel, but he won me over in this.   It was just a really good time at the movies.

A-

La Dolce Vita (1961)

A series of vignettes featuring a journalist in his various exploits with the elite in Rome.   Every bit as empty as it sounds.

D

Payback (1999)

I think this was trying for the tough but twinkly vibe of Midnight Run -- down to the soundtrack -- but it's just all wrong.  I think the trouble can be traced to the the minute they cast Mel Gibson. If they’d’ve given Bruce Willis a call, this might have been worth watching.

D+

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

It doesn’t make much sense, but who really cares? The car chases are great.

B

Now You See Me (2013)

I like being tricked, but only when I either find out how the trick was done or at least can see that there's something I'm missing.  This movie has a lot of tricks, some of which are explained, but big handfuls of which seem impossible and are not explained -- I'm guessing because they actually are impossible. 

It was fun in spurts, but ultimately a little empty.

C