Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

When we heard of Paul Reubens' death, we decided it was time for a rewatch of this ridiculous gem. Though it would be impossible to ever recapture the fun of seeing it first the first time, it's still a ton of fun. From his sassy "why don't you take a picture it'll last longer," to Large Marge, to the Tequila dance, to rescuing snakes, it simply propagates joy.

The one issue (and it is, in my opinion, a HUGE one) is the casting of Elizabeth Daily as Dottie. She can't act for shit.

B

London Has Fallen (2016)

Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is the president's top secret service agent, so when dozens of world leaders flock to London for the English prime minister's funeral, Mike is at the president's side and it's darn lucky he is.

The plot is pretty basic -- bad guys are killing all the world leaders they can -- but the action is truly spectacular. Landmarks are destroyed, inventive car chase gun battles go on for ages, bridges collapse, etc. There's barely a minute to breathe. I mean, it's not good but it ain't bad.

C+

Lou (2022)

A cranky loner with a single mother renting a house on her property is quietly planning her suicide. She's yanked from those plans when the tenant's daughter is kidnapped by the highly-skilled ex. Turns out cranky loner Lou has a few more skills than she let on, too.

There's nothing really wrong with this movie, but it feels made-on-the-cheap. Allison Janney makes a surprisingly convincing action hero, which is cool, but Smollett delivers all of her lines with her typical woodenness and the kid has no future in acting.

C+

Missing (2023)

After her mother fails to return from an out-of-country vacation with her boyfriend, teen June uses all of the electronic resources at her disposal in efforts to track her down. 

Once we got past the obligatory "this teenage girl treats her loving mother like garbage," I enjoyed the ride. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it was fairly believable and very smart. I found myself thinking "yes, that would work" several times. Simply being able to navigate the online world without dealing with corporate red tape would make it possible for a civilian to make more quick progress than professionals could.

B-

Werewolves Within (2021)

Small, isolated town greets a new park ranger just before a blizzard, which isolates them further. And now there seems to be a monster terrorizing the population. It's a clever idea, taking the party game "Werewolf" (informed minority vs. uniformed majority) and turning it into a script... but it should've been a better script.

Also, I'm guessing that several of the cast members were given the direction "just be weird," or at least that's the only way I can make sense of the performances by Michaela Watkins, Sarah Burns, and Catherine Curtin. Very disappointing.

C-

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Three Australian drag queens hit the road in an old greyhound-type bus for a gig several days of driving away. There's the seen-it-all aging diva, the seasoned pro with more baggage than he lets on, and the young whippersnapper. They bicker, they turn a backwater town on its head, the bus breaks down, etc.

But there's a problem: it just doesn't ever truly let loose. Nothing's as funny as I wanted it to be and the shenanigans felt strictly PG-13 (ping pong ball scene being the notable exception).

C

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

Documentary covering the "Black Woodstock," which took place in Harlem over the course of several summer weekends in 1969. There's some terrific never-before-seen footage (because no one was interested in airing it) of well-known musicians including Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, and dozens more. 

But (sigh), the film is in desperate need of some brutal edits. Showing entire numbers -- especially when a lot of the performers were in "jam" mode -- is just too much. And while the musical acts are the main draw, the interviews with the concert-goers were incredibly illuminating. There should've been a LOT more of those (assuming they exist). 

C+

Together (2021)

An unhappy couple -- together only for their child & preparing for the first COVID lockdown -- launch us right into the action. They're speaking directly to us as though we're therapists who've asked them to "tell us everything." I almost turned it off after 15 minutes because it felt so contrived, but I stuck it out for McAvoy.

And, eventually, it pays off. Their fear, anger and unhappiness give way to the new paradigm. And they get through it together, somehow. Just like most of us did. It wound up feeling honest and accurate.

B-

Raymond & Ray (2022)

Two brothers take a roadtrip to attend the funeral of their estranged father. Neither of the sons is thriving in life and it seems their father's failures have affected their lives as adults. Once they arrive, they find out that he had some pretty odd last requests, e.g. his sons should dig his grave and he is to be buried naked.

There's nothing terribly wrong with this film: it's watchable and mildly interesting. But the thing it put me most in mind of was high school creative writing. "What if there were more sons? What if two of the sons were acrobats? What if the dad had slept with one of his sons' wives? Ooh ooh! What if that son then slept with his dead dad's former mistress??" It felt like a farce, but with the pacing of a period drama.

C

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Tom is getting undeniably long in the tooth, so much so that during a parachute scene with him I thought "he looks like he's on one of those chairs you sit on to ride up the stairs." Nevertheless, this is a truly enjoyable installment for the franchise. The nail-biting train/bridge sequence is some of the best action I've ever witnessed and Hayley Atwell is a terrific addition to the group.

Definitely worth seeing it on a big screen, but making it a "Part One" feels like nonsense.

B+

Aladdin (1992)

I saw this when it first came out and my boys watched it a few times on VHS when they were kids, but it never really stuck with me. Though I enjoyed it more this time around, a key piece of Gene Siskel's original review kept going through my mind. It was something like "It should've been called 'Genie'" and he got that exactly right. Without Robin Williams' brilliant voice work, this would be just another one of Disney's "sad princess needs rescuing" tale.

B-

White Men Can't Jump (1992)

Gary and I saw this 30 years ago when it was much more fresh -- but it holds up pretty well! It's not as uproarious as it once was, e.g. the "yo mama" trash talk is pretty tame, but the story is solid. Harrelson should be extremely proud of how far his acting has come since then, though.

B

Stories We Tell (2013)

Sarah Polley interviews her family and others close to the situation to find each person's "truth" regarding the family's open secret about Sarah's parentage. And it's sort of interesting, but not documentary interesting. I kept thinking the same thing that one of her siblings conveyed, that every family's got stories so what makes this one so special?

The answer is that it's not very special, but it could have been. Sarah's tunnel-vision insists upon putting herself at the center of the story, which I'm sure is a very natural tendency. We're all the stars of our own lives, after all. But, in doing so, she relegates the truly fascinating section of her family lore to a footnote. The fact that her mother was the first Canadian woman to lose custody of her children in a divorce and that it was a newspaper-worthy story at the time should've been the real focus here.

C+

65 (2023)

We wanted something exciting, fun, and brainless. This only delivered the last wish on the list.

At least now I know that Adam Driver can't do everything.

D-

The Windermere Children (2020)

Thousands of Jewish minors were relocated to England after the liberation of concentration camps. About 300 were taken to the Windermere Estate, which was set up kind of like a boarding school, to help integrate them into British culture. They were taught English and customs while staff also worked hard to convey the fact that they were no longer in any real danger.

The movie conveys just how difficult the transition was for the kids. The trauma was, of course, deep. Most of them were their family's sole survivor and they were being taught to forget the old and remake themselves from the ground up. The message was strong and affecting, but the film felt watered-down like a made-for-television movie. It's more that I inferred how difficult it was rather than being effectively shown it.

B-

The Accused (1988)

Jodie Foster is heartbreaking as a wrong-side-of-the-tracks victim of a gang rape. That said, what should've been an enraging and powerful story is diluted by the deliberate choice to tell rather than show through most of the film.

While I understand the deliberate choice to keep us in the dark about what actually happened until the very end, it made for a pretty flat movie. Kelly McGillis is capable, but the her portion of the story is all button-ups and bland offices.

B-

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Three men determined to recover smuggled heroin craft an elaborate plan to gain access to a safe in which they're sure the drugs have been hidden. The safe is in the apartment belonging to a photographer and his recently-blind wife (Audrey Hepburn).

Not only is the story well-crafted, the acting is truly stellar. Hepburn, in particular, turns in a terrific performance, rarely causing a suspension of belief in her handicap. That her character is smart and resourceful rather than a damsel in distress-type is refreshing in this surprisingly tense movie.

B+

Absence of Malice (1981)

Sally Field is a Miami reporter who gets an unofficial leak from an A.D.A. that a local businessman is a prime suspect in a murder case. The businessman (Paul Newman) takes immediate action, confronting her and demanding answers. As the story grows, so does the fallout and their relationship.

This is my second viewing, and it sadly does not hold up as well as I'd hoped. What I remembered most vividly from when I saw this in my youth was Melinda Dillon's tragic B-plot. Though that's still a standout and both Field & Newman are winning personalities, the reporter character (well, basically the entire newspaper) just doesn't make sense. She's bad at her job and probably would've been either fired or at least pulled from the story after the first publication.

B

Airport (1970)

A blizzard is causing delays and headaches at an international airport. Also causing problems are the various messy relationships going on. There's a ton of talking and then, in the last 30 minutes, some action, which really isn't worth the wait. The only truly entertaining storyline is that of the serial stowaway who relies on her "little old lady" looks to get away with it.

D+

Duck Season (2006)

It's Sunday and two fourteen year-old best friends are left on their own in an apartment with a plan of video games and junk food. But they soon allow a female neighbor use of their oven since hers isn't working. And, when they order a pizza, the delivery man also sticks around.

Though it took me a while to settle into the odd vibe, I eventually really enjoyed hanging out with these four. Together they form a temporary family at a time when each needed it.

B-