Scanners (1981)

Scanners are like X-Men: they've got powers that most people don't, they can hurt others with those powers, and they can be weaponized when influenced by the wrong people. When a previously undiscovered scanner turns up, he's pretty quickly brought into a program to hone his skills so he can track down another powerful scanner.

And then it just gets both farfetched and repetitive. I was so bored.

C-

Maggie Moore(s) (2023)

While investigating the odd case of two women with the same name being murdered days apart, the police chief (Jon Hamm) meets the neighbor (Tina Fey) of one of the victims and hits it off. He's a widow and she's a divorcee who's still fuck buddies with her emotionally abusive ex. Hamm and Fey's scenes are the best thing here, it's just too bad their relationship isn't the main thing in the movie... or is it?

Actually, it's hard to pick out what we're supposed to focus on, there's just so much happening and every character has a tad too much personality. I was entertained, but ultimately the story just felt like an example of a story to which "kill your darlings" should've been applied.

C+

The Iron Claw (2023)

I'd never heard of this family before this movie came out and I can scarcely believe that they were real people rather than invented characters in a twisted fairy tale.

Fritz Von Erich was a wrestler with a signature move: "The Iron Claw." Though he never got to be the champ, he expects that one of his boys (maybe even more than one) will bring the belt home. The family, however, has a history of bad luck and all of them have bought into the lore of them being cursed. But, if the movie's even close to the truth, it's pretty clear that the bad luck was actually systemic mental abuse. These boys (and eventually men) were broken down by a sadist and a mother who looked the other way. With only their fellow cult members -- I mean brothers -- to lean on, they never stood a chance. None of them were strong enough to take a stand against their father, who seemed to delight in pitting them against each other and valuing machismo above all else.

It's a nasty, awful story that also suffered from a lack of focus in the telling.

C

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Despite the popularity of Charles Dickens in 1843, after a few flops he desperately needs a hit and fast. Like before Christmas fast -- but it's already October. His debts are piling up, his parents come to stay with him, and his wife is pregnant again. He cannot screw this up. Spoiler alert: he gets it done. 

Obviously, I have no idea whether the writing process depicted here is anywhere near to what Dickens's actual process was, but it's a delight. As he begins to create his characters, they come to full life and chat with him -- basically turning Dickens into a transcriber. 

The entire household is affected as he rants at the characters and destroys his study in literary fits. There's also a pall over the proceedings stemming from Dickens's bleak childhood, for which he (rightfully, it appears) blames his father. But mostly it's a lot of fun and Dan Stevens proves once again that he's quite a talent.

B

Red Notice (2021)

Everyone's after the bejeweled eggs that belonged to Cleopatra. Two renowned thieves are vying to get to them first and an FBI profiler is hot on their trail. Eventually the profiler and one of the thieves team up after bonding in prison and nothing's as it seems & doublecrosses & blah blah blah.

Ryan Reynolds basically plays Deadpool without a mask -- dropping sardonic quips at every opportunity -- Gal Gadot does her blank sexy acrobatic fighting thing and Dwayne Johnson also stays in his lane with his earnest good-guy action hero shtick.

It was fine.

C

Kelce (2023)

I watched because, as a Chiefs fan, I couldn't help but be interested in a peek behind the curtains of the season that culminated in the epic brother vs. brother Superbowl. We get to know Jason and his family and see that they're about as normal as it gets. I was charmed by the fact that they don't live like the millionaires they are -- but they really should go ahead and spend some of their money on a housekeeper.

In the end, there's just not a lot here. It was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours and that's about it.

C+

My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020)

Adult brother and sister share the care of Thomas, their sick younger brother. He can't leave the house, which has resulted in a state of arrested development and extreme naïveté. Though the trio are devoted to each other, the situation has trapped the older two in a cycle of work and care and all three in a state of extreme isolation and loneliness.

It's a breathtaking piece of work. Not only does it succeed in its presented form, but it also succeeds as a metaphor for the care of a chronically ill family member. The sense of duty mixed with resentment and the resulting guilt for that resentment was conveyed brilliantly by Patrick Fugit as the older brother. Actually, all three of the trio were exceptional. This really got to me.

A-

Misbehaviour (2020)

A group of women in London are fed-up with being second-class citizens and engage in daily "stick it to the man"-type rebellions to make their voices heard. They gain focus when Sally, a similarly-minded woman who has broken into the men's world of working toward a master's degree, joins their ranks. They decide to disrupt the upcoming Miss World pageant from inside the venue.

Meanwhile, the competitors and organizers of the Miss World pageant are preparing. They've got Bob Hope lined up for an appearance and are busy rehearsing. The contestants are a mix of jaded, wide-eyed, and practical, but the pageant is important to each of them in one way or the other.

It's the dual storylines that make this interesting. We see those who are tired of the status quo and those who can't imagine anything changing. And then there's Bob Hope who, I'm embarrassed to admit, I never knew was a run-of-the-mill misogynist (though I probably could've guessed if I'd ever thought about it for a second).

It's a decent movie that feels a bit less weighty than the subject deserves.

B-

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Gary and I only got about 15 minutes in when we tried to watch it together a couple of years back, so being in the right mindset is a necessity. And what exactly is the right mindset, you ask? An altered one, obviously. 

I mean, it's completely ridiculous and it doesn't always work, but if you hang on for a few minutes something silly is bound to happen and get you laughing.

C+

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Zak, a man with Down Syndrome, has been parked in an old folks home. He doesn't like the slow place there, especially as he has a passion for wrestling and dreams of going to a wrestling school he's seen advertised. He breaks out and soon falls in with Tyler (Shia LeBeouf), a sullen guy on the run from a mess he's made.

While LeBeouf is good and I liked the budding romance with the woman from the nursing home who is tasked with tracking them down, it's otherwise a mess. The story is all over the place and, unfortunately, Zak's not an actor. So, despite some sweet scenes, it just doesn't work.

C-

Captains Courageous (1937)

After getting suspended from school, a rich spoiled brat has to accompany his father on business via ship. When he falls overboard, he's rescued by a fishing boat and has to live and work on the boat for weeks, until they return to port. The adjustment isn't easy for him or the crew.

I first saw this with my boys back when they were in elementary school and remembered that we all enjoyed it immensely. It doesn't disappoint on second watch, either -- it's so charming and heartwarming. My only gripe is with Spencer Tracy's overdone accent, but even that is doesn't get in the way of this film's loveliness.

A-

You Hurt My Feelings (2023)

Despite their strong relationship, a comfortable New York couple are each in their own professional slump. He's starting to wonder if he's actually helping anyone as a therapist and she's struggling to get her latest novel out. Her faith in him gets shaken when she overhears him criticizing her book after privately telling her it's perfect.

Though it's a very small story, I'm at the point in my life where I found it to be very relatable. Good acting and believable angst here.

B

Dream Scenario (2023)

Fantastic premise: average middle-aged man starts appearing in recurring dreams for a good chunk of the population -- even for people who've never met him. He becomes an instant celebrity and hopes to parlay his newfound fame into a publishing deal. When the dreams become nightmares, his life is thrown into complete turmoil.

But instead of being a fun fantasy, the story just drags. I think the biggest issue is that Cage's character is supremely unlikable. He's clearly never been popular with colleagues or the college students he teaches and is described as "unmemorable" early on. Just like the dreamers, I was eager to get this guy out of my head way before I was done seeing him.

C+

Hit Man (2024)

Gary's a professor who moonlights as a techie during sting operations for the police. When an undercover cop doesn't show for one of the operations, Gary's pressed into some impromptu undercover work as a hit man being hired by the target. Thing is, Gary's generally an unmemorable dweeb. But when he's undercover? He's absolutely compelling. 

The film begins with on-screen message that says something like "What you're about to see is a somewhat true story inspired by the life of Gary Johnson." That somewhat there is doing a lot of heavy lifting as the only bit that makes this a story worth telling is fictional. They have him falling for a client who wants her husband dead and getting entangled in covering for her while dodging the suspicious cop whose place he took in undercover work. They should've stuck that "inspired by" note at the end of the movie rather than the beginning. It's a fun movie that the filmmakers twisted into a truly bizarre one because my mind was trying to make sense of how it could possibly be true.

C

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Kamikaze pilot Shikishima chickens out on his mission at the end of WWII and lands on an island filled with Japanese army mechanics. When Godzilla shows up, Shikishima again succumbs to cowardice rather than shooting the monster from his plane as directed and winds up being one of only two survivors. Things don't get much better when he gets back to his hometown to find it devastated and his parents killed. He lives with the guilt, which prevents him from opening himself up to the little family that fate hands him. Can yet another threat from Godzilla offer him redemption? 

The effects work quite well despite their obvious humble roots. The movie only really stumbles in its writing of our "hero" Shikishima, who came off as a woe-is-me child intent on cultivating misery.

C+

Free Solo (2018)

Let me first say that I don't understand the thrill-seekers of the world. I like being scared only by those things I can turn off or close quickly. If it's my choice, I will never put myself in actual physical danger. So this whole rock climbing -- and especially free soloing (climbing without the safety of equipment) -- is a mystery to me. Just why?

Still, I couldn't help but be drawn into the drama of it and, since I don't follow climbing as a rule, I had no idea how this turned out, which made it even more dramatic.

B-

Talk to Me (2023)

Teens come into possession of a hand statue that acts as a supercharged ouija board. You hold the hand, say "talk to me" and see a dead person. You can then go a step further and say "I let you in" to allow that person to use your body for 90 seconds -- but you better have your eye on the clock because going over time makes it possible for the spirit to stay.

This was both scary and believable. As a kid, I would've been unable to resist at least attending parties to watch others have this experience (though I doubt I'd have been brave enough to hold the hand myself). Making the lead something of an outcast was an interesting choice. Having worn out her welcome and others' patience definitely made her more needy/susceptible, but I quickly fell in with those who'd had enough of her. 

B-