The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)Robert Ford, who's idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader. I know a lot of people and critics are ga-ga over this film, but I just found it "OK". It was a bit slow, too long and I think over-acted too often. Not to mention the title of the movie tells you the ending. I was hoping for an action western and got a melodrama. Maybe I just expected too much with Brad Pitt and Casey Afflect, both of whom I really like. 6.5/10
Keeping the Faith (2000)
A story about two friends, a priest (Ed Norton) and a rabbi (Ben Stiller), who fall in love with the same beauty (Jenna Elfman). Several comical moments but pretty much a standard chick flick. It's a smart romantic comedy with likable characters worth a watch if that's your thing, but nothing really memorable about it. 6/10
Mee-Shee: The Water Giant (2005)A New York City oil company troubleshooter is brought to a remote Canadian lake with his son, where they meet up with bad guys and a legendary creature. If I had seen this before I saw The Water Horse last year I might have liked it more. Decent effects for what it is, but very predictable. Good family movie though. 5/10
The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006)
Sequel to the 2003 movie in which a person can change the past via remembering their forgotten memories due to blackouts. I actually liked the first movie in this series, and enjoyed this one a bit in parts even. Not near as bad as I anticipated, although it was a bit inconsistent and confusing... especially the ending. A solid ending would have made this a lot better, but instead I was left saying "Why didn't he just..." 5/10
Congo (1995)
When an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong... and they find evil monkeys! Nothing worse than evil monkeys (or apes... whatever). This movie takes a good beating among critics but I find it good cheesy fun actually. C'mon, how seriously should you take a movie where they have an ape that talks with sign language via a high-tech wristband? It's a crappy movie, but damned if it's not a funny, entertaining crappy movie. Any movie with Bruce Campbell and Tim Curry both is worth a watch, just for the overacting alone. 5/10
Rain Man (1988)Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie, so he "kidnaps" him from an institution and they travel cross-country. I hadn't seen this movie in 15 years probably, and I remember why I loved it so much now. Tom Cruise is great, even though he is overshadowed by the awesome performance of Dustin Hoffman. It's a touching movie with a lot of great humor and many classic quotes. 8.5/10
Vanishing Point (1971)
The hero of the story works for a car delivery service and delivers a sweet 1970 Dodge Challenger from Colorado to Frisco, California, while along the way managing to get pursued by motorcycle cops and highway patrol and getting a cult following of fans in support. One of the original car chase movies and road trip stories, a lot of people really love this film. It is a good movie, but it didn't blow me away really. Perhaps in 1971 it would have. It's a fun look at the culture from that era and has a naked chick on a motorcycle, which is worth something right? 6/10
3:10 To Yuma (1957)
After outlaw leader Ben Wade is captured in a small town, his gang continue to threaten. A small-time rancher is persuaded to take him in secret to the nearest town with a railway station to await the train court at Yuma. I like the remake with Christian Bale a lot better than this original version, but this is a good movie as well. Glen Ford and Dan Heflin are both great and the cinematography is excellent . It's a good film despite the implausible plot. 6.5/10
Home of the Brave (2006)
Three soldiers struggle to readjust to life at home after returning home from a lengthy tour in Iraq. A very melodramatic movie that is much more of a character study dealing with the after effects of war than an action movie. It drags a bit at times but the solid casts does a nice job, with Jessica Biel, Samuel L Jackson, Brian Presley and Christina Ricci all standing out. It's no Born on the 4th of July, but it's OK. 6/10
The Monster Squad (1987)A group of kids try to stop Dracula and his group of monster friends from taking over the world. It's a fun family film which is pretty much like Ghost Busters meets The Goonies, except instead of ghosts it's famous old movie monsters like the Mummy and Wolfman. This is another film with a big cult following but I thought it was just OK as well. It is aimed at kids and I could see them getting a bigger kick out of it if they like the old monster movies I grew up watching. The 80s culture adds to the fun. 5/10
3 comments:
Did you grow up watching The Monster Squad or did you just see it for the first time. I admit, it doesn't hold up well over time, but I friggin' love this movie!
Yeah, I'm sure if I'd have seen in back in the day it would hold a bit more of a nostalgic love for me, but upon first viewing out the original era it was just sort of "eh" for me. I mean I love The Goonies, but I watched it many times in the 80s. If I were just seeing it now I'd be the same probably as this one.
Good point. My buddies wife had never seen The Goonies, so he made her watch it. She HATED it with a passion. I think if she would have grown up watching it, she would feel differently.
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