2008 MINI FILM REVIEWS

(In alphabetical order)

*= screened on DVD/online
**= denotes not eligible for 2009 awards

117 films screened in the 2008 calendar year (as of 11/10)


10,000 BC- Starring Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis
It's hard to describe 10,000 BC. I'd grunt, but the actors in this film speak perfect English. I'd laugh it off and smile but they have better teeth than I do. There wasn't much of a point to it. Caveman looks for girlfriend. Caveman kills mammoth. Caveman fights Egyptians. Camilla Belle improves her acting skills (When A Stranger Calls) by keeping her lines to a minimum.
Grade: D-

21- Starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey
This is a kind of movie that could work as a good heist or action film, and compliment Rounders in exposing the world of gambling. Instead, the whole movie feels lazy, from the boring presentation, phoned in acting from Spacey and Bosworth, to the outright sloppy mistakes. I like Sturgess (Across The Universe), but the guy needs a new haircut and a personality already.
Grade: D (3/30/08)

27 Dresses*- Starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman
One dimensional romantic comedy starring one dimensional characters who get into situations predicted ages beforehand. Heigl, and especially Marsden, are genuinely at ease and their natural likability make this a passable and forgettable piece of fluff filmmaking. Nice use of Bennie & The Jets, the second best movie moment using an Elton John song as a plot device this decade.
Grade: C+

88 Minutes*- Starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Amy Brenneman
The devolution of Al Pacino as an actor is startling. Since 1992, he's become a parody of a parody of his Scent Of A Woman character. That being said, 88 Minutes isn't the "worst movie of 2008" (Mike Brieaddy), but it certainly has many, many flaws. The strong smell of Vancouver scenery, some odd camera work, the wretched and unevenly paced conversations between Pacino and any of his co-stars, just to name a few.
Grade: D-

Air I Breathe, The*- Starring Forest Whitaker, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brendan Fraser
With a well-rounded cast (including not named above, Andy Garcia, Kevin Bacon, Emile Hirsch, and Julie Deply), director Jieho Lee strives for a film akin to Crash or any of Robert Altman's films. Instead he piles on one disconnected and contrived scene after another, a cast that plods through stories about... nothing, really. He who dies, he who lives, do they matter? If four of these characters are truly based on ancient Chinese proverbs, I'd say say the Chinese should sue this American film for defamation of character.
Grade: D

Appaloosa - Starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger
Harris starred, directed, co-wrote and co-produced this lumbering western that re-teams him with his A History Of Violence co-star Mortensen. The performances are all solid and edgy, menacing in their surroundings (though Jeremy Irons' character voice is remarkably similar to that of Daniel Plainview), but Appaloosa slowly builds and builds to a climax that never really comes. Pretty to look at, not very interesting to watch.
Grade: C (10/4/08)

Baby Mama- Starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear
Just about every aspect of this film comes off either: annoying, cliche, or something you'd expect Diane Keaton starring in, circa 1987. Despite starring the razor sharp and witty Tina Fey, it's easy to tell the film wasn't written by her. Props to Amy Poehler for being slightly more tolerable than most of her SNL characters. And Sigourney Weaver? Yick.
Grade: D+ (5/7/08)

Bangkok Dangerous- Starring Nicolas Cage, Shahkrit, Yamnarm, Charlie Young
Laughably bad and exceedingly boring, Bangkok Dangerous plays like Nic Cage's steely Asian action version of An American In Paris. He fights some bad guys, trains his Thai courier boy the ways of the American dojo, and falls in love with a deaf mute pharmacy clerk. And the hair, oh Lord child, the hair. Cage's pantomime skills are classic.
Grade: D (9/5/08)

Bank Job, The- Starring Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Steven Campbell Moore
The idea behind the story is interesting, and seems convincing enough. Jason Statham seems like a better actor here, if only because he's more subdued than his Transporter or Crank characters. The only downside is the film feels rushed and disjointed at times, as if director Roger Donaldson couldn't decide to play it as a straight heist film or a quirky British noir ala Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (both of which also featured Statham).
Grade: C+ (3/23/08)

Be Kind Rewind- Starring Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover
A somewhat grating comedian, a former rapper, and a director (Michel Gondry) who seems lost without material written by Charlie Kaufman do DIY parodies of random movies. Sounds terrible doesn't it? But actually Be Kind Rewind shows alot of heart in unlikely places. It becomes apparent early on that despite the presence of Black, Gondry is determined to continue his offbeat brand of filmmaking to tell an irrelevant but good-natured story.
Grade: B+

Beverly Hills Chihuahua - Starring Piper Perabo, Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore
The premise and the marketing for this film is outlandishly and garishly stupid by all means, but Chihuahua IS a Disney movie. Given the chance, Chihuahua isn't half bad, and actually spreads a positive moral message to its key demographic of little kids. Director Raja Gosnell (Scooby Doo) refrains from taking the film's annoying qualities to an absolute hilt. Sort of like this generation's Homeward Bound, except for slightly less intelligent and focused kids. AKA, perfect for the YouTube generation.
Grade: C (10/3/08)

Bill*- Starring Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks
Cute little morality tale that falters towards the end and suffers from a lack of complete focus. Could have found a bigger indie audience with a more creative title. The supporting cast is really strong (Logan Lerman, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Sudekis, Kristin Wiig, Craig Bierko), and Eckhart is fairly endearing as the titular character. His role as Harvey Dent in the upcoming Dark Knight has become just as intriguing as the late Heath Ledger's.
Grade: C+

Blindness - Starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal
Blindness, Fernando Meirelles' much anticipated follow-up to Cidade de Deus and The Constant Gardner, is extremely ambitious visually, ironic for such a story about quarantined blind people. It has Children Of Men and I Am Legend vibes, inserting a we-take-our-lives-for-granted rhetoric in the midst of an almost apocalyptic disaster quality film. In the end Blindness fails to see a grander picture of allegorical democracy, but is interesting enough for an artsy two hour commentary on the beauty of vision.
Grade: B (10/4/08)

Body Of Lies - Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong
Director Ridley Scott peppers some unorthodox moods and settings into an otherwise typical cat and mouse chess game of spy intrigue, thus making Body Of Lies interesting and watchable aside from its two main stars. DiCaprio and Crowe are certainly fine here, but the film just nearly misses going south on its own prestige, ala Scott's American Gangster a year ago. Mark Strong, as a Jordanian leader and possibly the British equivalent to Andy Garcia, is a quiet force that hits the right marks.
Grade: B (10/10/08)

Bottle Shock- Starring Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine
Cliche indie dramedy with a twangy late 70's northern California soundtrack that seems to interject pluckiness in vain. Some pretty common themes of father/son relationships and hard work is whitewashed with such a "Proud To Be An American" feeling, that even the consummate thespian Rickman acts like being British is a crime of social grace.
Grade: D+ (8/29/08)

Brideshead Revisited- Starring Matthew Goode, Ben Whislaw, Emma Thompson
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: B- (8/29/08)

Bucket List, The** - Starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes
This could be a good subject for a tear-jerking movie with alot of touching humor and pathos, instead director Rob Reiner turns it into a fake melodrama with two actors losing their grip on acting. I imagine it was made simply to let Nicholson and Freeman tour famous locales. Oh, how the mighty Nicholson has fallen.
Grade: C (1/12/08)

Burn After Reading - Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt
Though not nearly as funny or heartwarming as some of the Coens' best parables, Burn After Reading doesn't necessarily let it's big name actors get in the way of an interesting and well-made, if ultimately pointless film. The main stars range from excellent (Pitt is a considerable Supporting Actor nomination) to weary (John Malkovich is a great actor, but kind of slows down the film here).
Grade: B+ (9/13/08)

Chaos Theory- Starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend
Billed as a comedy, Chaos Theory has some elements that make you laugh. But comedy it really isn't. Much of the movie is spent on dramatic themes of family crisis, self-control and paternity questioning. Ryan Reynolds' performance, one that proves that if given a chance at a dramatic role he can nail it, saves this inconsequential film.
Grade: C+ (3/15/08)

Charlie Bartlett- Starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr, Hope Davis
Charlie Bartlett as a film is nothing that will be remembered in the annals of movie history. But for what it is, Charlie Bartlett is a cute little quirky indie movie that showcases the emerging talent of Anton Yelchin. It's not quite clear where Yelchin will be in 10 years, because he's not exactly an adult leading man, but its obvious he has talents. See him in Star Trek in 2009.
Grade: B

Choke - Starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Anjelica Huston gives a knockout performance, as does Rockwell as always, but it's hard to take their merits seriously in such a bizarre story of bizarre characters. Sort of true to Chuck Palahiuk's book, everything is disjointed until the very end, but it takes a lot of investment to understand any of the character's motives beyond the simple premises. Entertaining, but strange and hard to warm up to.
Grade: B- (9/30/08)

City Of Ember - Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadway, Bill Murray
Usually obscurer, secondhand children fantasy novels such as City Of Ember fizzle out as movie adaptations. But unlike say, The Seeker or The Golden Compass (though Ember's box office numbers say otherwise), Ember has the feel of a cult classic kids adventure that hasn't been seen widespread since the 1980s. Though it treads into some mundane and quirky aspects, the film features some fun performances and Oscar/Prezzie deserving Set Design/Costumes.
Grade: A- (10/10/08)

College - Starring Drake Bell, Kevin Covais, Andrew Caldwell
It's pretty sad when a film titled College is still more infinitely forgettable than a simple T-shirt with the word on it. Though it has some genuinely funny laughs occasionally, the movie suffers from a slew of perplexing decisions going against it. Targeting high schoolers and Drake Bell fans with an R-rating? Making all your characters except Covais truly detestable? This ain't your older brother's Superbad.
Grade: D+ (9/5/08)

Cloverfield - Starring Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller
An amazing film visually at certain points, Cloverfield suffers from uninspired dialogue and uninventive creatures and plot. It felt like an overlong theme park simulator ride at Universal Studios, but still amazing how they can manage to insert such digital effects into a shaky camcorder shot. Lives up to the hype, at least for the time being.
Grade: B+ (1/19/08)

College Road Trip* - Starring Martin Lawrence, Raven Symone, Donny Osmond
Quite possibly the most annoying movie I've ever seen, it seems each actor was told to try to outdo each other to be the loudest and most screechiest on the set. Every actor makes the most over-indulgent facial expressions, and nobody is afraid to scream to the levels of audience intolerance. Raven Symone's breasts are a certifiable co-star. The fact that I laughed so much from the ridiculousness of the whole debacle saves College Road Trip from an F.
Grade: D-

Dark Knight, The- Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
For full review, Click Here
Grade: A (7/19/08)

Definitely Maybe- Starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks
Somewhat schmaltzy, undeniably entertaining little romantic comedy with unnecessarily good acting by Reynolds, Banks, Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline and Abigail Breslin. Lots of cornball romance and retcon Bill Clinton humor aside, Definitely Maybe survives on a charming, whimsical little story that doesn't expect to be overtly witty.
Grade: B- (1/16/08)

Disaster Movie- Starring Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Nicole Parker
For full review, Click Here
Grade: F (8/29/08)

Drillbit Taylor- Starring Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Alex Frost
Drillbit Taylor is best described as a Superbad Lite, marketed for the teenagers who were too stupid to find a way to see Superbad in the theatres. Owen Wilson is good at doing his usual... Owen Wilson-ness, and the kids can be charming at times. But a disturbingly desperate Leslie Mann and the misuse of intriguing talents Alex Frost (Elephant) and Josh Peck (TV's Drake & Josh) as bullies disappoint.
Grade: D+ (3/22/08)

Eagle Eye - Starring Shia LeBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton
Eagle Eye is sort of a coming out party for director D.J. Caruso to be the next Michael Bay. Vastly entertaining yet insufferably over-the-top and cliche, Eagle Eye curbs itself from a host of movies, including Enemy Of The State, I Robot and without spoiling TOO much, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sure, it has a cheeky sense of humor and never truly takes itself completely seriously, but even if it was thrilling enough to finish the popcorn bag, you find yourself asking WHY?
Grade: C+ (9/27/08)

El Orfanto (The Orphanage)** - Starring Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep
Unlike the previous film, El Orfanto knows how to build suspense and at least give a plausible exercise into the supernatural dealings. The psychological aspects were tense, if the film in general wasn't necessarily scary. The little knock-knock game she plays with the ghost children is surprisingly tense, but fun. Belen Rueda could easily replace Penelope Cruz et al as a fine bilingual actress in American film.
Grade: A- (1/12/08)

The Express - Starring Dennis Quaid, Rob Brown, Omar Benson Miller
Saved by the surprisingly nuanced performance by Brown as the titularly nicknamed player, The Express is an otherwise stereotypical feel-good-to-feel-bad sports drama ala previous football films about race and death such as Remember The Titans and Brian's Song. Frankly it's amazing a story like Ernie Davis' has went this long without a film treatment. Solid film to watch, even if you've seen similar variations of every cliche in the football film playbook several times before.
Grade: B- (10/10/08)

The Eye - Starring Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey
At least compared to One Missed Call, this version of the ever increasingly tired genre of Japanese-American horror isn't entirely bad. Nothing particularly memorable about it at all, but again Alba proves that she CAN be adequately tolerable in movies. Can't wait for a sequel, possibly... The Nose? Or... The Throat?
Grade: C (2/2/08)

Fireproof - Starring Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel
It's a simple matter of personal faith; if you're a die-hard Christian, you'll probably love Fireproof. If you're an atheist, agnostic or someone who couldn't give a crap about Kirk Cameron, Fireproof will make you burn with hate. Yes, the acting is kind of cheesy at points, and it is more or less shot like a Lifetime movie. But for a film that was made on half a million dollars and starring Cameron and a bunch of Georgia church volunteers, it's surprisingly durable.
Grade: B (10/3/08)

Fool's Gold* - Starring Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland
Despite the easy affability, chemistry and charm of the leading actors- a pair that should be together in real life- Fool's Gold sinks to the bottom of the filmmaking depths with shallow caricatures and some jarring violence for such a breezy and hollow effort. It's like an exotic vacation that you spent the entire time in the lavatory for.
Grade: D

Forgetting Sarah Marshall- Starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis
Much in the vein of 40 Year Old Virgin and usually all Judd Apatow linked movies, Forgetting Sarah Marshall combines that odd pastiche of crude humor and likable love story. Fun characters, good cameos and entertaining humor. Russell Brand looks to be the next Brit to try (and eventually fail) to crack America's audiences. Only drawback would be Bell's character devolving so quickly into obscurity at the end.
Grade: A (3/20/08)

Funny Games- Starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt
Sadistic, twisted, and thought provoking. Heavy-handed almost to a fault, and yet isn't as graphically violent as many PG-13 movies. The entire main cast was amazing, especially Pitt & Brady Corbet as the killers. A rare film that had serious subject matter but didn't take itself seriously. Remade from a 1997 movie by the same director.
Grade: A (3/18/08)

Get Smart- Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: C+ (6/20/08)

Ghost Town - Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni
It takes a lot of gall to appreciate Gervais' awkward and dread based sitcom comedies (including the brilliant, original UK version of The Office), but surprisingly Gervais is easily accessible here. He alone turns what would normally be a middling romantic comedy of the updated Topper variety into a charming spectacle with a little bit of off-color bite. Ghost Town is the kind of film that one shouldn't necessarily be excited to see, but is proof that there is fresh life in the romantic comedy genre. Surprising little gem of a movie.
Grade: B+ (9/25/08)

Hancock- Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
For full review, Click Here
Grade: C- (7/4/08)

Happening, The- Starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
For full review, Click Here
Grade: C (6/13/08)

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay- Starring John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry
While it does a good job capturing the random stoner humor that worked so well for its White Castle predecessor, Guantanamo Bay fails during the times it tries to develop too much political relevance, exposition, and totality of the character's lives. Corddry is excruciating, but serves his hated role well. Of course Neil Patrick Harris's scenes, riding in on his white unicorn, make up the best bulk of the film.
Grade: C (5/9/08)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army- Starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: C (7/11/08)

Henry Poole Is Here- Starring Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: A (8/15/08)

Horton Hears A Who!- Starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett
Unlike the other modern predecessors of Dr. Seuss' classic stories, Horton feels genuinely close to a living version of the book. There's some random and pop culture references aside, but at heart it's still an entertaining child's film that shouldn't be dated in a few years. The voice cast is star-studded, but at least they picked actors who have interesting and entertaining voices.
Grade: A- (3/23/08)

Hottie & The Nottie, The*- Starring Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, Christine Lakin
Amazingly, Hilton is NOT the major problem with this movie. Granted she'll probably receive a worst actress nomination, but her negative publicity just save consumers from a terrible plot and even worse script. Moore and Lakin are adequate, but while preaching inner beauty, the whole basis for Moore's character to fall in love with her is making Lakin (the "nottie") attractive. Isn't that kind of degrading?
Grade: D-

House Bunny, The - Starring Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Colin Hanks
For full review, Click Here
Grade: D (8/24/08)

How To Lose Friends & Alienate People - Starring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox
Whereas Pegg's "Brit conquering the States" contemporary Ricky Gervais found himself working seamlessly in the mainstream Ghost Town, Pegg has yet to break out of the sheer brilliance of Shaun Of The Dead. How To Lose Friends is full of pompous revelation and cliche hyperbole. It gets tolerable in the second half, but save the pig and chihuahuas for a family comedy. Fox is spot-on as an airhead actress, but she's still only used for her body here.
Grade: C- (10/3/08)

In Bruges*- Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes
Solidly crafted little tale of hitmen stuck in a historic little town in Belgium, full of earnest morality mixed with quirky moments of physical humor. The ending gets kind of bloated on strange justification, but the acting is top notch for this kind of film, Colin Farrell especially. Fiennes as a hitman with a conscience is a nice dept touch.
Grade: A- (6/27/08)

Incredible Hulk, The- Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt
For full review, Click Here
Grade: B (6/13/08)

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull- Starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett
For Full Review, Click Here
Grade: B+ (5/23/08)

Iron Man- Starring Robert Downey Jr, Terence Howard, Jeff Bridges
While not a great film in a normal sense of filmmaking, Iron Man succeeds by hitting all the right buttons and churning out perhaps the best "superhero" movie since Spider-Man 2. Downey, as usual when not strung up on drugs, is as charming as he is a bastard, perfect for the back story of his character. Bridges is apt as well, if only he wasn't outshined by his freakish neck beard.
Grade: A (5/7/08)

Journey To The Center Of The Earth- Starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem
For full review, Click Here
Grade: C+ (7/11/08)

Jumper- Starring Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, Samuel L. Jackson
Contrite action tale of a brooding young man (Christensen) who develops the ability to transport himself to any part of the world. Interesting idea is muddled by underdeveloped action sequences and lifeless acting by Christensen and Rachel Bilson. Samuel L. Jackson adds to hair legacy with a blond cropped wig. Hard to believe Doug Liman went from Swingers, to Go, to The Bourne Identity to Mr & Mrs Smith to this. Even harder to believe they want to make a pending sequel in 2011.
Grade: C-

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl- Starring Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormand, Stanley Tucci
For full review, Click Here
Grade: A (7/11/08)

Kung Fu Panda- Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie
For full review, Click Here
Grade: B (6/10/08)

The Life Before Her Eyes*- Starring Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri
This is a very interesting film that could have been extremely powerful considering its subject matter (a school shooting that affects an aimless teen into a successful but haunted adult). But the choppy, touchy-feely direction by Vadim Perelman dilutes much of the film into a confusing mess. It features an end twist which turns the entire concept of the movie on its head, for both good and bad. Props to Amurri (Susan Sarandon's daughter) for branching away from a role completely opposite of her appearance in Saved!.
Grade: B-

Love Guru, The- Starring Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake
For full review, Click Here
Grade: D- (6/20/08)

Mad Money*- Starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes
Meddlesome WASP, loudmouthed black woman, and Scientology trailer trash all come together to form the wussiest heist film ever made on celluloid. This is the kind of action film that only elderly ladies of Keaton's age can appreciate, and I'm sure that demographic ate it up. For the rest of us it is a nearly perfect torture device. I felt bad for Ted Danson though. He can still act, and he's stuck in a film like this.
Grade: D

Mamma Mia! - Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth
For full review, Click Here
Grade: C+ (7/27/08)

Man On Wire - Starring Philippe Petit, Annie Allix, Jean-Louis Blondeau
Usually when one thinks of a documentary, they think of a subject that is either made to change a point of view, or to enlighten. Certainly Man On Wire enlightens, but for a subject so seemingly inconsequential in the grand scope of the world- a man tightrope walking across the World Trade Center almost 35 years ago- it is highly entertaining. Blending a unique spin of straight documentary and heist film, director James Marsh doesn't mince on 9/11 despite an easy target to do so, and thus the absence of the subject makes the legacy of the WTC that much more bittersweet.
Grade: A- (9/16/08)

Meet Dave- Starring Eddie Murphy (x2), Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union
For full review, Click Here
Grade: D (7/11/08)

Meet The Spartans - Starring Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Kevin Sorbo
I sense the irony that One Missed Call, a horror film, was so terrible it was extremely funny, and that Meet The Spartans, a "comedy", was so terrible it was scary. Possibly the worse excuse for a "comedy" I've ever seen. Makes Date Movie look Shakespearian. To reiterate... Hell would be watching Meet The Spartans over and over again, even in a plush comfy chair.
Grade: F (2/2/08)

Midnight Meat Train, The- Starring Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: D- (8/2/08)

Miracle At St. Anna - Starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso
For every ingenious thing Spike Lee crafts within this quasi-true story of black soldiers holed up in Italy during WWII, Lee seems to make 1 1/2 times more mistakes with the storyline. While his "struggling race in the face of white supremacy" slant has been toned down over the years, Lee still manages to make a couple of toothless jabs at the subject. An interesting tale with a couple of stellar performances (Omar Benson Miller in particular is sweet natured), Miracle At St. Anna ends up disappointing in the long run.
Grade: B- (9/26/08)

Mirrors- Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: F (8/22/08)

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day*- Starring Amy Adams, Frances McDormand, Lee Pace
A throwback to the screwball-in-a-classy-way type comedies of the 30s and 40s, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is delightful in its own world with great cinematography and fierce acting, but instantly forgettable in the long run. Seems aimed at the over 40 female crowd that still serves tea and cakes and read books of the month. Lee Pace is an emerging talent though.
Grade: C

Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, The- Starring Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: B (8/3/08)

Never Back Down- Starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, Dimon H
Pretty people with character names like Baja, playing rich high schoolers and/or fighters, loud pop-rock blasting from the soundtrack speakers, goofy sidekicks with passe slang and curly hair, Never Back Down plays like Fight Club for teenagers, without the ramifications nor or the wit. "Never give up, never back down!"... was that paraphrased from Galaxy Quest? And what is Dijmon Hounsou doing here? Wasn't he in Blood Diamond recently? I thought he still had a career, unlike the Reunion hacks like Sean Faris.
Grade: D-

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena
With its cooler-than-thou New York suburbanites crawling the city spouting lyrics and gusto within every square inch of prime hipster real estate, Nick & Norah should be a casualty of the MTV generation lambasting the indie generation. But the film features a charming cast of up-and-comers who fit into their roles like beautiful stereotypes, and we're left with a pocketful of music rebellion nostalgia that hasn't really been seen since the 1980s.
Grade: B- (10/3/08)

One Missed Call - Starring Shannon Sossamyn, Ed Burns, Ana Claudia Talancon
One part The Ring. One part Boogeyman. One part Final Destination. All parts terrible. Japanese remakes for American audiences walk a fine line of being terrible regardless, but this wasn't even close to being good. Totally, disgustingly, laughably horrible, and everyone knows it. Instant Uglie contender for all 3 major categories. I'd of been outraged at how bad this film is if it wasn't so unintentionally funny. "I'm a cop!"
Grade: F (1/12/08)

Over Her Dead Body*- Starring Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell
Over Her Dead Body is perhaps the wispiest, most lightweight romantic comedy ever recorded on film. The performances, even the standard faux witty banter aren't necessarily bad, but it's so fluffy and forgetable that it's hard to stay focused even during the film, let alone writing about it. Longoria's role reduced to a cameo, despite top billing, and Rudd's natural likeability probably saves this from being memorably bad.
Grade: D+

Paranoid Park*- Starring Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen, Daniel Liu
At first, Paranoid Park will instantly be compared to Gus Van Sant's Elephant; same in the vein of teenage alienation starring real teenagers using sometimes painfully long artistic shots. But despite the sometimes sketchy acting and general apathy of the direction, as an experiment into the psyche of American teens under duress, Paranoid Park stands on its own legs.
Grade: B+

Passengers- Starring Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, Andre Braugher
It's not the out and out worst movie of the year, but Passengers is so boring and cluttered with curious mistakes that it fares worse than many pointless films that you know are going to be bad. Horrendous story with a nonsensical ending that flips between vague thriller and peppy romance, anchored by uninspired performances and the dreariest shot location in history. Has there EVER been a good film made in Vancouver?
Grade: F

Pineapple Express- Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole
For Full Review, CLICK HERE
Grade: B- (7/17/08)

Prom Night- Starring Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jonathan Schaech
As a cohesive whole, Prom Night isn't as laughably bad as some other recent hit movies, but they edit out so much stuff, the film ends up completely bland and boring. Everything about the film is so underachieving and mediocre, that it's an hour and a half of watching pictures move. Brittany Snow (among others) is just pointlessly terrible. Go back to American Dreams.
Grade: D- (4/15/08)

Promotion, The- Starring Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer
For full review, Click Here
Grade: C+ (6/16/08)

Rambo - Starring Slyvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze
There's no real point to making another Rambo film, other to soothe Stallone's aging ego and hopefully make a quick profit. But for all the senseless violence and non-existant dialogue (and some editing seemed sketchy), Rambo served well as a mindlessly entertaining action film. Nostalgia films has it's purposes, as did 2006's Rocky Balboa, but Stallone needs to quit while he's ahead. It is what it is, yo.
Grade: B- (2/12/08)

Redbelt- Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emily Blunt, Tim Allen
Ejiofor is an engaging actor in almost everything he does, but he can't save this muddled, bloated, and astonishingly cliche martial arts drama by David Mamet. The coincidences that drive the story along are threadbare, and the chemistry between every character is non-existant. Tim Allen however, is pleasantly restraint.
Grade: D (5/9/08)

Righteous Kill - Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, John Leguizamo
On the bright side, director Jon Avnet improves on his technique over 88 Minutes. While De Niro and Pacino are nowhere near the brilliance their careers were 20-30 years ago, they don't embarrass themselves too badly here. The big hitch however is the fact that the "grand twist" is obvious to anyone who's ever seen a NYPD noir 20 minutes into the movie, and thus we're forced to watch this tepid cat and mouse game go on for another hour before anything gets resolved.
Grade: D+ (10/4/08)

Rocker, The- Starring Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Teddy Geiger
For Full Review, Click Here
Grade: C- (7/24/08)

RockNRolla - Starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong
Entertaining if stereotypical Guy Ritchie British gangster noir, RockNRolla has a mix of great performances (Wilkinson, Strong, Toby Kebbell as the title nickname) and atrocious ones by Jeremy Piven (a surprise) and Thandie Newton (no surprise). Although quick-paced and fun, the quirkiness of Ritchie's characters and situations have never been this full tilt, and it starts to get annoying towards the end.
Grade: C+ (11/9/2008)

Role Models - Starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks
There's something about a little boy, not even yet a teenager, shouting extreme expletives that kind of bothers me. Curse words are a great tool for humor, but not when it's so out-and-out obvious. I can watch kids get blown up, shot, murdered all sorts of ways on screen, but Role Models' sort of lopsided raunch-to-heart ratio couldn't muster up the affection. File this under the underwhelming category with the similar but blander Drillbit Taylor.
Grade: D+ (11/9/2008)

Ruins, The- Starring Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore
Almost surprisingly, The Ruins is pretty good. It won't win any awards for any category, even in local horror conventions, but it's effective in the key areas that makes for entertaining movie going in horror films. Major suspense, adequate acting, realistic feeling of dread, and not having a clue where the plot is headed (if you didn't read the book). The "villain" might be kind of silly, but horror movies shouldn't have to explain everything.
Grade: B+ (4/15/08)

Run, Fatboy, Run- Starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria
If we're comparing this to Pegg's other ribald transatlantic hits Shaun Of The Dead or even Hot Fuzz, Fatboy doesn't work. It's a small little comedy with nothing particularly offensive or even hilarious. The themes are nothing that haven't been covered endlessly before. It won't change your life, but Pegg is as always endearing to the viewer, so it's hard to hate a movie that doesn't really do anything great nor terribly bad.
Grade: C+ (3/30/08)

Semi-Pro- Starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin
This could have been a groovy comedy. Ferrell returns to the 1970s, and mixes in a charismatic cast (Andrew Daly & Will Arnett as the commentators are highlights, as is Jackie Earl Haley), but poor execution and some unfunny choices in humor only continue to dilute Ferrell's once original brand of comedy (Anchorman). He really needs to revamp his schtick.
Grade: C

Shutter- Starring Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, David Denman
I call this film, "Revenge On Three Supporting Television Characters In Search Of A Rape". Basically your average J-Horror American remake, sitting through an hour of clusterfuck to find the real reason behind the "scary" moments. Watching the horrendous John Hensley of Nip/Tuck fame die saved this film from a D rating.
Grade: C- (3/23/08)

Smart People- Starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page
Obviously with new indie queen Ellen Page playing a major role, Smart People will unfairly get compared to Juno. But really, these types of quirky, intellectual jargon comedies have been around for at least a decade. And while the performances were all strong and understated (in a good way), it didn't exactly have anything profound to say. Just your slightly above average so-lame-it's-hip-clothing, indie-rock-infused-soundtrack kind of movie.
Grade: B- (4/15/08)

Snow Angels- Starring Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano
Depressingly wonderful. A brilliant character study of people not too far removed from everyday life, or at least some of the people you try to ignore. If you can swallow the montonomy and depression for a little while, director David Gordon Green unfolds a "it all happens for a reason" kind of storyline with a clear-cut message. Just like real life, everybody has their own conflicts, some just handle them better than others. And as Beckinsale and Rockwell greatly show us, they aren't capable of that, in very different ways.
Grade: A- (4/16/08)

Space Chimps- Starring Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels
For Full Review, CLICK HERE
Grade: D (7/27/08)

Speed Racer- Starring Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman
An absolutely atrocious looking film of colors (gaudiest big budget summer blockbuster since Batman & Robin), Speed Racer is supposed to be a movie to hate. But since nothing about the film is supposed to be real anyways, the suprisingly complex and outlandish plot and genuine emotion by vets Goodman & Sarandon make it bearable, even in the face of the terrible little kid and his monkey.
Grade: B (5/9/08)

Spiderwick Chronicles, The*- Starring Freddie Highmore (x2), Mary Louise Parker, David Strathairn
Every producer in town is trying to come up with the next Harry Potter, or at least one like the fledging Chronicles Of Narnia franchise in the children's fantasy business. But akin to say, The Golden Compass or The Seeker among countless others, Spiderwick is mostly a forgotten, joyless "epic". The family scenes are good, but most of the execution of the story is lacking, cliche and/or outright bullshit. Highmore was okay, but did we really need two of him?
Grade: C-

Star Wars: The Clone Wars- Starring Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, Samuel L. Jackson
Pretty much just an elongated and more expensive Saturday morning cartoon, The Clone Wars has some intricately detailed backgrounds, but yet have some fluidity problems animating the characters. Even clunkier yet is the script, which is familiarly Lucas-esque; fight, talk, fight, talk. The new characters, including a preteen with an Egyptian headdress and Jabba The Hutt's gay, purple, Truman Capote-inspired uncle would be about as laughable as Jar Jar Binks if this was a serious film.
Grade: C- (8/23/08)

Step Brothers- Starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen
For full review, Click Here
Grade: D+ (7/27/08)

Step Up 2 The Streets*- Starring Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Channing Tatum
I hadn't seen the first film, but by the opening credits of this one, the series struck me as this generation's Fame, replacing 1980's aerobic dance and pop with underground crews and hip-hop. The dialouge is terrible, and doesn't strike me as authentic to "the streets", but rather white suburbanites attempting to be urban. But I suppose, despite the weak script, since it has a positive message and the dialouge IS harmless, it can't be all bad for the teenagers to see compared to say, One Missed Call.
Grade: C

Stop-Loss- Starring Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
What Friday Night Lights or even Varsity Blues was to high school football, Stop-Loss is to the Iraq War. Director Kimberly Pierce does her best to stay away from that Texas patriotism cliche, but tries too hard to appease both factions of the war controversy. Phillippe is actually pretty effective, but what's with the random meaningless bit parts (Alex Frost, Steven Strait, Laurie Metcalf)?
Grade: C (3/27/08)

Strange Wilderness - Starring Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill
A complete stoner movie, 100%. But unlike Meet The Spartans, at least this one has the guts to use mostly far-fetched jokes that don't pander to instant celebrities and 11 year olds. A strangely charming cast from various comedy troupes, Justin Long wins the comedic crown here. Most likely 2008 comedy to appear on Comedy Central in 2009.
Grade: B- (2/2/08)

Strangers, The- Starring Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: A- (5/30/08)

Superhero Movie- Starring Drake Bell, Sarah Paxton, Christopher McDonald
The best way to describe Superhero Movie is simply that it could've been alot worse. It doesn't conjure up the old classics of spoof movies, but after such dreck as Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet The Spartans, a somewhat focused spoof movie and halfway decent storyline gives it a little bit of fresh air. With such low expectations coming in, this gets a higher grade than it probably deserves.
Grade: C-

Swing Vote- Starring Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer
For full review, Click Here
Grade: B+ (8/11/08)

Teeth*- Starring Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Hale Appleman
Teeth, about a girl with 'vagina dentata' (look it up), isn't supposed to be more than a nicely made Grade B indie horror film, and for the most part it succeeds in that vein. Perhaps the weirdest of the genre since 2006's Slither, Teeth sometimes fails to revel in it's campy nature. Weixler, looking like a younger Heather Graham, works pretty effectively, as for once the repulsive Hensley as her vile step-brother.
Grade: C+

There Will Be Blood** - Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier
The intriguing part of There Will Be Blood is the way the film can seem like an old filmmaking drama such as Giant or The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, yet show modern convention. Day Lewis is magnificent, and Dano does a good job holding his own on screen. Day Lewis deservedly won the Oscar and Prezzie for Best Actor.
Grade: A (1/04/08)

Traitor- Starring Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Said Taghmaoui
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: A- (8/29/08)

Tropic Thunder - Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: A- (8/14/08)

Untraceable - Starring Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks
I'm pretty sure the producers envisioned making a torture porn film akin to the Saw and Hostel series, but tried to cover it up with fake acclaim by inserting a serious story and absolutely no excitement. I mean it was passable, but what's the point? To see Colin Hanks die? To give Diane Lane yet another movie to star in and be positively average?
Grade: D+ (1/27/08)

Vantage Point - Starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, William Hurt
Ripping off Rashomon with the multi-angled storyline of the same event is an interesting idea. Unfortunately for American audiences it came off pretty frustrating, as after the fifth or sixth time, resetting the clock solicited a few groans. Then oddly, the second half of the movie became a straight action thriller. Good, but the storyline deserved better.
Grade: B

Vicky Cristina Barcelona- Starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: C+ (8/16/08)

WALL-E- Starring Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: A+ (6/27/08)

Wanted- Starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: B (6/28/08)

War Inc.*- Starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Hillary Duff
Strange little dark political satire about a hitman in an American corporate-controlled Middle Eastern country, that varies between mostly unsubtle but not riotous humor to a lackluster romance between Cusack and Tomei. A farce of accents, with Duff doing an Eastern intonation to Ben Kingsley appearing with a Texas cadence, War Inc. just feels very haphazard. The Cusack siblings (John & Joan) reunite for the 10th time in film, joining Grosse Pointe Blank co-star Dan Aykroyd as a silly Dick Cheney knockoff.
Grade: C-

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins*- Starring Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones, Mike Epps
Roscoe Jenkins is something that's been done infinitely before, even just in the black subgenre (The Cookout, This Christmas, all of Tyler Perry's movies etc...), but try as it might to develop a bond with its characters, Roscoe Jenkins just piles on loud and lame humor and a paint-by-numbers climax. Only Epps was kind of funny, and it's sad to see some really good actors such as Jones and Michael Clarke Duncan get saddled into this.
Grade: C-

What Happens In Vegas...- Starring Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry
Typical romantic cheese starring two actors who probably will never reclaim their former glory. Kutcher seems fairly normal, but there's nothing exciting about his performance, or the script for that matter. Diaz's face is melting. In 5 years her career can be resurrected if a Donatella Versace biopic gets made. And the less said about Corddry, playing a character named 'Hater', the better.
Grade: D+ (6/10/08)

Witless Protection*- Starring Larry The Cable Guy, Ivana Milicevic, Jenny McCarthy
Farts, poop, puke, odors, beer, back acne, boobs, just about any cliche, juvenile thing that constitutes what Larry (aka Dan Whitney) thinks is 'man-humor' for the Southern Gentleman is found here. He doesn't even change his trademark sleeveless red shirt. I suppose there are worse films in the annals of movie history, such as his confusing vocational oxymoron Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector. And the music... best described as 'Redneck Muzak'. Yikes.
Grade: F

X-Files: I Want To Believe, The- Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly
For full review, CLICK HERE
Grade: C- (7/27/08)

You Don't Mess With The Zohan- Starring Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui
For full review, Click Here
Grade: F (6/6/08)

Zack & Miri Make A Porno - Starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson
Though not as cohesively funny and warm as Judd Apatow's 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, director/writer Kevin Smith fills in for Apatow's producer misfires this year with his own knock-off that follows the same raunchy-but-sweet formula. Crude, quite possibly deserves an NC-17 in its own right, but downright more touching and funny than 95% of PG-13 movies. Justin Long, Brandon Routh and surprisingly Jason Mewes are highlights along with usually durable Rogen & Banks.
Grade: B+



MOVIES CATEGORIZED BY GRADE
(updated 10/04)

A's = 20 (15.4%)
B's = 30 (23.1%)
C's = 41 (31.5%)
D's = 29 (22.3%)
F's = 10 (7.7%)
Total = 130

A+ (2)
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

A (7)
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Funny Games
Iron Man
Kit Kittredge
There Will Be Blood

A- (11)
City Of Ember
El Orfanto
Frost/Nixon
Horton Hears A Who
In Bruges
Man On Wire
Rachel Getting Married
Snow Angels
The Strangers
Traitor
Tropic Thunder

B+ (10)
Be Kind Rewind
Burn After Reading
Cloverfield
Ghost Town
Indiana Jones 4
Kung Fu Panda
Paranoid Park
The Ruins
Swing Vote
Zack & Miri Make A Porno

B (10)
Blindness
Bolt
Charlie Bartlett
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Fireproof
Henry Poole Is Here
Valkyrie
Wanted
Vantage Point
Yes Man

B- (10)
Body Of Lies
Brideshead Revisited
Choke
The Incredible Hulk
Milk
Miracle At St. Anna
The Mummy 3
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Pineapple Express
Speed Racer

C+ (14)
The Bank Job
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
Definitely Maybe
The Express
Get Smart
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
The Life Before Her Eyes
Mamma Mia!
The Promotion
Rambo
RockNRolla
Smart People
Strange Wilderness
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

C (14)
27 Dresses
Appaloosa
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Bill
Chaos Theory
Eagle Eye
Harold Kumar 2
Hellboy 2
Madagascar 2
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
Run Fatboy Run
Semi Pro
Stop Loss
Teeth

C- (13)
The Bucket List
The Eye
Hancock
The Happening
Jumper
The Rocker
Shutter
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Step Up 2
Superhero Movie
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
War Inc.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

D+ (10)
American Teen
Baby Mama
College
Drillbit Taylor
How To Lose Friends & Alienate People
Nobel Son
Role Models
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Untraceable
What Happens In Vegas

D (11)
21
The Air I Breathe
Bottle Shock
Fool's Gold
The House Bunny
Mad Money
Meet Dave
Over Her Dead Body
Redbelt
Righteous Kill
Step Brothers

D- (8)
88 Minutes
Bangkok Dangerous
College Road Trip
The Hottie Or Nottie
The Love Guru
The Midnight Meat Train
Prom Night
Space Chimps

F (10)
10,000 BC
Disaster Movie
Igor
Meet The Spartans
Mirrors
Never Back Down
One Missed Call
Passengers
Witless Protection
You Don't Mess With The Zohan