- 28 Days directed by Betty Thomas (2000)
[5/10]
"You don't see any remarkable performances or go through any emotional highs or lows, but you do end up with a warm-fuzzy feeling, hoping for the best as Gwen starts her sober life."
- Above the Law directed by Andrew Davis (1988)
[5/10]
"Admittedly a formula movie, but one that works well within the formula and still provides a satisfying time for action fans."
- Akira: Book 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2000)
[9/10]
"I often find the story so compelling that I'm turning pages faster than I can take in the artwork, and have to constantly remind myself to take the time to carefully look at every frame."
- Akira: Book 2 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[8/10]
"An excellent progression of the storyline and marvelous artwork."
- Akira: Book 3 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"Otomo continues with the same level of highly detailed artwork."
- Akira: Book 4 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"A lot happens in Book 4 to move the plot forward, but nothing really gets resolved."
- Akira: Book 5 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"In several places, Ôtomo describes the psychic abilities as a form of human evolution. It seems odd that human beings would evolve into a form that ultimately would eliminate human personality and place no value on human life."
- Akira: Book 6 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2002)
[8/10]
"Otomo has created an incredible, compelling story that to me defines great manga and provides the epitome of the art form so far."
- Akira directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988)
[7/10]
"Most viewers who like science fiction should find Akira an accessible story, but I highly recommend reading the six volume graphic novel for a richer, more detailed version of the story."
- American Gangster directed by Ridley Scott (2007)
[6/10]
"From the trailers, I expected to see scene after scene of gore and violence, but I was pleasantly surprised at the intellectual comparison of these 'real life' characters from our recent past."
- Charly directed by Ralph Nelson (1968)
[6/10]
"Cliff Robertson does an excellent job portraying the various aspects of Charly's personality, for which he earned an Oscar, but overall the heavy-handed anti-science themes and now anachronistic presentation style overburden the story line for a less-than-pleasing effect."
- Cooler Climate, A directed by Susan Seidelman (1999)
[6/10]
"A Cooler Climate promotes the standard American dream: with the right combination of attitude, determination, and skill you can achieve just about anything. Too bad so many of the characters had to explore immoral options before coming about."
- Deadly Exchange, A by Sheryl Jane Stafford (2000)
[5/10]
"A Deadly Exchange has good pacing and builds anticipation throughout as Matt and Alex get into increasingly deeper trouble all the way up to the very disappointing end."
- Ice Storm, The directed by Ang Lee (1997)
[5/10]
"Director Ang Lee skillfully creates the bleak mood of The Ice Storm through carefully crafted scenes and an excellent cast that easily portray the film's hollow characters."
- Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk (1999)
[5/10]
"As the story starts out, you may experience some surprises, but since every page deals with shocking situations, the stimulus quickly wears down and the horrible quickly becomes mundane."
- Magnolia directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (1999)
[8/10]
"Somehow, in spite of all the negative situations, Magnolia has a voyeuristic charm. I think we all can sympathize with one or more of the characters, and perhaps we realize (especially after the World Trade Center disaster) how easily outside events can pull our lives out of the track that we carefully planned an place us on a collision course with our past."
- Memento directed by Christopher Nolan (2001)
[9/10]
"The genius of Memento lies not in Leonard's condition, but in the telling. To punctuate Leonard having no direct recollection of the past, director Christopher Nolan plays out Leonard's story in reverse."
- Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, The by Brady Udall (2001)
[9/10]
"If you met Edgar Mint in real life, you probably could not prevent yourself from saying, 'Oh, poor Edgar.' Edgar's life sucks."
- Practical Demon-Keeping: A Comedy of Horrors by Christopher Moore (1992)
[5/10]
"Christopher Moore's Practical Demon Keeping reads like a movie treatment. You get just enough detail about the characters to understand what they would wear and give them sufficient motivation to make their actions believable, but you never get enough depth about any single character to really make an attachment -- or even really care much about what happens."
- Romancing the Stone directed by Robert Zemeckis (1984)
[7/10]
"The overall plot is fairly predictable, but the romantic and comedic elements mesh together well and create a light and funny story with just enough suspense to keep the story interesting."
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
[7/10]
"Stephenson smoothly conflates religion, linguistics, and programming into his storyline. Obviously, he did a lot of research for Snow Crash and much of that research appears in large blocks of exposition. I found the information interesting, but readers who like steady action will probably dislike the information dumps."
- Walk the Line directed by James Mangold (2005)
[7/10]
"Hats off to the casting director who discovered these hidden depths and talents in Joaquin Phoenix, who so completely takes on the persona of Johnny Cash that you might think Cash's spirit had returned and possessed Phoenix's body."
Average score: 6.73
