- Absolute Power directed by Clint Eastwood (1997)
[6/10]
"Eastwood does manage the suspense of Absolute Power very well. So well that I didn't really notice many of the flaws until I watched the film a second time. So, I recommend seeing Absolute Power once for the pleasant thrill, but then don't pollute the pleasant memory with closer scrutiny of repeated viewings."
- All the King's Men directed by Steven Zaillian (2007)
[3/10]
"Terrible editing, overblown acting by Penn, and underdeveloped characterization make All the King's Men not worth seeing. The depth of character that earned Robert Penn Warren a Pulitzer prize never appears in Zaillian's emaciated screenplay and leaves us with a shallow, uninteresting film."
- Apt Pupil directed by Bryan Singer (1998)
[6/10]
"Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro provide the life force in Apt Pupil, but even with such good efforts, the final act leaves us wanting more."
- Captain Blood directed by Michael Curtiz (1935)
[6/10]
"Captain Blood moves quickly, has fairly decent sea-battle effects for its time, and keeps you interested with its witty dialog and dry humor."
- 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."
- Chronicles of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian directed by Andrew Adamson (2008)
[7/10]
"Director Andrew Adamson again does an excellent job bringing the spare details of C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian to epic proportions on the screen."
- Chronicles of Narnia, The: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe directed by Andrew Adamson (2005)
[8/10]
"On the whole, Adamson has faithfully captured the essence of Lewis's book and given a movie audience the adventure story it expects."
- Cider House Rules, The directed by Lasse Hallström (1999)
[6/10]
"Movies often use an innocent outsider like Homer to bring the viewer a new perspective of contemporary issues. The Cider House Rules effectively uses this cliched character to present its pro-abortion agenda. As Homer falls in love (and has sex), he must adjust his views on abortion, especially when faced with the implications of the unwanted pregnancies of Rose, a fellow apple picker. "
- 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."
- Da Vinci Code, The directed by Ron Howard (2006)
[5/10]
"The Da Vinci Code has some better than average chase scenes and a few tense moments, but doesn't deliver the major punch at the end one would expect from all the hype."
- Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The directed by Peter Care (2002)
[7/10]
"The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys tells a touching story that really captures the essence of growing up as a teenage boy in a staunch Catholic family, and in spite of all the anachronisms, I found the movie completely engaging."
- Dead Zone, The directed by David Cronenberg (1983)
[6/10]
"As a Stephen King adaptation, I'd have to say this one does an excellent job of creating a believable world where you can accept the characters as people and believe in the character's strange abilities."
- Devil Wears Prada, The directed by David Frankel (2006)
[6/10]
"I recommend seeing The Devil Wears Prada to watch Streep's amazing performance, but don't expect much from the emaciated storyline -- thin as a Runway model and with about the same I.Q."
- Die Hard directed by John McTiernan (1988)
[9/10]
"You can watch Die Hard over and over and still get a pleasant thrill with each viewing."
- Dirty Dozen, The directed by Robert Aldrich (1967)
[7/10]
"Compared to today's action genre, The Dirty Dozen doesn't have nearly as many scenes of intense action, but it does manage to entertain with it's fairly well composed plot and well integrated subplots."
- Enemy at the Gates directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud (2001)
[8/10]
"Vassili Zaitsev shot 149 Germans during the 1942 battle for Stalingrad. Enemy at the Gates depicts Vassili and his legendary duel with the German sniper Major Konig."
- Eragon directed by Stefen Fangmeier (2006)
[5/10]
"If you have never read the book Eragon, then the movie provides a simple yet satisfying teen adventure story."
- Fight Club directed by David Fincher (1999)
[6/10]
"Rarely, a movie comes along that captures the essence of a book so well, that it outshines the book."
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone directed by Chris Columbus (2001)
[8/10]
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone holds up well to repeated viewings, although you do start to see a lot of minor inconsistencies."
- Hearts in Atlantis directed by Scott Hicks (2001)
[6/10]
"Without Hopkins, Hearts would join the long list of ho-hum we-preferred-life-in-the-1950s movies."
- Holes directed by Andrew Davis (2003)
[7/10]
"I would have to guess that the book provides more satisfactory development of Stanley's character than the film. I liked the film, and as with any good underdog story, we cheer for Stanley and Zero as they work to overcome both the oppression of their immediate situation and their family history."
- Horse Whisperer, The directed by Robert Redford (1998)
[5/10]
"In order to enjoy The Horse Whisperer, you must meet at least five of the following six criteria: you like horses or movies about horses, you like to look at Robert Redford, you like movies with panoramic scenes of the American West, you like semi-tragic romance movies, and you are a woman. If you meet these criteria, then you will not even notice that 160 minutes passed by while watching The Horse Whisperer."
- 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."
- Jakob the Liar directed by Peter Kassovitz (1999)
[6/10]
"Worth seeing once, but it won't loose much in the transition to home video."
- Joy Luck Club, The directed by Wayne Wang (1993)
[8/10]
"The Joy Luck Club examines the lives of eight women: four mothers and their daughters. Each mother went through harrowing experiences to come to the United States from pre-Communist China. And even though the daughters only know fragments of their mothers' stories, these events define major aspects of their personalities and their relationships with their mothers and others."
- Jumanji directed by Joe Johnston (1995)
[5/10]
"A movie with a promising premise, but the frame stories created to present the premise lack adequate character development to make all the special effects worth watching, especially since half the characters have their development revoked at the end of the film."
- Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang directed by Shane Black (2006)
[5/10]
"Individual scenes did make me laugh, but no synergy takes place between the noir and parody elements to make Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang more than a well-made, well-intentioned curiosity."
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events directed by Brad Silberling (2004)
[7/10]
"In most cases where I have both read the book and seen the movie adaptation, I recommend the book as the better experience. In the case of A Series of Unfortunate Events, I have to recommend the movie over the books."
- Loverboy directed by Kevin Bacon (2006)
[5/10]
"I'm not sure what message director Kevin Bacon wanted me to take away from his film. As a moral tale, Loverboy shows that both neglect and over-protectiveness create dysfunctional relationships. We don't really see any contrasting non-dysfunctional relationships, so we don't have a counter-example to know what Bacon thinks a good relationship looks like."
- Marie Antoinette directed by Sofia Coppola (2006)
[5/10]
"I find Marie Antoinette an interesting mood piece that doesn't tax the actors involved, except maybe with their period wardrobe. The soundtrack distracts from the tone of the film, and I got bored at many places, probably due to so much attention to detail in the costumes and sets at the expense of true biographical information."
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World directed by Peter Weir (2003)
[9/10]
"Master and Commander excels at presenting a picture of life on a nineteenth century naval vessel: close quarters, dirty living conditions, and a high likelihood of receiving severe wounds or dying."
- Night Listener, The directed by Patrick Stettner (2006)
[5/10]
"The Night Listener doesn't necessarily keep you glued to the edge of your seat, but it does have enough mystery and intrigue to carry the story at a reasonably pace comfortably to the end."
- Poseidon Adventure, The directed by Ronald Neame (1972)
[7/10]
"Classic disaster fare with good character development and some interesting religious philosophy thrown into the mix."
- Puppet Masters, The directed by Stuart Orme (1994)
[6/10]
"Nothing really stands out in The Puppet Masters, but none of the usual B-movie flaws drag it down ether, which leaves you with a mildly pleasant sci-fi feature."
- Rosemary's Baby directed by Roman Polanski (1968)
[8/10]
"Rosemary's Baby creates a very creepy film that builds to a frenetic pitch toward the end through a clever arrangement of finding evil in everyday events such as dinners with the neighbors, conversations in the laundry room, and doctor's visits."
- Seeker, The: The Dark Is Rising directed by David L. Cunningham (2007)
[6/10]
"The Seeker has it fun and scary moments, but the threat of evil -- in spite of its well demonstrated power -- feels hollow, and the teenage protagonist too easily defeats in five days a force that has had thousands of years to prepare."
- Smoke Signals directed by Chris Eyre (1998)
[8/10]
"Smoke Signals succeeds on many levels: as a coming-of-age movie where two young men learn that they have more in common than they thought; as a road-trip movie; as a light comedy; and as a portrait of Native American life. Alexie successfully weaves these aspects together into a story that you can watch again and again."
- Solaris directed by Steven Soderbergh (2002)
[6/10]
"Tarkovsky's characters often deliver their lines in a flat tone, as if the characters not only believe the glass is half empty, but that it's filled with poison as well. In that sense, Soderbergh has made a 'happy' version of Tarkovsky's Solaris."
- Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story directed by Michael Winterbottom (2006)
[7/10]
"Watching Tristram Shandy, you get an idea of the novel's plot, but more importantly, you get a feeling for Sterne's style in the novel. The film's self-referential presentation, the constant shifting from one subject to another, the refusal to resolve just about any issue or story arc produces the same effect in the viewer as the novel does on its readers."
- War of the Worlds, The directed by Byron Haskin (1953)
[7/10]
"By today's standards, The War of the Worlds has pretty unbelievable effects, but you can tell that Haskin took enormous care with the effects available to him at the time. The effects do work well to establish the deadly nature of the Martians and the unbelievable firepower they could produce with even just a single craft."
- War of the Worlds directed by Steven Spielberg (2005)
[7/10]
"When a story remains popular for over a hundred years, clearly the elements strike a chord in the human psyche, and who better than Stephen Spielberg to know how to make a movie that resonates that chord in modern audiences."
- Wo Hu Cang Long [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon] directed by Ang Lee (2000)
[9/10]
"I have tried to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with a critical eye, but the engaging story and the absolutely gorgeous cinematography always distract me from my critical view and by the end, I just sigh like you would after taking a bite of the most succulent cheesecake."
- Zathura directed by Jon Favreau (2005)
[6/10]
"If you've seen Jumanji, then you pretty much have seen Zathura. In essence, a couple of kids find an old game, start to play, and then realize that the game affects reality in quite serious and perilous ways."
Average score: 6.42
