- 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."
- Devil's Own, The directed by Alan J. Pakula (1997)
[5/10]
"Ford and Pitt have enough charisma and talent to carry most of the scenes, but by the end, all the scenes don't make a very satisfying, or even logical, plot."
- 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."
- Hard to Kill directed by Bruce Malmuth (1990)
[5/10]
"A moderately fun romp with plenty of action, although Seagal's character probably disables just as many people with his gun as he does with martial arts."
- Just Wait by Craig Huls (2001)
[4/10]
"Even though Just Wait missed many opportunities to involve me emotionally, I enjoyed reading the story as a light suspense novel."
- Lethal Weapon directed by Richard Donner (1987)
[7/10]
"The characters, plot, and action all mesh effortlessly. Most action movies sacrifice plot and characterization for the sake of action, but Lethal Weapon balances its action with a logical plot that truly demonstrates a need for the use of lethal force."
- Madagascar directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath (2006)
[6/10]
"Darnell and McGrath know that their plot only holds up for so many jokes, and mercifully Madagascar runs a trim eighty-six minutes -- just enough time to enjoy the story and the laughs without getting beat up by the same jokes over and over."
- 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."
- 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."
- Shi mian mai fu [House of Flying Daggers] directed by Yimou Zhang (2004)
[6/10]
"Even if I weren't tired of watching martial artists dancing in the treetops, Yimou Zhang's House of Flying Daggers lacks the depth of story found in many of the recent Hong Kong martial arts epics such as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and even his own Hero."
- V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue (2006)
[8/10]
"The twisting and engaging story line more than makes up for the 'comic book' characters, and director JamesMcTeigue displays an excellent balance of mystery, suspense, and violence."
- Witness directed by Peter Weir (1985)
[7/10]
"Witness creates good suspense and shows the contrasting culture of the Amish without making any judgements. The script lays on the religious symbolism quite thick: John (an apostle of Christ), Book (a synonym for the Bible), and John knows carpentry (Christ was the son of a carpenter). With this setup, you must expect that John Book will function as some sort of savior figure, but that savior figure also has romantic inclinations."
- World Trade Center directed by Oliver Stone (2006)
[6/10]
"Stone does an excellent job of developing his characters, in spite of having his main characters immobolized in a pile of rubble. He also never allows the story to get overly sentimental and avoids overtly manipulating the audience's emotions."
Average score: 6.23
