snakes

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (2007)

  [7/10]

  "Rowling has created an interesting universe and a story that surely will never go out of print. I certainly will probably read the entire series several more times in my lifetime, in spite of the numerous problems that a more careful writer would have addressed."

• Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (1981)

  [9/10]

  "The movie adaptation of Jumanji creates a sloppy reflection of the artistic precision in Van Allsburg's illustrated story about two children who find a reality-altering game in the park."

• Kung Fu Hustle directed by Stephen Chow (2004)

  [8/10]

  "Kung Fu Hustle takes all the stereotypes of the martial arts genre, exaggerates them to an extreme, and provides a hilarious tribute to the genre."

• Last Battle, The by C. S. Lewis (1956)

  [5/10]

  "In The Last Battle, Lewis pulls almost all the stops and only narrowly couches his Christian allegory in his story. The denouement occurs with about one third of the text remaining. In this remainder, Lewis explores the Narnian afterlife."

• Seals on the Bus, The by Lenny Hort (2000)

  [6/10]

  "A humorous take on the popular song 'The Wheels on the Bus.'"

• 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."

• Silver Chair, The by C. S. Lewis (1953)

  [7/10]

  "In The Silver Chair, Lewis examines man's relationship to Christ. The characters never really develop. Lewis has the characters change only to show how men can be distracted from their faith, suffer the effects, and then choose to return to the faith."

• Snakes on a Plane directed by David R. Ellis (2006)

  [5/10]

  "Sure, Snakes on a Plane just duplicates the clichés of most air-disaster movies, but with Samuel L. Jackson, you just have more fun watching the mayhem."

• Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The directed by Tommy Lee Jones (2005)

  [4/10]

  "Three Burials tries to make big symbolic and political statements but just fails to have the power to follow through with these intentions."

  Average score: 6.33