Saturday's Heros - Killy, 1937

This film is interesting primarily because it addresses issues in college football that are still relevant today, and because it stars a young Van Heflin. Other than that it is ordinary at best.

A 4 rating

Show People - Vidor, 1928

I'm a huge King Vidor fan, and while this certainly isn't his best film, it is very interesting and a must-see for movie buffs. There are plenty of great cameos here, including Vidor and Davies themselves. This is your basic "Star is Born" plot, but the inside look at the movie studio world is just great.

This is probably Marion Davies best film and there is plenty of irony here, as there are parallel's with her real career. A 7 rating.

Frost/Nixon - Howard, 2008

Ron Howard is another director I think is vastly over-rated. In fact, I mostly detest his work. And this is a weird choice for a subject. The Frost/Nixon interviews are fascinating to watch on their own, so why make a movie about them when you can just watch the originals?

That was my first reaction anyway, but I have to say that Howard did add some interesting background here. And, Sheen and Langella are both very good as the title characters.

So, this is Howard's best film and a 6 rating.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death - Herek, 2009

Never caught the tv series this is based on, but hears good things about it. This film is likable, but it just falls short just about everywhere you could imagine. When I see a film like that I blame the director. He should share the blame with the writers, who are both from tv. The movie definitely feels like a tv show, and not a good one at that.

A 3 rating.

You Kill Me - Dahl, 2007

A comedy about an alcoholic hitman? Or is this a love story? Whatever it is, it is kind of a mess. There's some decent acting here, but the entire concept just doesn't work. And how cliche is the music here?

A 3 rating.

Revolutionary Road - Mendes, 2008

Revolutionary Road can be seen as Mendes' companion piece to American Beauty (8 rating). This film is darker and more stark, and with far less humor. It's well written and surprisingly well acted though. DiCaprio may not be the best actor around, but ever since Gangs of New York (7 rating), he's chosen very good roles and been fine in them. Winslet has made a career out of playing flaky women, which is probably not too big a stretch for her. Give her credit though, she's good here as she is more often than not.

This is a notch below Beauty, but still a good film. A 7 rating.

Step Brothers - McKay, 2008

Step Brothers is about as low-brow as you can get. It's clearly a movie aimed at the lowest of lowest common denominator.

A 1 rating.

Changling - Eastwood, 2008

Typically heavy-handed approach by Eastwood, but the story is very interesting. Of course it is based on a true story, so not a lot of credit to the screenwriter. Clint often insists on doing his own music and he's not very good at it at all. However, he's not as bad with the music here as say, Mystic River (6 rating). He does usually work with a very solid cinematographer, Tom Stern, so the movie looks good.

Seems like I rate all of Clint's recent movies as a 6, and this is no exception.

Jumper - Liman, 2008

Kind of a cute idea about teleporters, but this story doesn't make any sense and it doesn't go anywhere. Just an excuse for exotic local shots. And what are Samuel Jackson and Michael Rooker doing in these stinker roles?

A 3 rating.

Bangkok Dangerous - Chun, 2008

Nicolas Cage has made far too many stupid action flicks. Here's another one, but with some nice Thailand backdrops. A 3 rating.

Shanghai Express - von Sternberg, 1932

Marlene Dietrich did her best work with Joseph von Sternberg: Blue Angel (8), Blonde Venus (7), Morocco (7), and this film, Shanghai Express. This film has extraordinary cinematography for its day, most shots look fabulous. And Civil War China is a great backdrop for a train ride. The love story angle doesn't exactly hold up, but everything else works here.

A 7 rating.