The Spirit - Miller, 2008

I'm not a huge Frank Miller fan, like some people, but I think he does have artistic flair. This movie is a lot like Sin City (6 rating) except that it is funnier and a bit less visually appealing. It also seems to owe a lot to Batman and the story doesn't make any sense at all.

Fans of the original Eisner comics will either be sadly disappointed or outraged because the characters in the movie: Octopus, Sand Serif, Silken Floss, etc, don't act anything like their comic book originals. And curiously, the movie includes Lorelei Rox, who was a minor character in the stipes, and omits P'Gell, who was a major character.

Anyway, it is funny and looks good in some spots, so I'm giving it a 5.

The Warriors - Hill, 1979

The Warriors was a very influential movie for a lot of people I grew up with, giving us the catch-phrases: "Can you dig it!" and "Warriors - come out to plaaaaay." And Walter Hill is great at combining action with artistic styling. I seem to remember some fights and protests at certain theaters when this film came out, so it clearly made a big impact and is something of a cult film today.

I resaw this as the "Ultimate Director's Cut" and the only differences I can remember from the theater version is a bunch of added comic book animation interludes between the scenes. That didn't do much for me. In fact, I think the film was better without those. I was hoping that Hill would reconsider the awful ending scene on the beach, where David Patrick Kelly's gang stands idly by when their leader has a knife thrown at him and his gun taken away. Then about 200 guys mysteriously show up out of nowhere.

I originally gave this film a 5 and would give it at least a 6 without that ending, but I'm sticking to the first impression.

The Day The Earth Stood Still - Derrickson, 2008

Unlike most people, I found the original 1951 version of this film, generally considered a classic, a bit slow and gave it a 5 rating. However, that is a far better film than this one, which justly deserved its Razzie nomination for "Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel". This is a film that is unintentionally funny in parts. And, it is film like this that make Keanu Reeves (who I'm not as down on as most) a laughing stock in some circles.

I think Jennifer Connelly is in this movie just to prove that Hulk (2003, 2 rating) was no fluke for her. She really needs to read those scripts ahead of time because she is all over the spectrum when it comes to role quality.

A 2 rating and it only gets that for a few good visual effects.

Doubt - Shanley - 2008

Doubt has two things I ordinarily don't like in a film -- it is all too trendy topical and it is based on a play. Add in very average direction and things looks bleak. However, the acting here is outstanding. Streep and Hoffman certainly deserved their Oscar nominations, and Adams probably deserved hers. Davis is very good, but I'm surprised she got one because she only has one short scene!

A 6 rating.

Burn After Reading - Coen&Coen, 2008

After a long string of average movies, the Coen Brothers return to Fargo/Lebowski form with Burn After Reading. This movie is something of a cross between Fargo (7) and Raising Arizona (7) in tone, with some violent/suspense scenes intermixed with comedic ones.

An extremely good cast moves the whimsical storyline along nicely. A 7 rating.

Leatherheads - Clooney, 2008

Leatherheads is a potentially good movie that suffers from being a bit too cartoonish at times. The three leads - Clooney, Krasinski, Zellweger - all do a decent enough job, and I like the sepia tones in the cinematography, but it's hard to take this film seriously when it clearly seems "tossed off" in parts.

A 5 rating.

Pride and Glory - O'Connor, 2008

A very uneven movie. In some ways, this is extremely top-notch, with some great acting and some very good scenes. There's a superbly realistic fight scene and some good camera work. However, the plot is a bit weak and the editing is bad. This is the type of movie that deserves a re-cut edition to be put out.

As it stands, it is a 6 rating, but it is very close to being a star or two higher.

The Last Mimzy - Shayne, 2007

The Last Mimzy is a very entertaining childrens' film that has one glaring plot hole for grownups. If the people of the future are able to build a machine that could go back in time and give people super powers, wouldn't you make it a lot better at doing the task it was built for -- collecting DNA? Maybe the pollution in the future messed with the scientists' brains, so that they got "feature-happy" with their device and forgot about what it needed to do.

A 6 rating.

Religulous - Charles, 2008

First off, I'll say that I'm not a Larry Charles fan. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" made me cringe and I only found "Seinfeld" occasionally funny. I'm kind of neutral about Bill Maher. So, my hopes were not high for Religulous, although I certainly gave them credit for taking on the subject of religion in an irreverent documentary.

And in fact, that is the real strength of this movie, the fact that so few documentaries have criticized religion in such a straight-forward fashion. Basically, Maher interviews religious people, often on the extreme end of the spectrum, and questions their unquestioning belief, often with humorous comments. It's a simple film, but it mostly works because of some clever editing.

I'm a religious person myself, so I can understand how some people might be offended here, but that's part of the point. Personally, I found their agnostic certainty to be almost as dogmatic as some of the people they were making fun of, but I also enjoyed watching a film with a perspective that isn't often expressed.

I'm on the 6/7 border for this one but will side with the 7 rating for being daring.

Speedy - Wilde, 1928

An uneven Harold Lloyd comedy. There are two fabulous scenes: where he takes his girl on the cable car to Coney Island, and then at Coney Island itself. There's a cute cameo by Babe Ruth, and then the rest of the movie is pretty ordinary. Well worth seeing just for those good scenes though, and the location NY shots as well.

A 6 rating.

Somebody Up Their Likes Me - Wise, 1956

I'm not a big fan of biographical movies. They are just too unrealistic and one-sided for my taste. The fight scenes are laughable in this film, but it has several things going for it though. One is Paul Newman, who does a great job here. Next is the excellent cinematography by Ruttenberg, who started out in the silent film era and worked until 1968. Finally, the supporting cast is solid.

If it wasn't so hokey I'd give it a 7, but I give it a 6 rating and blame it on the 50's.

Resurrecting the Champ - Lurie, 2007

This has a good story and a good cast, but suffers from being too much like a "movie of the week". I can spot some TV directors straight off because they are so obvious and lack any kind of distinctive style. And that holds back a potentially good film like this one.

A 5 rating.