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.