Memorial Day Weekend

Well, my parents were down for the weekend and I got to watch a bunch of movies, plus I have a bunch that I have seen over the past two weeks that I have not yet been able to review. On with the reviews:



Once (2007)
Directed By: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova





This movie immediately jumped into my top 10 (#7 currently). The music and the acting is flawless. Throw in a $150,000 budget and the fact that the movie was filmed on Sony Handycams and you have a complete gem of a film and probably the best movie soundtrack of all time.

Acting: (9)
Effects: (10)
Plot: (8.5)
Entertainment: (10)

Cumulative: (9.375)




Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf





Same old Indiana. I have to admit that I enjoyed this film and most Indy lovers will as well. That said there were multiple flaws and while past films always teetered on the edge between realism and absurd, this installment leans heavily into the absurd camp. Definitely not unseating Raiders or Last Crusade from their respective spots on the Indy list, but I did like it more than Temple of Doom.

Acting: (7)
Effects: (7.5)
Plot: (7)
Entertainment: (8)

Cumulative: (7.375)



Before the Devil Knows Your Dead (2007)
Directed By: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei





Acting: (9)
Effects: (7.5)
Plot: (8)
Entertainment: (8)

Cumulative: (8.125)




Body Snatchers (1993)
Directed By: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Gabrielle Anwar, Meg Tilly, Terry Kinney





Acting: (5)
Effects: (5)
Plot: (5)
Entertainment: (5)

Cumulative: (5)




A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Directed By: Blake Edwards
Starring: Peter Sellers





Acting: (7.5)
Effects: (7.5)
Plot: (7.5)
Entertainment: (7.5)

Cumulative: (7.5)




In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Directed By: Paul Haggis
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron





Acting: (8.5)
Effects: (7.5)
Plot: (7)
Entertainment: (7.5)

Cumulative: (7.625)




Hard Candy (2005)
Directed By: David Slade
Starring: Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson





Acting: (7.5)
Effects: (8)
Plot: (7)
Entertainment: (7.5)

Cumulative: (7.5)





Donnie Brasco (1997)
Directed By: Mike Newell
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp




Acting: (9)
Effects: (8)
Plot: (7.5)
Entertainment: (8.5)

Cumulative: (8.25)





Cinderella Man (2005)
Directed By: Ron Howard
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger





Watched again for the first time in a while and I had previously underrated it.

Acting: (9)
Effects: (9.5)
Plot: (8.5)
Entertainment: (9)

Cumulative: (9)




Dead Calm (1989)
Directed By: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane





Billy Zane is a horrible actor in this one and the ending is just plain stupid. Plus what does the beginning of this film have to do with anything else?

Acting: (5)
Effects: (5)
Plot: (4.5)
Entertainment: (5.5)

Cumulative: (5)





I Am Legend (2007)
Directed By: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Will Smith





The animal effects in this movie are terrible. Very disappointing.

Acting: (6)
Effects: (5)
Plot: (6)
Entertainment: (6)

Cumulative: (5.75)





Ordinary People (1980)
Directed By: Robert Redford
Starring: Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland




Boring, boring, boring. Watch Good Will Hunting instead, it puts this movie to shame as far as therapy flicks go.

Acting: (7.5)
Effects: (6.5)
Plot: (7)
Entertainment: (5)

Cumulative: (6.5)