day for night

Million Dollar Baby

Review and rating to come. Working on a new format of sorts.

The Grudge

Nonsensical gobbledygook based on a cult fave from Japan, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer reduced to the catatonic victim of some Spooky Ghosts Born From Rage! Never very scary, but often quite silly. 29

'Changes'

It's been hard keeping up with all the movies that I've been watching recently (mostly crap; thanks Showtime). Frankly, I don't know how people like Matt manage to write two dozen meaty capsule reviews a month. I feel lucky if I can throw together a couple of sentences on what I see. Because of this, I will probably be adopting the Film Lovers Are Sick People format (longer-form "reviews" on select titles) in the very near future. Hopefully this will also help me get my fat ass away from the TiVo and into the movie theatre (yeah, right). I will still be listing and rating every movie that I see, however, if you are interested.

Phantoms

Weak adaptation of a novel by the poor man's Stephen King, Dean Koontz, about some strange creatures that have decimated a small NoCal town. Only highlights: Liev Schreiber's s-t-r-a-n-g-e performance and Rose McGowan in white. 22

The Lost Weekend

Dated attempt to depict a man's descent into severe alcoholism. I admire some of Billy Wilder's work as much as the next man, but this movie is just silly if you look at it with sixty years of hindsight. Got to love how Ray Milland's mad treck through lower Manhattan looks, though. 61

Twentieth Century

I never warmed to the characters in this Howard Hawks screwball comedy and thus had a hard time staying interested in their situation. Supposed to be a classic, but I don't see it. 58

Black Cadillac

Unoriginal but not wholly ineffective car-chase thriller in the vein of Joy Ride and Steven Spielberg's Duel. A menacing atmosphere is created by the director in the first act, as a group of teens are pursued by the titular car down some dark, rural roads. Unfortunately, the movie collapses during its final fifteen minutes, when The Big Secret is revealed. 47

13 Going On 30

Sweet, good-natured and completely formulaic fluff about a 13-year-old girl who magically fast-forwards to her thirtieth year to find that she's become someone she doesn't know. Lead Jennifer Garner is ably supported by Mark Ruffalo as the sweet, nerdy guy she left behind and Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings) as her Tony Randallesque boss. 49

Night of the Creeps

Horror comedy about sluglike creatures from outer space that turn the dead into zombies isn't at all worthy of the small cult that it's built over the years, but it is amusing in its own, peculiar way. I especially liked how director Fred Dekker portrayed the relationship between the two lead characters (both young males, one handicapped). 46

Sisters

Mr. De Palma, I know Hitchcock and you, my man, are no Hitchcock. Still, this twisted thriller about Siamese twins separated by a mentally unbalanced doctor has its worthy moments; one of which is a hilarious take on early seventies game shows during the opening act. 55