Pulse (2006)
[1] Pulse is astonishingly bad in almost every way imaginable. The only nice thing I can say about it is that leading lady Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) seems to be doing the best she can with the material. But other…
Thirteen (2003)
[7] As if pre-teen and teenaged girls didn't already scare the shit out of me, Catherine Hardwicke (who later helmed the first Twilight flick) had to go ahead and direct this harrowing descent into hormonal angst. Evan Rachel Wood turns…
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
[7] This decent little horror anthology produced by Bryan Singer serves up four tales of Halloween fright. Each of the stories feels like a small-town myth, the kind that haunts a community for generations. I particularly liked the one about…
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
[5] Talk about a hard pitch. Try to follow me here. So, there's this kid. And whenever something dramatic is about to happen to him, his memory blacks out. He basically jumps a minute or two into the future, all…
Abandon (2002)
[4] SPOILER REVIEW Within the first half-hour of Abandon, a police detective (Benjamin Bratt) asks an ambitious college student (Katie Holmes) about her missing boyfriend. The college student doesn't seem to care that her boyfriend is missing, so I immediately…
Decoys (2004)
[3] While trying to lose their virginity, two college guys discover some of the girls on campus are actually terrifying creatures from outer space. You're either going to like that summary or you're not. Decoys is a low-budget flick with…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
[6] Just as Robert Zemeckis had to make Forrest Gump and Tim Burton had to make Big Fish, so did David Fincher have to make The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All three directors are known for their visual and/or…
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
[4] Wolverine is one of my least favorite X-Men characters, so maybe this movie just isn't for me. That said, Hugh Jackman and most of the cast do pretty good jobs with what little they have to work with. The…
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
[6] This is certainly the most action-packed of the X-Men movies, but it's also the most disrespectful and emotionally hollow. There are some great set pieces, including the free-for-all at Jean Grey's childhood home, the Golden Gate bridge raising, and…
X-Men (2000)
[7] It's amazing how good a superhero movie can be when you treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) was the perfect choice to direct this movie, and he chose a brilliant ensemble cast. Hugh…