50/50 (2011)
[6] The title of this movie refers to the chances of survival for its main character, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Adam's life and all his relationships are turned upside down when he learns he has cancer. I'm glad the movie is…
The Dance of Reality (2014)
[5] The Dance of Reality is the first film in decades from well-loved cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, The Holy Mountain). The film is a quasi-autobiography from the filmmaker, covering his childhood in a Chilean coastal town. Jodorowsky is…
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…
Dreamchild (1985)
[6] A provocative film about the real Alice in Wonderland, who at 80 years of age begins recollecting her memories of author Lewis Carroll. Through flashbacks with Carroll (played superbly by Ian Holm) and in twisted fantasy sequences featuring creations…
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…
Montana (1950)
[4] Errol Flynn clings to the last few years of his good looks in Montana, before his opium and alcohol addictions sent him to an early grave at the age of 50. Montana seems unintentionally silly to me -- it's…
The Kings of Summer (2013)
[7] Three teenaged boys run away from home and build a house in the woods where they live off the land, experiment with facial hair, and let a pretty young girl come between them. The boys are played with plenty…
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
[5] Not being a poker player, there's probably a lot about The Cincinatti Kid that I simply don't get. Still, for a movie about people sitting at a table playing cards, it ain't half bad. Steve McQueen and Edward G.…
The Counselor (2013)
[6] Michael Fassbender stars as a lawyer who reaps the whirlwind when he tangles with drug lords in this Ridley Scott film penned by author Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy's screenplay will test the patience of many. It contains an abundance of…
Daniel (1983)
[6] Sidney Lumet directs this fictionalized account of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were accused of being Soviet spies and executed in the midst of 1950s' McCarthyism hysteria. Lumet cuts back and forth in time throughout the…