30 Minutes or Less (2011)

30 Minutes or Less (2011)

[5] Working from a stale script that comes too late in the Tarantino wake, this dark, violent 'who's conning who' comedy is made tolerable by its flavor-of-the-week casting. If you like Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari (like I…
Dick Tracy (1990)

Dick Tracy (1990)

[5] Visually striking but emotionally hollow, Warren Beatty's film version of Chester Gould's comic creation is an underwhelming would-be blockbuster. The only character you can get invested in is Madonna's Breathless Mahoney. Everyone else, including our strong-jawed hero, is as…
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

[7] Mel Gibson returns as the iconic Mad Max, joined by Tina Turner in a fun, villainous role. But the third film in the series is also the weakest, first signaled by the PG-13 rating, a ridiculous attempt to make…
Unstoppable (2010)

Unstoppable (2010)

[7] An unmanned train is going to crash in a highly populated area unless a conductor and an engineer can stop it. It may be Speed on a train, but as action flicks go, it's still pretty entertaining. Scenes with…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

[5] This belated sequel gets by, for the most part, on good will and fond memories of the previous three installments. It's light on memorable action scenes and heavy on silliness (the CGI mokeys and gophers are really, really hard…
Avatar (2009)

Avatar (2009)

[7] James Cameron's first film since Titanic is a supreme juvenile fantasy with a healthy sense of adventure and discovery. From its floating mountains to its bio-luminescent flora and fauna, the world of Pandora never stops unfolding before our eyes,…
Red Dawn (1984)

Red Dawn (1984)

[5] The Russians invade America and spark World War III in this Cold-War emblem from writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday). Political correctness aside, the opening of this movie -- the Russian invasion -- is very effective. But…
Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

[5] A so-so sequel with a few decent action set pieces to offer, but Robert Downey Jr is the real set piece here. Without his snarky persona, the franchise wouldn't have much to hang their hat on. The biggest weakness…
Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

[4] Thor features solid direction from Kenneth Branagh, a rousing score from Patrick Doyle, and always stunning set design from Bo Welch. Tom Hiddleston gives the best performance in the film, as Thor's jealous brother, Loki. No one else, including…
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

[5] Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice feels like a movie with an identity crisis, tasked with performing two disparate, thankless tasks. The first is to set up a big fight between two iconic superheroes. You know, the kind of…