The Muppets (2011)
[7] I can't imagine a harder franchise to revive than The Muppets. They're so innocent, so low-fi, so much a product of the 70s and 80s... is it possible for them to garner new fans, or are kids today just…
Skyfall (2012)
[8] It's so refreshing to watch heroes and villains who are over the age of 40. Skyfall repeatedly suggests that sometimes older is better, and I couldn't agree more. Daniel Craig's third turn as James Bond is at least as…
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…
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
[8] Dreamworks Animation's maiden voyage is a stunning achievement of sight and sound. Impressionistic background paintings blend with sexy, angular character designs, all set to a brilliant soundtrack by composer Hans Zimmer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. It kills me that…
The Lion King (1994)
[8] The Disney Animation Studios took Shakespeare's Hamlet and transplanted it to the African savanna with an all-animal cast. Buoyed by a hit soundtrack, lush visuals, memorable characters, and a daring blend of intense drama and whacky humor, the film…
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
[7] Richard Gere plays a navy cadet who falls in love with a factory worker played by Debra Winger. The romance part of the story doesn't work as well as Gere's combative relationship with his drill instructor, played by Louis…
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
[8] Steve McQueen plays a millionaire who robs a bank just for shits and giggles, and Faye Dunaway plays the insurance investigator who will either turn him in... or fall in love with him. Director Norman Jewison embraces the French…
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
[7] A gaggle of Oscar-winners go topsy-turvy and fight to survive when a luxury liner capsizes at sea in the trend-setting disaster flick, The Poseidon Adventure. The film delivers on producer Irwin Allen's desire to blow shit up (think of…
Song of the South (1946)
[4] For its racist stereotypes and sugar-coated depiction of plantation life in the post-Civil War South, Disney has locked away Song of the South from the public since its last re-release in 1986. I don't think the film is any…
Gigi (1958)
[3] What a shitty Best Picture winner Gigi is. It's a musical about an unhappy playboy (Louis Jourdan) and an unhappy debutante (Leslie Caron) who fall in love, but then out of love, and back in love, and out, and…