Iris (2001)
[6] Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent star in this true but tragic love story about lovers of 40 years who are torn apart by Alzheimer's Disease. Dench is portraying novelist Iris Murdoch, a lover of language who begins losing her…
Cocoon (1985)
[7] Ron Howard (Splash, A Beautiful Mind) directs this sweet story about a group of nursing home residents who discover a 'fountain of youth' in a nearby pool. Turns out, though, that the pool's power is extra-terrestrial. Soon the old…
The New World (2005)
[5] While I'd rather Terrence Malick make a live-action Pocahontas movie than Disney, the results are still far from amazing... and a wee bit boring. Malick focuses on a love triangle between our girl Poca (Q'orianka Kilcher), John Smith (Colin…
Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
[5] Mutant sea creatures attack a coastal community in this schlocky flick from producer Roger Corman. It's pretty standard, passable, monster movie fare. The requisite boobage and gore were filmed by one director, while another handled the pesky plot and…
Troy (2004)
[6] Brad Pitt simply isn't very convincing outside his own time and place. This limitation was used to intentional comedic effect in Inglourious Basterds, and to unintentional effect in Troy. It doesn't help that his character isn't the most interesting…
The House of Sand and Fog (2003)
[6] Jennifer Connelly plays a woman wrongfully evicted from her home. Before she can go through the proper channels to get it back, Ben Kingsley and his family have already moved in. That's when The House of Sand and Fog…
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
[7] A mysterious carnival rolls into town, granting wishes at a sinister cost in Disney's adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story. I wish the film were more strongly from the perspective of the two leading boys and that their parts…
Casper (1995)
[7] Beneath the cutesy veneer of this big-budget family spectacle is a surprisingly morose Ghost and Mrs. Muir subplot. The screenplay is a bit scattershot in its aim, but I have to give this flick major kudos for tackling the…
Swing Kids (1993)
[8] Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, and Frank Whaley play tight-knit German teenagers rebelling against the growing Nazi party by embracing a counter culture of long hair and banned U.S. swing music. But as each of the boys is pressured…
The Rocketeer (1991)
[8] This is an underrated comic book adaptation with slick, period production design and top-notch action choreography from director Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, October Sky). There's a gee-whiz ebullience about The Rocketeer that I find utterly charming. …