André the Giant (2018)

★★★
My first exposure to André the Giant came while viewing the V.H.S. tape for WrestleMania III. The story before his match with Hulk Hogan was that André aligned himself with the heel manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and challenged Hogan for the World Wrestling Federation title. André was serious about his challenge, and he proved it by ripping the shirt from a distraught Hogan, who couldn't believe what he was witnessing. One of his closest friends turned against him. The setup was professional wrestling storytelling at its finest, with the payoff signifying a monumental shift in the wrestling landscape. The old ways of territorial wrestling were already losing ground to the W.W.F.'s national expansion, and this match was hyped as a passing of the torch from one generation to the next. As an 11-year-old, I watched this giant of a man envelope the muscular Hogan in a bear hug. The crowd was going nuts. Many years later, W.W.E. (name changed in 2002) advertised 2022's WrestleMania as featuring the biggest match of all time, between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. It wasn't even close. That André/Hogan match was one to remember.

Go (1999)

★★★
Go represents the first movie for which I wrote a full-length review. I saw it in early 1999 at a special screening on my college campus. The crowd was a rambunctious lot, with everyone clearly having a great time. Upon the movie's theatrical release a few weeks later, a pair of reviews appeared in the campus newspaper. They were terrible, and not just because they were negative. They were poorly constructed. In fact, they didn't even describe the movie, but were instead tirades against the Hollywood trend of copying the structure of hit movies and reconstructing them into a new package. Pulp Fiction is the obvious inspiration for Go, so the point is not invalid. There were other examples from the time. The Aaron Eckhart vehicle Thursday was one, as was 2 Days in the Valley. When I read those Go reviews, I thought to myself that I could do better. It wasn't that the writers disliked it. They didn't get into why Go was bad in and of itself, inspiration notwithstanding.

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991)

★★★
The writers of Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead didn't like the name change (original title: The Real World), but that name change was the best thing that could have happened. The movie was already going to receive a few curious looks due to Christina Applegate's involvement, thanks to her role on Fox's Married…With Children, but its longevity was not going to rest on her role alone. The movie did okay business, but the title made it one to remember. It was marketable. It was that movie starring Christina Applegate, who had the opportunity to play a character unlike her signature role of Kelly Bundy. Kelly was an airheaded and promiscuous blonde. Applegate's new character, Sue Ellen Crandell, was a typical 17-year-old who had to mature fast to take care of her family. Applegate's chance to shine combined with the movie's title cemented its longevity. H.B.O.'s involvement helped too, since the cable company produced it and gave it a second life on television after a warm but not outstanding theatrical run.

Firestarter (2022)

½ star
Firestarter is slow burn torture. The actors display no conviction. They recite their lines woodenly and walk around as if wading through quicksand while wearing concrete boots. The victims of psychic attacks react like pod people. The tepid direction looks to have been inspired by Albert Pyun. The villains appear bored. The climactic firefight has all the excitement of a fireplace screensaver. I expected more from Blumhouse Productions, which has established a good reputation for decent horror movies. Taking the 1984 Stephen King adaptation and passing it through the Blumhouse sausage factory should have yielded better results, but instead we get a movie that fails not spectacularly but in whimpering fashion.

Bad Teacher (2011)

★
Navy ships have a form of self-defense called chaff. Upon sighting incoming missiles, the ship will fire chaff into the air and lure the missile into targeting it. Chaff can also be used to confuse enemy radar. Bad Teacher, a morally inept movie, launches chaff in the form of adult humor to distract from the fact that its main character is getting away with murder. Cameron Diaz's Elizabeth Halsey is a useless and self-absorbed teacher who isn't interested in providing her students with a quality education but would rather show them movies so that she can sleep off her hangover at her desk. Chaff is effective. This movie has some funny scenes that deflected my attempts to pierce through its defenses and see its shortcomings. Eventually the chaff supply runs out, leaving the movie's flaws exposed. Moving in for the kill, I was astonished by the story's disregard for Elizabeth's actions, making her out to be heroic and giving her a happy ending when she should have an ominous one.

Shrek (2001)

★★½
Shrek (2001) rode a wave of success following the rise of Pixar and the production of C.G.I movies outside of the Pixar umbrella like Antz. For its time, it was groundbreaking, and it still is. The character design is amazing. The vivid, detailed imagery is outstanding and holds up today. Like Antz, it featured adult humor, and its soundtrack contained modern pop hits that stand in contrast to its medieval setting. A Knight's Tale would do the same several years later. The voice actors embody their characters just as well as the actors do in Pixar's output. I loved the movie when it came out, so imagine my surprise when, after watching it again years later, my reaction wasn't so enthusiastic. The technical details are still spectacular, and it's easy to get swept away by them, but the characters—Shrek himself and Donkey in particular—have not retained their appeal.

Being John Malkovich (1999)

★★★★
Every moment in Being John Malkovich, from the opening scene featuring a puppet show all the way to its conclusion, is a revelation. Here is a movie that bursts with so much originality that writing about it fails to do it justice. I remember when I first saw it. Appropriately, a new theater had opened in downtown Reno, and I had already watched Dogma there not long before I saw this. It looked impressive, having been built along the Truckee River and featuring a large lobby with above average offerings at the concession stand. The seats were very comfortable. I read a few reviews for the movie prior to seeing it, but nothing could have prepared me for its creative outburst and imaginative premise. I cannot emphasize enough how thrilled I was to see this. It further cemented 1999's position as one of the strongest years for movies of all time. When it was over, all I could do was watch the credits in admiration and contemplate the fates of its characters.

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

★★★★
Characteristic of an Abel Ferrera film, Bad Lieutenant is a gritty, dark crime story featuring a cop who has completely succumbed to his demons. He prowls the streets looking for ways to indulge his terrible habits, whether it's hard drugs, gambling or sexual harassment. As far as he's concerned, he has nowhere to go but down. Any chance he might have had to save himself is gone. When the opportunity presents itself, he will steal from crime scenes to fuel his descent even further. With his mind in a constant state of disarray, the cop can barely hold himself together as he pivots between his latest investigation and visiting his associates to obtain the only thing that matters to him anymore. His family is a distant reminder of how things used to be for him, while his position as a lieutenant puts him in position to manipulate everyone for his personal gain. He hasn't been happy for years.

Forces of Nature (1999)

★½
Forces of Nature is a Planes, Trains and Automobiles retread, and not a very good one. The plot features two dissimilar characters stuck together on a road trip using a variety of conveyances to get to their destination. In what could have been resolved in a matter of minutes turns into an endless parade of mishaps. That's unfortunate, because Ben Affleck's performance is really good. He takes a weak script and salvages the story somewhat, but eventually he falls victim to the decisions made by writer Marc Lawrence and director Bronwen Hughes. Sandra Bullock, on the other hand, gives what is quite possibly the most irritating performance of her career.

Top Gun (1986)

★★★
Tony Scott’s testosterone-fueled U.S. Navy recruiting film Top Gun promises to deliver the goods and does so with resounding glee. It’s as reckless as its main character, veering between exciting aerial dogfight scenes and characters who don’t really grow but react. It’s an early indicator that Tom Cruise could carry an action movie, something he would do well into his 50s with no sign of losing his step. It takes a risk by not featuring a traditional antagonist, despite its cold war themes, and instead internalizes the challenges for the hero to overcome. This works to a point. Watching the movie is the equivalent of downing a box of energy drinks, because once the adrenalin rush wears off all that’s left is the memory of what took place in the skies and that iconic soundtrack. Everything in between is largely filler.

Party Girl (1995)

★★★
There’s an iconic photograph of Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s in the middle of a party. She stands still and smiles gleefully at the camera while revelers party on. The photo highlights the character’s position as the center of attention amidst the merrymaking. It is very likely that Holly didn’t know everyone around her. She was part of a scene, and she enjoyed it and thrived in it. It was a lifestyle. I thought about that photo as I watched Party Girl, featuring Parker Posey as a free spirit who throws raves and charges a fee so that she can pay the rent. Parker Posey—the Queen of the Indies who adorned video store shelves with a steady supply of movies throughout the ‘90s. By the end of the decade, she had starred in dozens of movies, most of which played at art houses, where she made her mark.

Father Stu (2022)

★★★
I applaud Mark Wahlberg’s determination to make films that he could show his kids. If this new direction in his career provides personal and spiritual fulfillment, then I hope the best for him, and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us. I wish he didn’t regret his involvement in Boogie Nights (1997). It’s a masterpiece of writing and acting, with a soundtrack loaded with many iconic ‘70s and ‘80s hits, all incorporated seamlessly into the action. It helped solidify his position as a dependable leading man, one that was integral in shedding his Marky Mark persona. In making Father Stu, he invested millions of his own money into its production, much like Mel Gibson had done years earlier for his own faith-based film, The Passion of the Christ. (Getting Gibson to co-star was a smart decision.) It tells the story of Father Stuart Long, a former boxer who became a priest after a near death experience. Wahlberg has played gritty characters before, but this time he gets to bring one to redemption, displaying his range as an actor in the process. It’s a remarkable job.