Mel Gibson at his peak, Jodie Foster at her most charming, and one of the most likable supporting casts of the nineties. Maverick (1994) is still an absolute blast. Continue reading Maverick Review (1994) (Throwback Thursday #3)
Deep Impact came out the same summer as Armageddon and has been unfairly compared to it ever since. It is the better film. Robert Duvall is outstanding, Tea Leoni earns her emotional payoff, and it treats the audience like adults. Continue reading Deep Impact Review (1998)
Kid me watched Blank Check twenty or thirty times and loved every minute of it. Adult me can see the seams. Still a decent watch for the nostalgia and Karen Duffy and Tone Loc make it worth revisiting at least once. Continue reading Blank Check Review (1994)
Here on Earth is everything A Walk to Remember does right, done wrong. Two unlikable leads, a sympathetic boyfriend treated like an obstacle, and an emotional payoff the film never earns. Leelee Sobieski deserved better material than this. Continue reading Here on Earth Review (2000)
Night Train had Danny Glover, Steve Zahn, and Leelee Sobieski and still managed to be one of the most boring and incoherent thrillers of 2009. A good premise squandered completely. The bottom of the Leelee Sobieski filmography. Continue reading Night Train Review (2009)
With a new Mummy film on the way, it felt like the right time to revisit the 1999 original. Twenty-five years later it holds up remarkably well. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah are all excellent, and nothing that followed has come close. Continue reading The Mummy (1999) Review
The Elder Son is a light comedy drama that asks very little of you and delivers a pleasant hour and a half in return. Great performances from Shane West, Leelee Sobieski, and a great Rade Serbedzija make it worth your time. Continue reading The Elder Son Review
Leelee Sobieski’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw builds strong atmosphere and delivers committed performances before stumbling into an ending that undermines everything it set up. Continue reading In A Dark Place Review
Walk All Over Me is a different side of Leelee Sobieski than most of her fans have seen. A scrappy Canadian crime comedy with a loose plot, genuine laughs, and great chemistry between its two leads. Better than its reputation suggests. Continue reading Walk All Over Me Review (2007)
Lars and the Real Girl is not what you think it is. It is sincere, warm, and quietly beautiful, carried by a Ryan Gosling performance that never winks at the audience once. One of the most underrated films of the 2000s. Continue reading Lars and the Real Girl Review (2007)
Joy Ride is a very good thriller carried by an unseen villain with one of the most intimidating voices in modern horror. The cast delivers, the tension is real, and a few logic lapses are the only thing keeping it from being something great. Continue reading Joy Ride Review (2001)
Richard Dreyfuss delivers the best performance of his career in a film that spans thirty years of one man’s life and earns every emotion it asks you to feel. The ending alone is worth the price of admission. Continue reading Mr. Holland’s Opus Review (1995)
Draft Day is a genuinely interesting behind the scenes look at how the NFL operates on the biggest day of the calendar. Great cast, compelling premise, but the writers didn’t trust their own story enough to leave well enough alone. Continue reading Draft Day Review (2014)
The Glass House got a raw deal when it came out in 2001. Revisiting it now, it holds up better than its reputation suggests, carried almost entirely by a Leelee Sobieski performance that deserves far more recognition than it ever received. Continue reading The Glass House Review (2001)
Sabotage wants to be Training Day and a classic Arnold shoot em’ up at the same time. It fails at both. One of the most boring Schwarzenegger films ever made, and that is really saying something. Continue reading Sabotage (2014) Review
