The Lone Ranger

The final action scene is almost worth the price of admission alone. If the movie were about 45 minutes shorter, I’d say that it was definitely worth the price of admission alone. Instead, it’s the tail end of a rather bloated and unfocused origin story of a piece of intellectual property no one had thought…

Monster House

You’d never know it looking at it, but Gil Kenan’s Monster House is of the same production pipeline as Robert Zemeckis’ pseudo-photorealistic animated films. They just chose to use a more cartoony look in order to animate the actors’ movements. I have less of a problem with Zemeckis’ use of the technique than most people,…

Ride with the Devil

If you’re going to write a story about war where the actual causes and ideas behind the war, the American Civil War seems like a curious one. Most films about the war have at least one side talking about state sovereignty or ending slavery or at least keeping the Union together, but Ang Lee’s Ride…

The Hunt for Red October

#1 in my Ranking of John McTiernan films. This is comfort watching for me. It’s almost like I’m roughly 30 years older in that way. I don’t remember the Cold War, but there’s something about this Cold War adventure, with its threat of nuclear annihilation and full scale war between two super powers that tickles…

The Airport Franchise Ranked: The Definitive Ranking

Okay, it's a franchise that no one cares about, is only four movies long, and is mostly kind of stupid. But, the listicle gods must be appeased with sacrifices. So, instead of goring the bull of James Bond, I shall be disemboweling the sickly chicken that is the Airport franchise. 4. The Concorde...Airport '79 "It’s full…