Fatal Instinct (1993)

Carl Reiner's pastiche of 1940s film noir and the erotic thriller genre smashes together spoofs of Double Indemnity, Body Heat, Cape Fear, Sleeping with the Enemy, Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. A lot of the reason this works for me is because Armand Assante completely commits to the bit as a completely oblivious buffoon (he plays both a cop and a lawyer here). As with all parodies, it's exhausting if you're not in a receptive mood, but at just under 90 minutes, these films tend not to overstay their welcome. While some of the gags are hysterical, it seems to work better in smaller doses, and it's a bit uneven as a whole. This type of genre has to take big swings, even when it's batting 1 for 2.

2½ traumatized skunks out of 5

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

The world's most patient killer waits another year before striking again, following their victims halfway across the world to the Bahamas, for some weird reason. Immediately jumping the shark, the survivors from the first film go through the same shit all over again. Any way you slice it, it's a shameless cash-in sequel, from a clever title to an uninspired retread that essentially amounts to cheesy '90s kitsch. You might find some enjoyment if you hold a particular fondness for that era, or just wish to revisit it for old times' sake.

1½ dreadlocks out of 5

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL [2013]

Sam Raimi directs a film about an everyday Joe who unexpectedly gets whisked away into a strange world where he's thought to be more than what he really is.  It's called Army Of Dar---...wait a sec.  It's called Oz the Great and Powerful.

It serves as a prequel to L. Frank Baum's Oz novels, allowing the writers to do whatever the hell they want as long as it leads up to the events in The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.  Filled with astonishingly beautiful visuals, great performances from all the witches and a wonderous score from Danny Elfman, you'd think it'd be enough.  Sadly, it falls short of the magic of the originals, drags it down with overly dull dialogue and a somewhat lacklustre performance from James Franco as the title character.  See it on the big screen while you can because on a television set nearly everything worth seeing will be lost.  

2½ yellowbrick potholes out of 5

GET LOW [2009]

Robert Duvall gives one the best performances of his career in this poignant little drama set in Tennessee in the 1930's. He never overplays what could have been the cookie-cutter caricature of the cinematic cranky old man we've all seen far too often. Most films will focus on the Grumpy Old Codger character as being crotchety until the end of the movie when we finally see he does have a heart after all, while Get Low shows us he has heart right away and instead choses to leave us wondering why exactly he is the way he is. Rounding out the cast is Sissy Spacek who continues to show she is only getting better with age, Lucas Black finally coming into his own and Bill Murray playing a believable Bill Murray.
This beautifully shot film lags in a few spots and loses a little focus in the second act, but plants it feet firmly on the ground for the powerful, yet restrained final moments of the film.
This is an honest, elegantly performed film about regrets, fear of forgivness and the broken hearts that never heal.

3½ Guard Mules out of 5