Nobody 2 (2025)

Taking a break from the usual grind, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) decides to revisit a childhood vacation spot where he gets mixed up in the riff-raff and ends up beefing with meatheads, including the local badge. I enjoyed it up to a certain point, but then it just becomes the first movie all over again, except set in an amusement park. It gave me Beverly Hills Cop 3 vibes, especially the ending. It's very similar to its predecessor, only not quite as consistently amusing.

2 plush badgers out of 5

Nobody (2021)

An unassuming family man who is stuck in a rut gets pulled back into a dark past after a break-in occurs at his home. It's a lot like John Wick, except without all the baggage. There is a raw brutality to the fight sequences which feels satisfying. This fulfills the fantasy of being the everyman in society who everyone looks down upon, but then being able to kick their fucking asses up and down the block. There's one such centerpiece early on that takes place on a bus, but the rest of the film never quite matches up to that gritty potential.

2½ kitty cat bracelets out of 5

Piranha DD (2012)

Following suit with the 2010 remake of Piranha, the sequel has an even bustier comedic tone with a heavy helping of bare flesh and outrageous deaths. It's pretty obvious everyone involved was having a blast. After a re-opening, a popular water park has problems when those pesky aquatic carnivores (now this is where we suspend disbelief) travel through underwater lakes right into the laps of its patrons. Even if you're a fan of outrageous B-movies and horror-comedies, the events in PDD are difficult to swallow. It doesn't come close to the mayhem unleashed in the first film, but it without a doubt reaches a new low of cartoonish violence and poor taste.

2 old David Hasselhoffs out of 5

Piranha (2010)

With a much needed injection of comedy, effects and action, this remake actually exceeds the original. The explanation behind the piranha this time is a tiny bit more sound, but still very cliche. The film taking place during spring break gives an opportunity for a larger body count, more mayhem and ...ahem plenty of flesh. Surprisingly the CG is pretty decent, offering up some wild and gory scenes. Though there are a few overreaching moments. Despite a throw-away conclusion, the film has one of the most satisfyingly bloody climaxes on record and is well worth the ticket. 

3½ blatant Jaws references out of 5

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST [1975]

Easily one of the best films of all time, director Miloš Forman's adaptation of Ken Kesey's counterculture novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest deserves all the endless accolades it receives.
A free-spirited hoodlum pleads insanity in order to serve his sentence in the mental hospital rather than endure hard labor on the prison farm.
A microscopic study of the deinstitutionalization of it's time and many of the questionable institutional processes that went through, the tale also reflects the madness of society and what might be the best way to find control within it.  A clash of cultural and behavioral beliefs make for some of the best character moments from stars Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, who I believe are at their absolute best here.   Graced with humor, thoughtfulness and wonderful performances all around, Cuckoo's Nest is an off-kilter melodrama that despite being over 40 years old, still makes some great points that are as significant as they were yesterday.

5 day-trips without the day-passes out of 5

Track 29 (1988)

A remake of Dennis Potter's Schmoedipus (1974) episode of Play for Today (S4, Ep 20) that falls under a weight of clashing styles; i.e. besides a few successful explosive moments Roeg's dramatic beat clashes with Potter's lyrical approach to the same subject matter. The film is nicely assembled, but the moments that should be deeply felt are staged more as moments to be viewed when put through Roeg's lens. The emotional strain just isn't presented well enough to make the overplayed characters fully engage our sympathies, even though at least one of them is fully deserving of such.
Personally, I feel that the author's 'visitation dramas' work best when they're made on a smaller scale and when they retain a stage-like presence.

2½ pictures of long ago out of 5

BACK IN TIME [2015]

It might not be essential viewing but director Jon Aron's Back to the Future documentary, Back in Time, comes out during it's 30 year anniversary making it a no-brainer must-see for fans of the time-travelling trilogy.
Covering the production of the film, it's obsessed fans and the cultural impact the series made, the film manages to explore quite a bit in it's hour and a half running time.  There were a few moments that had me wondering why it was in the film but for the most part, as a fan, it's a wonderful companion to the series that wipes the bad taste of that nasty Kirk Cameron-hosted BTTF doc that came out so many years ago.

3 Skytrains for the Doc out of 5

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Star Trek II, III and IV are a trilogy telling one story. This middle section explores the benefits of friendship and the burden of responsibility. Much of it works well, but the consequences aren't as weighty as they ought to have been. Couple that with the continuing biblical references, with parallels so overt that they're like a slap in the face, and you have a middle film that could've been so much more if it had only dared to try.
As before, the established relationships between the crew is the glue that holds everything together. The camaraderie and overriding concern they share makes even the most superfluous scenes feel more like the TV series than either of the preceding films. That's enough to keep me happy.

3 ongoing missions out of 5

Addams Family Values (1993)

The same director and most of the same cast return for a superior sequel. It kept everything that was good about the first film but tied it to a more interesting story. In fact, there are two stories running concurrently, neither of which is very complicated but both have some fun moments.
Overall, it’s much more blackly humourous than before. I’d have preferred if the slapstick moments had been eliminated completely, but they needed something to keep the younger viewers happy.
As before, the expressionistic lighting is the real star.

3 gifts for Fester out of 5

The Addams Family (1991)

I'd not watched this before. I've always been more of a Munsters fan.
The whole thing seems tailor-made for Tim Burton, but then we probably wouldn't have had Anjelica Huston, we'd have had whomever he was married to at the time and Johnny Depp.
The casting in general was great, especially Raúl Juliá as Gomez and Christina Ricci as the deadpan Wednesday. It was nice to see the concern they each had for each other so well-developed.
It never takes itself too seriously, which was the correct approach.
The sets were fantastic and the entire thing was beautifully lit, but the story was disappointing and left me wanting.

2½ displacements out of 5

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT [1988]

Director Robert Zemeckis does an astounding job at adapting novelist Gary K. Wolf's Who Censored Roger Rabbit? into a big screen bonanza seamlessly melding classical animation with live action.

A definitive landmark in visual effects, Who Framed Roger Rabbit plays like a whacked-out golden age detective story where cartoon characters live side-by-side with the real world.  Filled with hilarious cameos from famous cartoon characters, well-paced action & storytelling, a Carl Stalling-esque jazz-infused orchestral score from Alan Silvestri, a delightfully twisted performance from Christopher Lloyd and jokes both obvious & buried deep in subtext that will please the whole family.  Movies like this don't come around often enough but that's what makes it all the more special.

5 booby traps out of 5

BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III [1990]

My favorite of the three as I am a sucker for western settings and some of the missing charm of Part 2 returns, particularly in this one's Biff character. While he is still homicidal, he does it with the doofus sensibility that Part 2 lacked. And the western setting gives more room for both time travel consequences and time travel jokes which is good. Some of the rationalizations for the time machine itself are a bit convenient, but the plot wouldn't exist without them, so I'll let it slide. There is a visible formula showing, but the writers must have at least been partly aware of it as they make jokes about the series itself at times. New setting, solid formula and a nice pithy maxim at the end.

4½ A scientist who can't make his own gas out of 5

Nutted by IMPUDENT URINAL

BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II [1989]

Picks up exactly where Part 1 left off with Doc whisking Marty off onto another adventure with new settings and some that overlap with scenes of the first film (It is time travel after all). The overlap might confuse stupid people, but I think it was handled very well. The often cheesy far future scenes are some of the most recognizable in cinema and there is some editing that must have been a technical pain before digital. Despite that, I find this installment less charming than part 1, but it still gains points for being part of a classic trilogy and the technical aspects.

4 Fuck cancer cure. Where is my hoverboard, Science? out of 5

Nutted by IMPUDENT URINAL

QUICKSILVER HIGHWAY [1997]

Camp director Mick Garris has a lot of fun adapting two lesser known short stories written by horror authors Stephen King and Clive Barker.  

The Chattery Teeth segment, based on King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes story looks like it was more fun making it than watching it.  While Clive Barker's Books Of Blood story The Body Politic is actually really entertaining not unlike one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's campier episodes.  Matt Frewer gets top points for taking it that extra step to make it better than it really is, while Christopher Lloyd seems horrendously out of place in a silly wig. 

2 reigning hands out of 5

Back to the Future (1985)

Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time and must find a way back home while making sure his parents first meeting takes place as Marty’s presence in the timeline has disrupted past events.
The Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg Sci-Fi Comedy masterpiece is still a joy to watch. Michael J. Fox plays both the comedic and dramatic parts well while Christopher Lloyd as the eccentric Doc Brown is so iconic, it’s hard to imagine anyone else who could have played him. The detail that was put into the film is great and still inspires arguments about logical time travel consequences. Absolutely fantastic.

5 We don’t need roads out of 5

Nutted by Impudent Urinal.