Sinners (2025)

Twin brothers Smoke and Stack open up their own juke joint in 1932 Mississippi where they're visited by some unsavory characters who are out for blood.

God damn, it took forever for this movie to turn into From Dusk Till Dawn, and by the time it did, it was already over. There are some eerie and entrancing sequences set to music, but the vampire angle is all played out and it doesn't offer much else in the way that hasn't been previously explored elsewhere. As massively overhyped as it is, it does tend to stay with you regardless.

Be sure to stick through the credits; the story ain't over yet.

3 guitar cases out of 5

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Four Vietnam vets return to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to retrieve two things that they were forced to leave behind when their tours of duty ended.
Dir. Spike Lee has used film as political commentary for decades, but I feel obliged to stress that he uses uncensored footage of real world atrocities at the film's beginning (and later) in service of such, arguably blurring any 'objectivity' of the original capture. The remainder of the film gives admirable but unequal importance to a number of social and moral issues, but it's awkwardly stitched together a lot of the time. Between the joins are some scenes that bore and some that stand proud alongside his work of yesteryear. Without meaning to detract from the wonderful performances by the rest of the cast, Delroy Lindo's superb presentation of a man who's slave to his shifting moods is what I'll remember most about Da 5 Bloods.

3 screen ratios out of 5

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)

In order to save his reckless younger sibling from a fate worse than the film itself, brother Nick is tasked with stealing many cars, an activity that he retired from six years previously. But he's the selfless hero type, so after some badly scripted and hackneyed soul searching he obliges.
To its credit it adds a lot of story that wasn't in the original H.B. Halicki version (1974), but none of the additions are particularly interesting - some are even ruinous, nonsensical and weigh the plot down rather than lift it up.
One thing it does almost as well as its source is manage to be representative of the era in which it was made. Unfortunately, that means it replaces 70s chic with woeful 00's action clichés. The last half hour is particularly bad.

2½ dirty ladies out of 5

Crooklyn (1994)

An emotionally powerful and very funny drama about a family of seven (mom, dad, five kids) living in Brooklyn during the 1970s. The primary perspective is that of nine-year-old Troy (Zelda Harris). Like most siblings, she fights with her brothers and tries to understand the concerns of her parents. Her presence in scenes that would be commonplace in many street dramas adds weight and an unspoken commentary to the already layered and textured narrative.
Spike’s trademark camera-glides on the street are present and as fantastic as always. The acting, timing, editing and music are all superb, except for one lengthy section that takes place outside of Brooklyn. It’s like it is for a reason, but it weakens the film when in theory it should strengthen it.
It’s a collection of little moments that together make a whole, in the same way that many little choices add up to life-changing events.

4 home lights out of 5

Clockers (1995)

A story of crime, drugs and brotherly love in a Brooklyn housing project, a place where doing the right thing isn't always an option.
Spike (Mekhi Phifer) is a youth whose life could still go either way. On one side he has Keith David as a tough cop willing to fight to keep him on the straight and narrow. On the other is Delroy Lindo's criminal influence, which comes with the lure of money. Complicating matters further is Harvey Keitel and his violent buddies in the homicide division investigating a murder that Spike may know something about. The 'brotherly love' side of things comes from Isaiah Washington, who gets less time on-screen than the others but leaves an equally powerful dent in the viewer's sympathies.

4 stains on the sidewalk out of 5

Romeo Must Die (2000)

Sometimes you expect a turd.
Sometimes expectations are met.
Bad music. Bad acting. Bad editing. Bad dialogue.
Hopefully this’ll be the worst movie I watch this year.

0½ x-ray out of 5

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY [1997]

The adorably malicious A Life Less Ordinary is director Danny Boyle's version of a romantic fantasy comedy.
There's guns, headshots, car wrecks, musical numbers, animation, robots, angels and bank robberies, in short, everything that makes a good rom-com.  Unfortunately after you're done taking this fun ride of a road trip you can't help but feel there never really was any point to it all.  No matter it's really just good fun without a lingering aftertaste or really nary an afterthought as well.

3 gravediggers out of 5

Broken Arrow (1996)

One of John Woo's American films. It’s light on the traditional Woo motifs, meaning it has little to interest his fans. Instead, it appealed to a popcorn-munching audience who prefer to see a helicopter blow up than a protagonist torn between duty and honour.

2 bad actors and a rabble of butterflies out of 5