Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

One of my favorite and most consistently entertaining sketch comedy movies, this anthology satirizes the experience of channel surfing through late-night television. Ironically, the titular film (a spoof of low-budget 1950s sci-fi films) is the weak link, although it cleverly weaves throughout the other segments, featuring a huge ensemble of celebrities and directed by some big shots. This shit is ribald and obscene and hilarious. They don't make 'em like they used to.

3½ remote controls out of 5

Top of the World (1997)

After four years in a Nevada jail Ray Mercer (Peter Weller) heads to Vegas for a quick d-i-v-o-r-c-e from his wife Rebecca (Tia Carrere). Whilst there a heist at the casino that he's not legally allowed to be in spirals out of control.
It's a 'bad day for everyone involved' kind of movie, both helped and hindered by its occasional black comedy. The story has a few clever moments and some memorable stunt-work, but overall it floats just below the average line most of the time. The clichéd movie-Vegas setting doesn't help matters, either.

2 dam odds out of 5

Bound (1996)

A stylish and tense début feature from the Wachowskis that flirts with a number of genre styles while remaining unmistakably tied into noir.
Joe Pantoliano is great as the gangster with an easily lit fuse, but it’s Jennifer Tilly that steals the show as the femme fatale type that pendulums between two outcomes, never completely sure which is on the cards at any given time but confident of her poker skills nonetheless.
The camera holds an intimate relationship with the characters; its non-invasive closeness shows their vulnerabilities without compromising their strengths, while the tight locations keep everything dangerous.

4 walls out of 5

The Matrix (1999)

It probably has its haters (although I've never met one) but no one can deny that The Matrix was a milestone in filmmaking. It shattered existing technical barriers and changed forever how action movies were made. It’s not its fault it spawned a barrelful of inferior clones.
It throws in a smorgasbord of references to Eastern and Western philosophy, mythology, religion and spirituality to give people that like to scratch beneath the surface something deeper to explore, but if you’d rather enjoy it simply as an action movie you can do that too because it finds a comfortable balance, which is a rare thing.
Anime fans will spot many references to famous works; even the framing frequently mimics the genre stylings.

5 lines of code out of 5

MEMENTO [2000]

Director Christopher Nolan's neo-noir revenge thriller Memento is a fascinating watch indeed.  Utilizing the non-linear style of storytelling to the maximum, Nolan has a knack for constantly baffling audiences with twists and turns.  Unfortunately his characters have never really been all that interesting and that hurts the film during repeat viewings since you've solved the mystery.  Still the tense atmosphere and performances from Guy Pearce & Joe Pantoliano make for a great film to see at least once.

3 cases of Anterograde amnesia out of 5

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

Pluto Nash. Yup. It’s real. Someone (you know who you are) better laugh it up as much as they can because he’s going to be eating moist kitty litter for giving me this eye-bleeder. Out of respect for his reasons, and to raise my anger to a suitable level whereby I can punish his testicles with nettles without any pangs of remorse, I watched all of it. All. Every bastard bit. My Friday night, ruined. There will be blood and swollen, stinging man parts. It lost the studio over $100 million. Good. That means there won’t be a sequel.

0½ because, amazingly, I've been forced to watch worse out of 5