Wayne's World 2 (1993)

After being shut out backstage at Aerosmith, Wayne resolves to create his own music festival called Waynestock, inspired by a vision of Jim Morrison and Field of Dreams ("If you book them, they will come"). Meanwhile, his girlfriend Cassandra's (Tia Carrere) new sleazebag producer (Christopher Walken) is looking to steal her from under Wayne's nose, while Garth gets involved with a mysterious woman named Honey Hornée (Kim Basinger).

Less well regarded than the original, it's neither as funny nor memorable, but if you love these characters, there's little to dislike. Other than that, it's more of the same with Wayne and Garth, and that's good enough for me. Party on.

3½ weird naked Indians out of 5

Wayne's World (1992)

I don't really feel the need to justify why this is a fun comedy, but it's a great example of being a product of its time and one of the best representations of the early '90s. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey bring their basement dwelling metalheads from Saturday Night Live to the big screen in a meta plot that involves adapting their public-access show for mainstream audiences. It's mostly an excuse for funny one-liners and catchphrases, but there's a lot of clever plot devices being employed here. Between this and Austin Powers, Myers dominated the '90s comedy scene. If you were a weird, grungy '90s kid, stuff like this and Beavis & Butt-Head were peak. No need to overthink it.

4 Schwings! out of 5

Note: You ever notice how many comedy posters have cloudy blue skies?

High School High (1996)

If you're not in the right frame of mind for these types of comedies, they can get pretty exhausting after about five minutes. That might be part of the reason this movie never grew on me over the years. A professor is demoted from an esteemed college to an urban high school where he gets even less respect, and has to turn around and inspire the young minds. Jon Lovitz heads this spoof on Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me and other "inner city" movies featuring disillusioned youth. I've always felt that Lovitz was an underrated actor and Tia Carrere has always been severely underutilized, so this has its charms, but it's not without its faults. Sadly, the satire factor is lacking, and it becomes the very thing it's trying to skewer.

2 nails on a chalkboard out of 5

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

A live-action remake of the modern Disney classic upgrades Stitch from a lovable 2D character into a 3D CG model. Something gets lost in translation, because all the charm is missing and it feels like the soul has been ripped out of it. I thought the relationship and chemistry between Lilo and her sister Nani was handled well, but the rest of it feels ham-fisted and shoehorned in. In the end, it's just another substandard remake, made to bleed the IP dry for a new generation who can't be bothered to watch movies older than 20 years old.

2 kuleana out of 5

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

An alien monster known as Experiment 626 escapes from his lab and hops a ship to Earth where he crash lands on the island of Kaua'i. He encounters lonely outcast Lilo who adopts the newly christened 'Stitch,' passing himself off as an intelligent dog-like creature while being pursued by the aliens in disguise. As two misfit halves of the same coin, they complement each other perfectly. The film is made charming by the colorful Hawaiian flavors and catchy soundtrack filled with original tunes and classic Elvis Presley songs.

Spawned three sequels, a television series and an (ugh) live-action remake.

3½ ʻohana 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

Kull the Conqueror (1997)

It was originally a third Conan film, but Arnie opted out. Kevin Sorbo stepped in, the hero was changed to one of Howard's other creations, Kull of Atlantis, and reset to the Thurian Age, which predates the Hyborian.
Sorbo plays the Atlantean as a kind of less-perfect version of his Hercules character. Being in the right place at the right time grants him some power, but his radical social reforms don’t go down well with the established order.
I like Sorbo, but his inclusion makes it hard to see it as anything other than a TV Movie. Ironically, even though it isn't, that’s a beneficial way to think of it because it falls short of being a cinematic experience. Still, it's cheesy fun.

2½ stripes of the tiger out of 5

Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)

SiLT was released in the early 90s but it’s firmly rooted in the 80s action movie genre. The music is awful and the atmosphere is non-existent when the music is absent. I’m not sure which I liked the least.
Brandon acts like a wet behind the ears am-dram hopeful.
Dolph fares better. He’s a street savvy, tough as nails cop who only has to walk toward glass for it to shatter. Together the two men go buddy-cop to take on the Yakuza in a Japanese district of L.A.
The highlight of the whole sorry affair is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who somehow manages to be good in everything no matter how shit it is.

1½ claws out of 5