Man on Fire
Exciting man on a mission movie, although it takes a little while to get going. Decent character development for the main character, but everyone else seems flat. Could have done without all the dream-like sequences.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Troy
Love the historic epic tales, especially something from Homer. The story was not going to falter, since its held up for centuries.
Rating: 6 out of 10

The Clearing
All three principle actors give great performances given the hand they were dealt. This movie attempts to be more sophisticated, but ultimately feels incomplete, instead of non-traditional.
Rating: 5 out of 10

I Heart Huckabees
Quirkiness should be taken in small doses. This movie, while enjoyable at times, got to be annoying quickly. Similar to someone tickling your foot with a feather: enjoyable at first, annoying shortly thereafter.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
A completely captivating journey towards the unknown. Prior to this movie, Hollywood thought of aliens as "little green men". CEOTTK broke new ground in the science fiction genre, while keeping close ties to human emotion.
Rating: 10 out of 10

Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Entertaining movie, but I saw it already in their trailers. Not one scene was a surprise. Vince Vaughn did some scene stealing but did not get enough screen time. A cool popcorn action flick well worth watching. Just wish I hadn't seen the trailer, or else I would have liked it better.
Rating: 6 out of 10

Kinsey
A biopic about Alfred Kinsey, which helps to explain his motivations in researching human sexual behavior. His sexual research may offend some, but this exhaustive methods proved to be the most impressive part within his body of work. Obscure and obscene references made in this movie seemed to be placed for kicks, instead of insight.
Rating: 5 out of 10

The Machinist
Christian Bale shows off his dedication to his role by losing a scary amount of weight, plus his acting talents are showcasd here as well. The movie has a familiarity to it, thanks to Memento and Fight Club, but I enjoyed both of those movies therefore this movie ranks high as well.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Rent
I guess I could not relate to this movie the way that I was supposed to. I give Rent a lot of credit for addressing touchy topics such as gay/lesbian relationships and AIDS. Unfortunately, I expected a little bit more out of the music, so I was left unfulfilled.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Thumbsucker
An awkward high schooler seeks to redefine himself and get rid of his pesky thumbsucking habit only to learn he has to find himself first. Along his journey the other influencial people in his life are going through their own transitions to complicate his personal development. There's a lot going on in this movie. I found several parallels between Justin (main character) and each supporting character which made the movie more compelling.
Rating: 8 out of 10

The Family Stone
This movie could not decide to be "Meet the Parents" or "The Waltons' Family Christmas" and it showed. The movie hinged itself on Diane Keaton's character, although I'm sure no one liked her. Loss of focus was this movie's demise.
Rating: 3 out of 10

Little Miss Sunshine
Great ensemble of quirky characters. Alan Arkin stands out for me as the grandfather that has been kicked out of his retirement home. Plenty of uncomfortably funny scenes. The beauty of this film is that characters evolve before you eyes without being preachy or sappy. Would have scored it higher, but it lacked originality in some key scenes.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Serpico
Fantastic story of one last good cop surrounded by corruption. In my opinion, this is Pacino's best acted film (which is saying a lot) The underlying story of Frank Serpico paved the way for the creation of Internal Affairs within police divisions.
Rating: 8 out of 10

An Inconvenient Truth
Provides some startling statistics about Global Warming. Everyone should watch this movie. Not everyone will agree, but the information should at least be processed by everyone. While I agree with most of this documentary, there were some parts that left me skeptical. But that is my point, everyone should go through that thought process and research on their own.
Rating: 8 out of 10

The Chumscrubber
Some great characters in this movie, but the story was so disjointed it was difficult to get a foot hold. The interconnectedness of the characters was interesting, as well as the parallels between the adults and the teenagers. While the main character evolves, no one else seems to learn anything despite each given several opportunities.
Rating: 6 out of 10

11:14
An intertwined story about nothing. Lots of coincidence and happenstance, however the characters do not have much to offer, nor enough time to develop. The interconnected story does play out well, although the content was a little over the top.
Rating: 6 out of 10

The Squid and the Whale
Clever dialogue works well for the parents but not so much for the children of this movie. Interesting take on the effects of divorce on a family. The family has removed itself from the mainstream which results in atypical reactions to seemingly normal situations. Not quite funny enough to be a comedy and too absurd to be a drama, and almost too short to even be called a movie. (1 hr, 16 min)
Rating: 6 out of 10

The Thing
A thinking man's horror movie. Takes the "Prisoner's Dilema" to a new level. Great characters and plenty of action. The story is left ambiguous for key moments, which certainly improves the story. Still holds up as a great movie 25 years after its release.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic
Difficult to rate a stand-up comic routine along with full feature movies. Funny stuff that was designed to shock and make you feel uncomfortable. Some material was just plain annoying. Not enough laugh out loud moments.
Rating: 5 out of 10

King Kong
Peter Jackson showing off some CGI. The computer images were great, but it was way too much. We saw dinosaurs, bats, insects, and who knows what else. We also saw Kong stare at Naomi Watts....a lot. The story is still the same, which was good in the original, but this movie was not made for the story. It was made to apply CGI technology to a known commodity.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Glory Road
Revisionist history has a better story than real history, but if you are going to take liberties you should go all out instead of relying on sports movie cliches. This flick is riddled with inaccuracies, most notably that Haskins was coaching Texas Western for 5 years before taking on Kentucky in that monumental game. Don't get me started on the basketball details. Watchable movie, but it will clog your arteries with all the cheese.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Shopgirl
Charming. When you like a movie, but not sure why, you call it charming. Sort of a sad tale about the differences in how much one person loves another in relationships and the problems that it can cause. You wanted the best for the main characters and disappointed for them when the miss their goals.
Rating: 6 out of 10

One Last Thing...
This movies takes an honest look at death. Facing the issue directly with sadness and indirectly with humor. The flashback dream sequences of two main characters was distracting. One would have sufficed. Dylan and his friends took turns mumbling throughout, so I would have ranked it higher if captions were available.
Rating: 5 out of 10

Serendipity
Typical romantic comedy fare. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again. John Cusack continues to amaze me as an actor since he make something out of nothing. Kate Beckensale is quite easy on the eyes. Those two qualities were enough to keep my interest, but don't expect anything too deep. (Saw it on cable, but it was still watchable)
Rating: 6 out of 10

Syriana
Interconnected tale with the backdrop of terrorism and oil in the Middle East. The connections between characters became too complex to casually follow. Acting performances were top notch due to high emotion, but the plot was scattered as if shot from a shotgun.
Rating: 6 out of 10

The House of Yes
If you like incestuous relationships or unhealthy obsessions with former first ladies, then this movie is for you. Otherwise, you may want to follow the incredible dialog, most notably any line uttered by Parker Posey, who absolutely shines in this movie. The plot lines are extremely dark, and can turn off anyone.
Rating: 6 out of 10

Transamerica
Despite the peculiar subject matter, this movie is compelling. You see the characters develop and you want the best for them. Instead of wrapping the story up in a nice Hollywood package, realism comes to the forefront. Felicity Huffman is incredible in this role.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Funny movie, but the laughs are too infrequent. Seemed like they hinged the movie on a couple of scenes and backfilled the rest. After seeing the goofs and deleted scenes, improv seemed encouraged although I believe this cast needed more structure, not less.
Rating: 6 out of 10

The Last King of Scotland
Absolutely fascinating. Forrest Witaker puts on a commanding performance, balancing the charm, compassion, corruption, cruelty and insanity of Idi Amin. Although not a historically accurate movie, it does not make the movie any less entertaining or important.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Two Hands
Heath Ledger portrays Jimmy, who reluctantly gets involved working for the mob in this exciting and funny Australian movie. Similar to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "Two Hands" has several layers of comedy, action and great story telling.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Hype!
Interesting documentary that focuses on "grunge" music. Unfortunately, the music industry and media labeled the music then assigned it to only Seattle. This documentary highlights the oversight by the major labels and mass media. Hype! details the rise of music from the Northwest from ignored in the early 80s to a national phenomenon in the 90s. Fantastic older footage and exposure to talented lesser known bands are a bonus. Although the "you just don't understand" attitude is a turnoff.
Rating: 7 out of 10

Derailed
Fantastic thriller full of twists and suspense. A bit gratuitous at times, which brought my rating down a bit. (It became almost unwatchable) However, the plot plays out nicely without taking too many shortcuts. Jennifer Aniston plays her role well, while Clive Owen seems miscast. Difficult to stay on Owen's side while watching this movie. Loved seeing RZA and Xzibit in their roles.
Rating: 6 out of 10

Inside Man
Very underrated thriller. Enough twists to keep you guessing. Denzel Washington and Clive Owen bring out the most from their respective characters. However, Jodie Foster was given a dead end character without much to add. The pacing worked in that the movie did not rush the ending to fit in a nice little Hollywood package. Kept my interest throughout and got me excited to find out what happens next.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Lucky Number Slevin
Surprisingly good movie. An intricate storyline based on mistaken identity. While I'm not a fan of Hartnett, the story overshadowed any of his shortcomings. His smarmy attitude was not welcomed here. However, the "reveal" satisfied any questions I had from the plot, so I left this movie feeling satisfied.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Idiocracy
An unintentionally scary movie, with only a few laughs. Fantastic premise about an average guy from the present being much smarter than everyone in the future. Unfortunately, they had to show all the people from the future that represented the dumbed down future. Made me want to go read some classical literature to prevent this from actually happening. The whole movie felt stiff and unpolished.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Surprisingly funny and entertaining movie. Robert Downey Jr. really has this type of character nailed down. Val Kilmer continues to impress with a character that goes in a different direction that I'm used to seeing. The plot untangles in a bit of a hokey manner, but its easy to overlook that minor shortcoming.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Who Killed the Electric Car?
Superb documentary about how the once touted "electric car" disappeared from existence. Somehow an efficient, zero-emission automobile with high customer demand was eliminated from production. The documentary effectively distributes the blame without pointing too many fingers.
Rating: 9 out of 10

Six Degrees of Separation
Interesting theme of being someone you are not. It was difficult to maintain throughout an entire movie though, especially with the cut scenes to retelling the story to so many different people. Some of the character motivations seemed conjured out of thin air. However, Channing, Sutherland and Smith all give strong performances.
Rating: 6 out of 10