Category: movie reviews

1. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)

Fun sequel to the original. There’s a wacky jailbreak subplot that’s literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen put to film, but weirdly, it just makes me like this movie more. it’s just that kind of flick. Fun for the faithful.
Verdict: There’s no Japanese monster movie that I’m not totally OK with.

2. THE NAME OF THE ROSE (1986)

Excellently done, highly atmospheric Medieval mystery with a heaping helping of theology and philosophy thrown in for good measure. Features a enormously underrated performance by Sean Connery — he’s excellent and still smokin’ even when dressed as a monk. But I digress. This is good, unique, thoughtful stuff.
Verdict: Definitely recommended.

3. RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP (1958)

3. Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)

This classic submarine flick is absolutely sensational in every respect. The production is sweaty and claustrophobic, the writing is top-notch, and the acting from the entire cast is excellent. Clark Gable, in particular, is fantastic and gives a complex and nuanced that refuses to conform to the tropes of the genre. Most highly recommended.
Verdict: Inductee, Laurie’s Cinematic Hall of Fame.

73. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984)

This is the definitive version. You heard it here. Take it to the bank. See for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd31WpkEi_8
Verdict: Inductee, Laurie’s Cinematic Hall of Fame.

74. SANTA CLAUS (1959)

This Mystery Science Theatre 3000 masterpiece has become a holiday staple at my house. Because there’s nothing like Santa vs. Satan on the rooftops of Mexico City to really bring the cheer!
Verdict: A holiday MUST.

75. STALKER (1979)

The pacing is glacial, the meaning unclear, but here’s something about Stalker that really gets under your skin. By the end, the immersion into this world, vivid yet vague, placid yet menacing, beautiful yet ugly…is complete, and you no longer wish to question why things are happening or what they mean. It’s enough that they do.
Verdict: Perhaps not as good as Solaris, but quite haunting, unsettling, and maybe a little…hopeful? Maybe? I don’t know.

76. GODZILLA KING OF MONSTERS (1956)

This is how I ended my year of viewing. I ask you, how could I have possibly done better? It’s Godzilla vs. Tokyo, in a foot-stomping, fire-breathing smackdown of monstrous proportions. Featuring Raymond Burr looking confused because he clearly didn’t know exactly what movie he was in. This just makes everything better.
Verdict: A great entry into the series, but others are better, and will receive the coveted Hall of Fame designation.

70. INTERSTELLAR (2014)

Saw this once before and was kind of “meh” on it. Saw it again and liked it. Quite a lot. Yeah, the dialogue kind of bad, but its spirit is so earnest and ultimately positive, its actors so committed, the visuals so dazzling and imaginative that I can pretend some of those speeches about love and stuff never happened. Good stuff. Real go
Verdict: It overcomes.

71. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961)

I remember watching this movie on TV when I was in the hospital having my tonsils out. Thank you to the makers, and especially you, Ray Harryhausen, for distracting and comforting me at what was a very scary time for a 5 year-old. Re-watching it, yeah, it’s a great kiddie flick. Lots of fun.
Verdict: Deserves to be far more loved than it is.

72. HENRY V (1989)

A wonderfully vital, entertaining, and powerful version of the Shakespeare play. Branagh was something of a wunderkind at the time and, at least as far as I’ve seen, it’s still his best work. That’s no knock on his subsequent career, which has been pretty stellar. But this film set a standard that anyone would be hard-pressed to top. His reading of the St. Crispin’s day speech (above) is thrilling.
Verdict: If you cut out the cringe-y “wooing the princess” scene at the end, this is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, that scene is there. It was not needed. At all.

67. PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987)

Behold, the gold standard for perfect casting. Steve Martin and John Candy, both at the top of their games, are magical together in a holiday buddy film with heart. It’s not all perfection…the casting of Martin’s wife would be disastrous if she had more screen time, and it’s got possibly the worst score ever dumped on a classic film. But these are minor bumps in the road. What a joy this movie is.
Verdict: A holiday standard.

68. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

One of the most perfect and moving films ever made. That’s all I can say, really. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor. It’s one of those movies that can make you a better person simply by viewing it.
Verdict: Inductee, Laurie’s Cinematic Hall of Fame

69. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)

While I found this film’s desperate need to be wacky tiresome at times, I have to say that at movies are so derivative, it’s a minor sin, and easily forgiven. Because as crazy as it is, it hangs together, and delivers the goods with insight, wisdom, and most heart. Does the fact that this film won a Best Picture Oscar, indicate that Hollywood is going to change its ways? I choose to have hope.
Verdict: Highly enjoyable if you can take its manic style.

64. UNFORGIVEN (1992)

A masterpiece. The writing, cinematography, the acting (from a tremendous cast), and the directing are all flawless. And the vision of Eastwood’s “reformed” gunfighter Will Munny transforming from a bumbling pig farmer into a demonic angel of death and dealer of justice in the final scenes is a chilling and powerful sight to behold.
Verdict: I’ll say it again. Masterpiece.
Inductee, Laurie’s Cinematic Hall of Fame

65. THE EIGER SANCTION

This flick is so stupid it almost has to be a parody. If it is, though, it doesn’t work either. No one is right for their roles, the story is makes no sense on any level, and there’s a few too many rape jokes for what humor there is to work. But oh, those climbing scenes. White-knuckle spectacular by any standards you want to apply.
Verdict: If you must bother with it, skip to the climbing part at the end. Pretty amazing stuff.

66. JOKER (2019)

There was so much controversy over this when it was released, that I thought I’d tune in for a few minutes to see what the hoopla was about. The movie is too much of a Scorcese rip-off to be great on its own terms, and it falls apart in the final third, but damn…Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is something to behold. I could not stop watching, even when I wanted to. He’s astonishing.
Verdict: Phoenix is the main attraction here. He doesn’t quite save the movie from itself, he does a remarkable job of balancing on a knife edge of sympathy and revulsion. If this doesn’t sound intriguing to you, you might want to skip it, because it’s as ugly and negative a movie as you’ll ever see.

61. MEMENTO (2000)

I had forgotten how great this film is. The manner in which is uses non-linear storytelling to reveal a story that in a bizarre way you still take in in a linear manner (learning more and more as you go along), using the most unreliable of narrators is gripping and increasingly frightening. This is truly underrated jewel.
Verdict: Very much worth it if what I described above sounds good to you.

62. NOPE (2022)

Low-key but mostly effective sci fi thriller, highlighted by well-drawn characters, a story with depth, the occasional striking scene, and strong performances. A little slow and scattered, at first, but stay with it and it will all come together. Mostly.
Verdict: Overall, yup.

63. FACING MONSTERS (2022)

Come for the stupendous cinematography, stay for a well-told story of a man who is just wired…differently. Suffice it to say, the story told here did not come out the way everyone thought it would going in. That’s not necessarily good for Kerby Brown, the movie’s subject, but the movie itself is better for it.
Verdict: I’m glad I’m not related to, or otherwise in a position to personally care about, this guy, and if you watch this film, you will be glad too.

58. THE FUGITIVE (1993)

It had been a long time since I’d seen this, and damn, I forgot how great it was. Sure, it’s got its share of improbabilities, but great performances by Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones make them very easy to wave off with breezy “whatever…suspension of disbelief and all that.” Give this one a revisit (or a first view). You will not be sorry.

59. ASTRO ZOMBIES (1968)

I recently saw this and the only thing I can remember about it is the endless lab work, depicted in real time by John Carradine. And he’s kind of old and slow-moving in this stage of his long life. But damn, the director stays true to his vision of REAL-TIME LAB WORK. There is really nothing else to say here. I’m sorry.

60. SNOWPIERCER (2013)

I must have started this movie a half dozen times before deciding to ride it to the end. Glad I did. It’s weird and kind of uneven (as most allegorical works are), but it’s got big ideas, a beautiful and creative visual style, and a phenomenal performance from Chris Evans that really stays with you. It’s not perfect, but it’s very well worthy of your time if you haven’t seen it already.

55. MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)

Great movie in it’s completely unhinged way.  And it’s as visually gorgeous a film as you’ll ever see.  It helps that Nicole Kidman and Ewan MacGregor go all-in with the mood of the thing…their play their paper-thin, stereotypical roles with great energy and heart, and they also sing pretty darn well too.
Verdict: It’s all a little much to take at times, but the two leads, against all odds, make you care. Quite a lot, in fact.

56. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

There’s a lot of ways to take this movie, and I chose to take it as a scathing commentary on the degradation of society and the brutal toll this takes on good people who care about order and decency. I don’t buy the apparent conclusion that there’s nothing good can do in the face of evil, but we sure have a battle on our hands. Did I say “we”? I did.
Verdict: Everyone seems to think this is a truly great movie. I tend to agree, but I can tell you what, I’m never watching it again.

57. DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978)

With the exception of the beautiful cinematography and one performance, this is just a bad movie. Most of the acting, the entire story, and the script is just really awful. Linda Manz, who plays Richard Gere’s tough/tender little sister is great, and she also contributes all of the good dialogue in the form of voice-over narration that she ad-libbed. Shockingly over-hyped.

52. GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

As much as I normally love Wes Anderson films, I didn’t really warm up to this one. It’s not that I wasn’t entertained by it, or didn’t enjoy it. Ralph Fiennes was quite brilliant in the lead, but it was as he was performing in an antiseptic void. I wanted to love it, but couldn’t.
Verdict: A rare Anderson disappointment, even though it’s supposed to be his best movie. Not to me it wasn’t. Rushmore rules!

53. SOLARIS (1972)

I’d always heard about this legendary science fiction film, but had never seen it, so I finally decided to take it on. It was as brilliant, profound, ponderous, and pretentious as everyone says. Although the question has to be asked: was that random 5 minute section of driving in Tokyo traffic really necessary in this very Russian space flick? Sure, because that’s the kind of movie this is. Duh.
Verdict: It was quite good in its aggressively art-house way, but I had to break it into 30-minute chunks. Glad I watched it, but I doubt I will again.

54. RED RIVER (1948)

Has there ever been a film whose ending betrayed virtually everything that came before it so utterly? All it takes is the unnecessary presence in the final reel of the smirking, always irritating Joanne Dru to destroy what was shaping up to be a classic, containing arguably Wayne’s best work (in a rare villainous role) and a fine debut performance by Montgomery Clift. Grr.
Verdict: I’ve never been made more angry by a movie.

49. TENDER MERCIES (1983)

Is Robert Duvall the greatest actor this country has ever produced? I think so. Exhibit A — this unassuming slice of life about a washed up, boozy country singer trying to turn his life around. Duvall’s performance is a thing of honest, plain-spoken beauty. Plot-wise nothing really happens, but also Everything does. Here, as in real life, the sacred is all about the mundane.
Verdict: Remember when they bothered to make movies like this, with stories about real humans that were done with subtlety and art?

50. THE RED SHOES (1948)

The melodrama dial goes to 11 in this story about the self-destructiveness of obsession, in the case, obsession with Art and Creativity.  The ballet sequences are glorious, and the performances are vivid, but the  cinematography is the real star here:  it’s staggeringly beautiful and creative and it’s worth seeing the movie for the visuals alone. 
Verdict: Stunning to look at, but I’ll bet you’ve never seen a movie that featured more unstable characters in it. There is literally no one psychologically normal on screen at any time.

51. SOUND OF FREEDOM (2023)

A taut, well-made, excellently acted character-driven thriller that manages to be entertaining in spite of its very heavy subject matter. Now that we’ve gotten the review out of the way…what makes people in certain quarters attack and/or seek to discredit the film and the people who made it? To ask the question is to answer it. A pox on them.
Verdict: A good movie worth seeing on its merits, of which there are many.