The Hellstrom Chronicle

The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971) – This fascinating documentary combines spectacular microscopic and telescopic footage of some of nature’s most amazing and brutally violent creatures with smart horror sensibilities and some quite reasonable philosophizing on the nature of existence; the only knock on it (a slight one) is the dated sound effects and music. 8

Marley & Me

Marley & Me (2008) – The characters and relationships are realistic, and Wilson’s character is completely sympathetic, but this sometimes amusing but frequently obvious film tries to do way too much and ends up being meandering and overlong, and the final act shamelessly and flagrantly snatches at the heartstrings. 6

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995) – This documentary of nuclear weapon development and testing during the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s features stunning visuals and does a good job of presenting the facts without editorializing, although these efforts are undermined by the score, which is bombastically melodramatic (not terrible, just ill-fitting). 7

El Rey de la Montaña

El Rey de la Montaña (2007) – It has a reasonably fresh, throwback-70’s concept – something like Deliverance or Duel with snipers – but with no sympathetic characters and scant character development, it just doesn’t feel like it has a great deal of purpose; the cinematography is the highlight. 5

Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) – It actually starts to shape up as a pretty good Western before the aliens show up, at which point it abandons all focus on character and coherent story and becomes a pedestrian, periodically stupid action movie; it’s always good to see Harrison Ford, but his character is written so inconsistently as to be almost bipolar. 5

Apollo 18

Apollo 18 (2011) – It feels like there’s a neat idea here trying to get out, but it never manages to do much of anything, and it generates zero suspense; given the direction and lack of attention to detail, framing this as found footage makes a run-of-the-mill science fiction idea feel completely preposterous. 4

Session 9

Session 9 (2001) – The setting and atmosphere are phenomenal, but the film doesn’t do anywhere near enough with the story, and the payoff is entirely inadequate; for being on such a crazy deadline, these people never actually seem interested in doing much work. 5

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) – Forget historical accuracy; this is a very fun, very entertaining adventure movie; the lowlights include Kevin Costner’s accent and Alan Rickman’s perm, but you can’t have everything. 7

Tangled

Tangled (2010) – The animation is quite impressive, especially with the hair, but the story is tiresomely predictable, the songs are uninspired, and while the film deals with some relatively more mature themes, the script is geared squarely toward kids only. 5