Babylon A.D. 2008 4 out of 10

I still can't figure out why Vin Diesel still gets lead roles in movies.  His  on screen persona is dull , it seems like he is reading his lines rather than delivering them.  He doesn't have leading man looks, instead he looks like a background extra that you would cast as a member of some street thugs.  I just don't get what he brings to the table?   Watching the dull Sci-fi movie Babylon A.D. I was wishing someone like Jason Statham was in the movie instead.  Even the action scenes in this movie were dull.   Dodging  missiles on snowmobiles...Really???   Where have all the action heroes gone???   Babylon A.D.  was a Fifth Element wannabe without all the fun and thanks to the success of the most recent return of the Fast and Furious series Vin Diesel who had been fading into movie star obscurity will now continue to get more roles.   

Pan's Labrinth 2006 7 out of 10

This was a solid foreign film----Visually beautiful in both its Fantasy segment as well as its war story.   My only complaint was that I went into based on the  misleading ads believing it was completely a fantasy film –the ads showed none of the main portion of the story which was an effective little war story.    The  fantasy elements were great—I just wanted more of that---In this case I probably should have read a little about it before hand and maybe my expectations would have been different.  

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The Black Dahlia 2006 4 out of 10

Brain De Palma   ----makes another mess---  The feel looks great –all Film Noir –but the plot was just unnecessarily  over complex with twists and turns that by the end just left me hoping it would end.  It really should have been a better film and maybe in a different director's hands it would have been.   Talk about a director that is hit and miss.  De Palma known best probably for The Untouchables has also churned out crap like Raising Cain.

The Grudge II 2006 5 out of 10

I loved the creepy Japanese style horror original.   This sequel was just  an  uninspired –cash grab.   Too much of the same ----After watching some of the  behind the scenes with the Japanese and Americans arguing over how to make the film and finally compromising---  I think that is where the movie went wrong ---too many voices trying to make a different film to cash in on original  --oh well.   Check out the  Grudge ---skip the Grudge 2

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Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World 2006 7+ out of 10

Albert Brooks is a comedy idol of mine.  He is just genius.    That said this particular film was not my favorite of his films.—but he still shined in it.    The Premise has him heading over to India as part of a government program to learn what makes Muslims and Hindu's laugh.    The genius of Albert in this particular effort is the art of being funny while not being funny----An art he perfected on TV appearances on the Tonight show and other shows.  –He puts on a stand up show  in front of an audience that isn't laughing.    Such as his worst ventriloquist in the world bit---or his mangled attempts at  an audience participation improv.   Great stuff.   For his best work check out LOST in America ,    Mother ,  or   Defending Your Life.

Anatomy of a Murder 1959 4 out of 10

This is considered a classic  courtroom drama --starring James Stewart and a young George C Scott.  The acting was great --but the movie itself was too long a boring-- If you ever wanted to see and actual court case--this moive at times puts you there --for 3 hours.  Revolutionary for its time it just doesn't hold up --the case itself is dull--and with 5000  hours of quicker paced better court room dramas on Tv over the last 20 years  this movie just falls flat for me.''

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