If you rent this expecting some superior chop socky (seeing as it’s got Jet Li and Jackie Chan together for the first time), you’re going to be disappointed.  This is aimed at the young end of the kung fu audience and as such is light on the violence.  But it’s well produced, with beautiful sets, an engaging cast, and a Karate Kid feel to it.  Not what I was expecting, but fun along the way to a satisfying (if predictable) conclusion.  (I FF’d through the long fight scenes, which were pretty conventional.)

FF=2

I don’t know what Clooney was shooting for.  A screwball comedy?  Well, it was that.  A commentary on taking the “fun” out of sports by making them “professional”?  Maybe, but that earns a big fat Meh.  Mostly it was ho-hum.  An amiable way to kill a rainy afternoon.

FF=2

Felt like I was in the Revenge of the Sith videogame.  Kept reaching for a controller.  (The FF would have been higher had I not been signing signature sheets at the same time.)

FF=2

I liked this better than I thought I would.  I was never into the TV show, so I wasn’t disappointed by the lack of aliens.  It’s more of a serial killer mystery with a psychic twist.  Kind of thin for a feature film, with a lot of Mulder-Scully character issues.

FF=2

When it comes to pothead/slacker action films, this is the best.  (I believe it’s also the only.) Check your brain at the door and take the ride.

FF=2

Saw this on someone’s rec. A much deeper, more complex film than you’d ever guess from the awful trailer.  Would have been much better without the superhero battle crap.

FF=2

A 2-part German melodrama about the firebombing of Dresden.  A little soapy, and part two dragged a bit, but generally engrossing.

FF=2

If you’ve read “Gunga Din” and ever wondered what “Lazarushian-leather” meant, check out Tommy Lee Jones’s face in this film.  The illegal immigrants come off best here; some of us Yanquis don’t do so badly, but some of us are shameful.  As for the story, well, somebody maybe watched the final journey of Lonesome Dove one too many times.

FF=2

Okay, we all know I have a beef with Michael Mann, but this has a great cast and exciting subject matter.  I really wanted to like this, but…meh. The only person I was rooting for was Billie, even though she was acting dumb. Everyone else left me cold.

FF=2

Takashi Miike’s entry for the second season of “Masters of Horror.”  No wonder Showtime wouldn’t air it.  I can almost imagine him thinking: What elements can I combine to offend everyone?  Let’s see . . . murder, of course, but let’s add abortion, dead fetuses, incest, infanticide, child sexual abuse, torture, and rape.  Oh, and don’t forget terrible acting and a stupid, out-of-the-blue twist.  Beautifully filmed, wince-inducing, eye-averting derangements.

FF=2