Clever and intricate and engaging while you’re watching, but as the closing credits start to run you say, “Hey, wait…” A good ride that does not bear reflection upon landing. And of course, since this is yours truly, a bit too long.

FF=2

This didn’t make a lot of sense but was fun to watch once you hit the OFF switch on your brain.

FF=2

After Half Light we watched this 1964 Terrence Fisher film in which the Earth neither screams nor dies.  The shooting budget was equal to what Demi Moore’s pedicurist got paid on “Half Life” and moved at almost as slow a pace.  The runtime was only 62 minutes but even then we felt the need to goose it along.

FF=2

Tom Monteleone watched this with me when he stayed over after our day with 360ep.  We sat there and said the lines and announced the plot twists before they happened.  The FF rating is low because I usually don’t FF when I have company, but we both agreed this pokey puppy needed a little something to push it along.

FF=2

I rented this because Jean (not Janet) Reno is in it.  Very convoluted, but great sets and scenery. Definitely worth watching.

FF=2

If you’re a dive geek like me, this is a beautiful film to watch – and not just because of Jessica Alba’s butt.  The underwater photography is superb, shot by someone with a genuine appreciation for the startling colors and natural grace of marine life.  Schools of eagle rays…I’ve seen them up close…felt like I was in the water with them and…what?  Oh yeah, there’s a decent plot (with clunky dialogue) though I’m not too sure of the details because I tended to FF toward the next underwater scene.

FF=2

I’ve seen Dogtown and Z-Boys and remember it as repetitious and overblown (i.e.: the Z-Boys – who invented rad skateboarding – caused a culture shift on a par with the Beatles.  As if.)  But it was interesting enough to nudge me to rent the dramatized version.  Lords is a good coming-of-age story with nice performances (Heath Ledger’s Skip the surf guru with his bucktooth appliance steals a ton of scenes) and a lot less bombast.  There’s an old saying: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. I’ve always thought it should be: Whom the gods would destroy, they grant heart’s desire.  Lords of Dogtown demonstrates some of that.

FF= 2

(some of the boarding and pool-hopping scenes went on too long for my limited attention span)

A script that follows the Hollywood formula, but well-done formula with an engaging cast.

FF=2