Jackass Number 2

I like the stunts, but I don’t like it when they go out on the street and fuck with innocent strangers who aren’t in on the joke. A highlight is Johnny Knoxville hanging onto a big-ass rocket as it shoots several hundred feet in the air. Evel Knievel had nothing on these guys.

Marie Antoinette

An unflattering portrayal of an unsympathetic character. Sophia Coppola wants us to believe this isn’t about the empty life of a rich girl obsessed with shoes. But it is.

The Black Dahlia

Individual scenes were interesting, but the ending was terrible and the whole thing added up to nothing. The best performance of the movie was Mia Kirshner, the victim, who shows up in seized screen tests crazy and vulnerable.

The Wicker Man

A bona-fide train wreck. One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The Wicker Man is a prime example of sarcasm without irony, so the laughs are laughs of embarrassment for the filmmakers, not the characters on screen. To pull off this kind of satire, there needs to be a sincere hope by the audience that a character, however delusional, will get what they want. Nurse Betty, for example – a better Neil LaBute movie. But Nic Cage’s dour performance offsets any need to see him succeed, and therefore his quest becomes meaningless. Does that make sense? No? Okay, well it was dumb. They weren’t even trying.

Beerfest

Sort of funny, light-hearted frat-guy movie about big, dumb Americans who have an inflated sense of entitlement. Could have been shorter. Still, it’s the first movie I’ve seen that features more than one familiar drinking game.

Idiocracy

Mike Judge’s funny and really skewering satire of American culture. Not that the script is so wonderful, but the JOKES. A movie I discussed a LOT with the few people who saw it, and the consensus was it was worthwhile and unique.

Crank

Macho, stupid, funny, sexist & totally ridiculous. Exactly what I expected. Asides; little edited vignettes used to explain plot, etc. were hilarious. Soccer hooligan Statham is great for this kind of thing – running around in a hospital gown with a boner kicking people’s asses. I like Amy Smart, too.