Alien3

Now I know why I didn’t watch this one when it first came out. I could tell, even then, that this Alien would, ironically, lack any real bite. Indeed, despite its plethora of viscera, this outing lacks that certain, all-important visceral impact. We’ve seen all of this by now, two movies worth, and without any real new wrinkles to the saga, the tale just doesn’t have the effect it once did. Plus, there’s a bit too much stupid in the story here. (Really, when there’s a horrifying beast running around being murderous, just tell somebody, for Christ’s sake. Why keep the facts to yourself?) One more outing showed up in this sequence before the later Prometheus revival--which successfully injected a new viewpoint to the saga--but by this stage of the process viewers were starting to wonder what was the point, besides delivering a denouement that, it turned out, wasn't really. Like all annoying bugs, this one deserved swatting.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Life is weird; why shouldn't it be backwards? Beyond that pithy observation, we must ask, what lessons are to be learned from this Gumpian journey? Take your pick; ideas and aphorisms abound in the script. How well they mesh with real life, as opposed to the world of fantasy and fable, is hard to say. Your mileage--and chronology--may vary. What is undeniable is the visual wizardry that takes Brad Pitt from little old kid to big young man, as well as the story's strong use of grand scope to tell what is, ultimately, a very intimate tale. Not to mention that the film looks fabulous; there was at least as much thought put into cinematography as into computer graphics and special effects. That mix makes this movie better than average and worth some of your precious, forward moving time.

Gone Girl

Hard to tell what to say about this one. A couple of things spring out: for one, this story relies on the same conceit as almost all mystery genre works, namely that there can be such a thing as the perfect crime. Certainly, this is a story that believes wholeheartedly in its own smartness; perhaps it's better to say the author believes in how smart she is. But this scenario would almost certainly not play out this way in real life; the presumed mastermind would be caught and exposed much easier than is seen here. The movie does make its case (so to speak) that one could get away with it because media are so guilty of fashioning "the truth" that it hazes everything, including detective work. It also implies something I've known since at least the old days of watching Xena: Warrior Princess: men can be bad, but when a woman goes wrong you get a real monster. That may be a minor spoiler, and sorry for that, but that slip doesn't really give much away. All in all, it's entertaining, and I'm not sure it ever could have been anything more that that. Mostly, you'll have to rely on your own judgement here.

Fight Club

It's tough to trust this movie at first, but it sure does reel you in by the time the fists start flying. Excellent story (with a twist), excellent performances, and a great ending. A "Best Of All" inductee.

Seven

Brad Pitt is edgy, Morgan Freeman is tired, Gwyneth Paltrow is the lamb, and Kevin Spacey is a world class creep. And they all do it very well. Not for the squeamish, but the rest of us shouldn't miss this one.