The Naked Gun (2025)

Amusing, mostly. This flick is more a collection of moments rather than a cohesive comedic story. You could say that about the original police squad show and its sequel movies too, but they tended to hold together better than this work. Of course, those shows had the benefit of coming from the Zucker/Abrahams team, who were demonstrably comedic geniuses, whereas this film comes from a group of mostly nobodies. The difference in pedigree may be the source of the problem, as there’s just something missing in a lot of this plot; generally, the jokes take too much time to land, and then the movie lingers on them too long. These guys don’t seem to understand that a film like this requires a machine gun approach, not being satisfied with a good line or visual here and there. Liam Neeson and (particularly, maybe surprisingly) Pamela Anderson do the best they can with the material, and there are a few moments of laugh out loud hilarity—including one sequence that’s actually cribbed from an Austin Powers movie—but not enough good moments to make it seem like this reboot was all that necessary. If you’re looking to be a screw up, you’d better be a great screw up—otherwise, everyone will think you just don’t know what you’re doing.  

Godzilla Minus One

The most powerful force in this story is context. By portraying the events of the big guy’s incursion into the lives of the Japanese in the immediate postwar era, and making everything exceptionally real throughout, both on the human and kaiju scales, this reboot outing of the venerable franchise delivers a tremendous amount of impact. Seeing these colossal events within the frame of both individuals and a society trying to reestablish some sense of normal being makes the emotional impact more real than any previous movie of this sort has ever delivered. Notable too are the script’s observations on the Japanese nation and government, with some rather sharp remarks indicating that the locals are not exactly thrilled with the way things are going, or have been going, for quite some time. What may stand out most, though, are the action sequences when Godzilla is on the screen; these scenes are absolutely electric, dropping grip-the-arms-of-your-seat thrills like we haven’t seen since, perhaps, the original Jurassic Park. The vision and effects are a true step up in the creation of dazzling mayhem. And yet, you appreciate the journey of the human characters, too. A remarkable accomplishment, one that can be enjoyed by both 11-year-old boys and everyone else, too.

Cimarron (1960)

It tends to be a hard sell when your central characters are, pretty much, assholes. That seems to be a recurring theme in Ferber’s novels (witness the adaptation of Giant). This, like that other flick, is another epic of the west, with striking similarities (right down to the oil strikes), though with no one in the cast is as magnetic as James Dean. Glenn Ford tries to fill the gap, but doesn’t quite pull it off. Mostly, the lasting impressions here—part that hard sell—are representations of the generally flawed nature of the American character: people who are bigoted, inconstant, venal, and grasping. I guess that makes this film honest, if nothing else. Ultimately, it's just not as engaging as one would hope--and, as a remake, probably not as engaging as the original (which won Best Picture). Ultimately, it’s a movie that veers from overblown to downright silly, though it is somewhat redeemed by Maria Schell's performance as Sabra; she is, in somewhat stealth mode, the true focus of the tale. The up-and-down nature of the thing means it's hardly necessary to see, but you could do worse with your time, too.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Cavorting like the Greeks of old...well, maybe not in that way. This reboot of the old Harry Hamlin classic is designed to be substantially more macho than that sort of Ancient Greek, as befits an action flick in a world of 300 and Lord of the Rings and endless superhero stories (of which the old myths are predecessors, if not outright source material). This outing does a decent job; it never loses the viewer's interest, presents a decent amount of spectacle for your dollar (particularly if you watch it on TV), and features enough eye candy (hearty applause for Gemma Arterton) to make the outing pleasant for at least half the audience. Weirdly, the weakest point of this movie may be the lead hero himself; as Perseus (as in other roles), Sam Worthington had a certain blankness to his demeanor that renders his actions not entirely exciting or inspiring, even when everything in the story has all CGI hell breaking out everywhere. But given the level this film aspires to--which is not exactly an Olympian height, ironically--I suppose that's not really that big a deal. Plus, it's a bit of a hoot to see several big-name actors playing roles that are probably the campiest vehicles they've stooped to in a long time. You can do worse than this one--certainly, others have--and as long as you have a little time to kill (at an hour and a half, brevity is one of the film's strengths) and a desire for something loud, actiony, and relatively mindless, you're not likely to be disappointed here.

War for the Planet of the Apes

There's never a moment when the humans are seen as the good guys here, and that's probably as much as anything else an emblem of the quality of this work. This franchise really is on a winning streak; it may be the best reboot out there, and here it delivers yet another entry that's not just an action extravaganza loaded with special effects, but also a drama that is at times as thoughtful as any Oscar-bait costume piece. And then again, the film is also admirably devoted to injecting a certain amount of comic relief throughout, too. And on top of that, there's the hoot of watching Woody Harrelson channeling Brando in a big way. (This movie wears its antecedents on its sleeve--not just the series' previous entries, but inspirations such as Apocalypse Now and even the Bible.) Plus the direction, art direction, and overarching imagination are terrific. Add to all that the continuing wonder that is Andy Serkis as a motion-capture actor, and you wind up with an excellent movie-watching experience. It's 'see good, hear good, speak good' with these monkeys.

Ghostbusters (2016)

If. That is the essence of everything with this movie: if. If this were an original idea; if there were not a classic movie that preceded and inspired this version; if this movie did not employ the gender-shift gimmick...If not for any of those aspects, then perhaps it could have earned more respect upon release. Judged on its own merits, the film certainly is worthy of respect; it's funny, engaging, and about as clever as one could expect given how high the bar was previously set. And the "controversial" casting is really not an issue; the ladies do a fine job, though only Kate McKinnon actually takes her role and runs with it, create something wholly fresh in this context. All in all, this is a good time at the movies, and--given the not so subtle hint of a sequel--worthy of attention now and in the presumed future.

Veronica Mars

Talk about putting the band back together...The big screen treatment of the big little TV show brings back virtually everybody who was anybody on the original series, and does so with almost all of the wit and style that made the show so appealing. It seems clear that viewers who were fans of the series will have a major leg up watching this flick versus those who are coming to it without that experience, so your mileage may vary as far as this review goes. But, as a loyal fan from way back, I can say I watched this movie with a big grin on my face the whole time, and I found the entire piece thoroughly enjoyable. You go girl, indeed.

Star Trek (2009

The J.J. Abrams remake. Better than I expected. Lots of nods to the stories so well known to everyone who watched the original series (mostly in reruns) all those years ago, and that vouches for the filmmakers’ sincerity in rebooting this franchise. And the cleverness of the plot, in the service of bringing new ideas to this and future efforts, promises something more than just another set of rehashes when the inevitable line of sequels comes knocking on our cineplex doors. All in all, a promising (re)start.

The Amazing Spider-Man

In many ways this film reflects the state of the art of superhero movies. Gone are the days of the genre's cheesy, low-rent flicks; the template is now well-established, and every entry in the field is competent (at least), entertaining, a little bit funny, action-packed, and a certain crowd-pleaser. But once we've gone through that ride a certain number of times, it's bound to grow a little old. So it is here--you can like this movie, but you also can see the template getting stale, too. I certainly won't say this film isn't worth watching, but I'm not sure you're missing anything if you skip it either.