I actually liked all the movies in this tier and would gladly re-watch any of them. Are they perfect? No. Are they prime examples of great cinema? No. Are they entertaining movies? Absolutely. I’ve spent all day reshuffling these four films. Ranking them has been agony. Part of the problem is a …
2013 was such an amazing year for movies that 2014 felt anticlimactic by comparison before it even started. Back in the spring, I kept looking at calendars of upcoming releases and noting, “This is an unusually front-loaded summer. Everything I’ve been waiting for is coming out in May. Hardly any …
Runtime: 2 hours, 46 minutes Rating: R Director: Richard Linklater Quick Impressions: Boyhood is generating a lot of buzz, and of course, the biggest talking point is that Richard Linklater filmed it using the same cast over a period of almost twelve years. Such a huge risk seems destined to end …
Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes Rating: R Director: Joon-Ho Bong Quick Impressions: I’ve been hearing good things about Snowpiercer for months and planned to see it back in July, but then my own life got unexpectedly derailed. (See what I did there? That’s a little train humor for you. Not very funny, …
Runtime: 1 hour, 41 minutes Rating: PG-13 Director: Jonathan Liebesman Quick Impressions: I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I remember when the first movie came out, the excitement over Corey Feldman voicing Donatello, and the popularity of the infectious “Turtle Power” rap. (Random snatches of it still pop into …
Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes Rating: R Director: Luc Besson Quick Impressions: Luc Besson really loves magical women in peril—and who can blame him? At this point in my life, I know exactly what to expect from Luc Besson, and he always delivers it, so I have no complaints. I’ve …
Runtime: 1 hour, 23 minutes Rating: PG Director: Roberts Gannaway Quick Impressions: I’m not a huge fan of Cars (though I liked it way better than Happy Feet, and I’m always up for a spin around Cars Land). I never even made an attempt to see the first Planes. And I’m sure I could …
Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute Rating: PG-13 Director: James Gunn Quick Impressions: At our house, July brought stress galore and constant adjusting and readjusting of expectations. My husband, kids, and I are now looking forward to taking our postponed trip to Disneyland at last, but to be honest, I feel …
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes Rating: PG-13 Director: Matt Reeves Quick Impressions: This has been a crazy week for us. My father’s in the hospital awaiting a liver transplant and has been at the brink of death several times since last Thursday, and my husband just had his wisdom teeth …
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes Rating: PG Director: Dave Green Quick Impressions: Originally, we’d planned to skip Earth to Echo because we were supposed to be driving to California this weekend. My husband and I celebrate our seventh anniversary Monday, the day we were supposed to arrive in Disneyland. But then his …
