Lady in the Water (2006)

I was so, so ready to love this movie, especially given that I loved both Signs and The Village when no one did. I was disappointed with it, but not as disappointed as I would have been had I not known that everyone else hated it. :-)

It's a nice concept, executed nicely. Its main problem on my end was the characters. They were all incredibly flat. The Paul Giamatti character (and the lady in the water herself) became the only one who I could understand. Everyone else seemed like they were randomly selected and thrown in there, even amusing characters like the movie critic. [Slight Spoiler Warning Ahead] So when person after person was selected, and then re-selected to help this girl get back to her world, I kept thinking, "Uh, yeah, so what?" [/Spoiler] I'm thinking it would have made me like it significantly more had it been created as a mini-series (although I seriously doubt the plot could be stretched that far). That way when all the characters came together at the end, it would be an "Oh, now that's cool" moment instead of "Wait, who's that person again? I don't get it." Stretching it out also would have offered opportunities to explore motivations - like why everyone just goes along with the plan. Here it seems random and unbelievable, while there could have been some good exploration of that.

I certainly didn't think this was the dismal failure the critics seemed to think it was. It still has some lovely moments that work, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it was far too jumbled to warrant a high rating. 3.5 stars.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Plot: An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.

Wow. This was an interesting movie, although I was really unsure what was actually happening. Heh. Actual plot details baffled me. I'm not sure if this is the same exact animation style they used in Waking Life - if so, I'm getting used to it, because I really liked it here. It felt amazingly real. I kept actually forgetting it was a cartoon. Robert Downey Jr was the most interesting character in the entire movie, no question. It was also one of those movies that even though I wasn't sure what was happening (and no doubt smarter people than me will be able to figure it out) it was still interesting to watch. 3.5 stars.

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

I am only the very mildest of Robin Williams fans. I'm seldom annoyed by his antics and occasionally impressed by his actual acting. (Whoa. Random alliteration everywhere.) However, at the beginning of this movie I found him annoying and not in the least entertaining. I was just beginning to think, "Oh, great, this is going to be one of those movies that I can't wait for it to be over." However, as it went on, I reminded myself of WHY I don't mind Robin Williams: when he plays crazysillyzany whatever, he manages to play it with hints that that's not all there is to him. As opposed to some others actors who play like that's the entirety of their characters. And so I felt like it rather redeemed itself at the end, although the story got a bit sappy. Not a fantastic film, but not a terrible one by any means. 3 stars.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

I have a suspicion all these movies are going to be rated around the same. This followed the original book very closely and added nothing new, although it was fun to see the characters come to life once again. Another not-stellar, but certainly fun-for-an-evening watch. (Except for the fact it's quite long - I didn't mind the length but others might if they're not fans of the original books.) 3.5 stars.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

I've never been much of a zombie movie watcher, and am not entirely sure what made me pick up this film. However, it turned out to be quite fun and surprisingly effective, despite some hammy acting and horrid effects. Not too interested in watching the new one, or any other zombie flicks, but this wasn't at all bad. 3 stars.

The Country Girl (1954)

This movie was quite well done, and I found it to be a very interesting watch. However, as "real truth" after "real truth" was revealed, I found myself unsure as to whether it was melodramatic and silly, or full of depth. I'm still not entirely sure which way it went. But it was a pretty satisfying movie, either way. 3.5 stars.

Superman Returns (2006)

First off, Superman is certainly iconic, but he's got to be one of the most boring superheroes ever. He's ridiculously perfect, both in character and superhero qualities. But now that I've gotten that minor comment out of the way...

This was only meh. There were some nice moments, but overall none of it struck a chord with me. And the dialogue... goodness. I about lost it when Lex Luthor yelled, "BRING IT ON!" because it was such a drastic break from the tone of the entire rest of the movie. Nah, that didn't work for me at all. So definite moments of coolness, followed, unfortunately, by moments of campiness and bizarrity. I also probably would have liked this if I liked the original movies and superhero more. 3 stars.