New York Stories (1989)

A totally enjoyable series of short movies by some great directors. Scorsese's segment, "Life Lessons," was fascinatingly told and beautifully filmed. I'm not sure I understood Coppola's segment, "Life Without Zoe," but I thoroughly enjoyed it even if I'm not sure what the point was. Woody Allen's segment was my favorite (not a huge surprise there), absurd but hilarious. Definitely worth checking out. 4 stars.

Empire of the Sun (1987)

While this movie was well-made, I felt almost no connection to the characters and had difficulty getting into it. Christian Bale does an amazing job as the young child (it was fun to see that he was not only a brilliant actor now, but as a child as well). The story feels a bit disjointed but there are some very genuinely touching moments. More likely to be enjoyed by people who like the genre in the first place. 3 stars.

Pleasantville (1998)

I loved some of the things this movie did with color... some great moments. However, I had a problem with the actual message of the movie, particularly regarding the mother, who only came fully into color once she cheated on her husband. Call me old-fashioned, but that feels like a less-than-admirable trait. A lot of the movie felt like that to me... it just had a very different set of values from me. Not only that, but the movie appeared to be more concerned about making its social point than telling the story. The ending is haphazard and confusing, with plotlines suddenly being resolved with no explanation. Too bad, because the concept is wonderful. 2.5 stars.

Grease (1978)

Nearly all of this movie is pure delight. Fantastic musical numbers, likeable main characters... great stuff. And then it gets to the end and everything goes haywire. Sigh. (Spoilers ahead.) Sandy discovers that the only way to get her guy is to change everything about herself. That is NOT sweet or romantic. That's bleak and depressing. (Although possibly more justified if you consider that he was apparently about to become a jock for her - so at least they were going to mutually try to change for the other person.) Also, the lyrics for "You're the One That I Want" make zero sense in that context. "To my heart I must be true"? That's clearly not the case, since she's just changed everything about herself for a guy. Harumph. That lame ending lowered my rating half a star. However, I am going to salvage the movie from the mess it turned into, by pretending that post-movie they tell each other, "It's okay, you don't have to change, I really DO like who you are" and all is well. 3.5 stars.

Fast Food Nation (2006)

Meh. It seemed to be substituting a political point for a coherent story. We get the idea, fast food is disgusting. But there is no reason this couldn't have been a documentary. None of the characters had personalities or lives I cared about. Plot points were wrapped up abruptly. If you're not going to bother making interesting as a fictionalized version, don't bother fictionalizing it at all. Just keep it as a straightforward nonfiction story. It'd have been more interesting. 2 stars.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Like most quirky indie comedy/dramas, this plays up the quirky so much that I can no longer identify with the characters. These aren't people, they're living breathing quirks. There are definitely some good moments, but overall it goes too far over the top for me to really like it. 3 stars.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Fascinating movie that scared the heck out of me. It's dark, it's bleak, and even with a happy ending it still kind of freaked me out a little bit. Marvelous filmmaking, though. There were a LOT of moments that made me think, "Oooh. That was a nice shot." So, well done, I moderately enjoyed it, but the atmosphere isn't a terribly pleasant one. 3.5 stars.