Aliens (1986)

Not as good as the original Alien, which was far more about creating actual tension than blowing things up in showers of goo. The first hour attempts to build tension but just ends up being slow. Despite the dependence on firepower, though, the last hour and a half is pretty entertaining and even has a few good scares going for it. Decent, not great, sequel. 3 stars.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

An acceptably silly little film that doesn't have nearly as much charm as Mary Poppins (its obvious comparison). There are some good songs in here and some entertaining moments. Oddly enough, this movie made me nostalgic, and it wasn't even one I ever watched as a child. I guess it just made me nostalgic for this era of Disney movies in general? 3 stars.

Suez (1938)

Suez is a movie that never seems to go anywhere. It sets itself up as a romance and a historical drama and never really accomplishes either. The ending is abrupt, none of the characters are really established, and the story meanders. 1.5 stars.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The first hour and a half of this movie flew by and were absolutely fascinating. However, the last two hours had more about the actual fighting of the war and less about the creating of the characters, and I started losing interest, and by the end I was drained. This is the second 3 1/2 hour movie I've watched this week, and of the two, I definitely prefer The Seven Samurai. 3 stars.

Amazing Grace (2006)

A capable, if unspectacular, movie telling the story of someone fighting to change society. There's nothing particularly wrong with this movie but nothing really great about it either. There are some wonderful actors in here but none of them really do much with the roles they're given. Probably most worth watching if you enjoy inspirational true stories. 3 stars.

Soylent Green (1973)

It's the mark of a good movie that it can keep you interested in the story even if you go into it already knowing the twist ending. This is not a good movie. It's all built around the premise of revealing its shocking twist, and there's not enough solid material to keep the story going except for that. Edward G. Robinson carves out a decent character, but none of the rest of it is convincing, and it takes itself far too seriously for me to just let go and enjoy a silly sci-fi romp like, for example, Logan's Run. Disappointing. 2 stars.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Satisfying little flick. Whenever I felt like it was going overboard on cartoon slapstick (never my favorite type of humor) it suddenly played up some more of the subtler noir parody. It stayed firmly in its time period and had some fantastic acting in it. (Christopher Lloyd was at first hilarious as Judge Doom and then FREAKING TERRIFYING near the end. I'm pretty sure that would have traumatized me as a child.) Seldom laughed out loud or anything, but I enjoyed the ride. Nicely done. 3.5 stars.