White House Down

White House Down

Columbia etc.

June 28, 2013

Drama

DVD
D+

Laughably clichéd, but at least this Obama-era movie has an African-American fictional president.  Roland Emmerich directed, and this is the fifth of his movies I've rejected.

The Soloist

The Soloist

DreamWorks etc.

April 24, 2009
Drama

DVD

D+

A mildly interesting story burdened with too much medical crap.  This is based on the real Steve Lopez's book and directed by Joe Wright a few years after Atonement and his Pride & Prejudice.

Sleepless

Sleepless

Riverstone Pictures etc.

January 13, 2017

Crime Drama

DVD
D

Jamie Foxx is a crooked cop with a messy personal life.  Baran bo Odar directed.

Robin Hood (2018)

Robin Hood (2018)

Summit Entertainment etc.

November 21, 2018

Action, Historical Drama, Romance

DVD
D-

Somehow even worse than the Russell Crowe version, primarily due to the dialogue and anachronisms.  Otto Bathurst directed.

Ray

Ray

Bristol Bay Productions etc.

October 29, 2004

Historical Drama, Musical

DVD
C-

This felt a little off to me, although I'm not sure why.  Something in the performances I think.  Taylor Hackford directed and co-wrote.

Just Mercy

Just Mercy

Warner Bros.

January 10, 2020

Historical Drama, Crime Drama

DVD
B+

It seems odd to say this about a movie about the death penalty and racism, but I found this beautiful, in the sense that it moved me, and not just to tears.  The supporting performances are all solid, especially Larson as support for Jordan's character, Bryan Stevenson, but even the actor playing the young white guard with a conscience.  Director Destin Daniel Cretton helped adapt the Stevenson memoir, a couple years after he adapted Glass Castle, which is much worse.

Dreamgirls

Dreamgirls
DreamWorks and Paramount
December 25, 2006
Musical, Historical Drama
DVD
C+

Bill Condon wrote and directed this award-winning adaptation of the Broadway hit.  I feel like, despite the acclaim, there's a dazzling movie trapped in a not bad one.  I'm not really sure what the issue(s) I have are about it, but I think it's that the operatic and soap-operatic elements don't really jell with the more realistic, human moments.  Like the clash within the movie between "soul" and "glitz."  Note that while I could see dashes of James Brown and Little Richard in then-45-year-old Murphy's performance, it also reminded me some of the cocky twentysomething Eddie of the 1980s.

Django Unchained

Django Unchained
Columbia
December 25, 2012
Western
DVD
D

This is my first Quentin Tarantino movie, but I was less surprised by the violence than by the assumption that the viewers were morons who, one, needed things spelled out, and two, don't know what a German accent sounds like.  The music is of course the best thing about the movie.

Collateral

Collateral
DreamWorks
August 6, 2004
Romance, Drama
DVD
C-

I mean, I know IMDB says "Crime, Drama, Thriller," but it honestly isn't much of an action movie in the first quarter hour.  It's mostly about the meet-cute between a male cabbie and a female lawyer.  And Tom Cruise shows up a bit to be vaguely creepy, taking this down from a C.  Michael Mann directed.

Any Given Sunday

Any Given Sunday
Warner Bros.
December 22, 1999
Sports Drama
DVD
F+

This didn't exactly make me like football, but I did bump it up from an F because of the random Ann-Margret cameo as a rich woman with a dog.  Stone directed.