Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs

Miramax etc.

January 21, 1992

Crime Comedy?

DVD
D-

You know the drill by now.  I'm not going to like a Tarentino movie.  This one got bumped up for the brilliant casting of famously deadpan Steven Wright as a radio d.j.

Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc.

Disney/Pixar

November 2, 2001

Animation, Children's, Sci-Fi, Comedy

DVD
C

Watching this for the first time since the original release, I still like the world-building and somewhat the characterization, but I found the child more annoying than cute.  I tuned out somewhere between a third and halfway through.  Pete Docter co-wrote, and co-directed with David Silverman and Lee Unkrich.  

Monster House

Monster House

Sony Pictures etc.

July 21, 2006

Children's, Animation, Comedy, Horror

DVD
C-

I feel like I tried to watch this before, maybe upon first release, but I wouldn't swear to it.  Anyway, it's OK for what it is.  Gil Kenan directed.

I Think I Love My Wife

I Think I Love My Wife

Fox Searchlight Pictures

March 16, 2007

Comedy
DVD
C-

Race is handled more interestingly than love, sex, and marriage in this movie directed by, starring, and co-written by Chris Rock.

Hotel Transylvania

Hotel Transylvania

Sony

September 28, 2012

Children's, Horror, Comedy

DVD
C-

I enjoyed this movie enough in the theater to see the second one (which I liked less) but on DVD, especially without the delighted surprise of recognizing the voice actors, I didn't care as much, although, as with Hop, the look is better than the story.  Genndy Tartakovsky directed.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Columbia

July 11, 2001

Sci-Fi

DVD

D

Boring early CGI, co-directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Motonori Sakakibara.

Fargo

Fargo
Gramercy Pictures
April 5, 1996
Crime Drama
DVD
D+

After hearing how wonderful this movie is for years, this turns out to be a Coen Brothers flick I can't get into.

Domestic Disturbance

Domestic Disturbance
Paramount
November 2, 2001
Crime Drama
DVD
B-

I liked this more than I expected, especially with a title like that.  Since I haven't seen any of Vaughn's other dramas yet, I found it interesting that this plays off of the duality of his persona, the charm and the creepiness (which I noticed in DodgeBall as well).  Casting him as the nice-seeming psychopathic stepfather works, as does Travolta's average Joe persona for the ex.  (And of course Steve B. is very Buscemi.)  I did think the movie got a bit silly, especially in the last twenty minutes, but it certainly held my interest.  And I like that it's a PG-13 crime drama, more about the suspense than the violence.

Harold Becker directed, about five years before City Hall.

Desperado

Desperado
Columbia
August 25, 1995
Crime Drama
DVD
C-

Too violent for my tastes, but I did like the pre-credit device of Buscemi telling the tale to bartender Marin.  Robert Rodriguez wrote and directed.

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski
Working Title Films
March 6, 1998
Comedy
DVD
C

I gave this Coen Brothers movie a half hour because I just honestly didn't know how I felt about it.  I'd heard about it for years but I think that's part of why I hesitated to watch it, that it wouldn't live up to the the cult status.  I can see why people like it, and certainly I had high hopes with this cast.  The opening narration by Sam Elliott was fun, but I just couldn't connect with this particular form of quirkiness.  Note that it's technically a historical comedy, being set around the time of the Gulf War I, but that was also the '90s, so I'm tagging it as just comedy.