Mini-Review: This movie is a bit difficult; it has some really strong, genuinely funny or heartwarming moments... and some really, REALLY painful scenes. And, of course, a fair amount that's inoffensive but seriously cliched. (The soundtrack absolutely tries to *suffocate* you in schmaltz.) Steve Martin is far better than I expected, but Eugene Levy could be cut out and massively improve the plot. Overall, there's some really bad parts, but if you know what to fast-forward through, it's a nice story.

Mini-Review: This movie is the anti-Airplane. It's one unfunny joke after another. Unfunny in the foreground, unfunny in the background, quick, subtle unfunny, carefully built-up unfunny, running unfunny gags, physical unfunny humor, you name it. And I need to watch Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will now, just to see if I can find a more racist movie. In summary, I'll quote the words of the film's one and only reasonable character: "Bullshit!" (takes off coat, storms out of movie)

Mini-Review: This movie is terrible, but in a completely different way than I expected. It treats asexuals as if they were part of a bizzare new-age pseudo-hippie anti-sexuality movement, rather than, y'know, an actual sexual orientation. (Apparently there is an antisex movement in Russia, but it's super-conservative, so WTF.) There's some really imaginative and creative moments in here, but it's in the service of a script that's not only offensive, but also totally fails on a pure romantic comedy level.

Mini-Review: This is a puzzle movie, but the problem is, a couple of the puzzle pieces don't seem to be anywhere in the box. The ideas are strong, but the climax is horribly obfuscated, completely disrupting both the progression of the plot and the development of the characters. That said, the ideas are strong, the characters act like people, and really, it's not as confusing as people say - well, up until it all falls apart. I'm glad for the experiment, and I hope Carruth's next movie fixes these flaws.

Mini-Review: Okay, bad parts: The stupid LAPD boss and the stupid FBI people, plus some of the one-liners. Other than that, tho, this is an excellent action movie, made better by the fact that it spends time getting all its pieces into place. I can see why it spawned so many sequels and imitators. (Also, I'm glad Carl Winslow was able to get that raise after this and move to Chicago. He deserves it.) (Also also, Alan Rickman rocks. So hard.) (Yes.)