The Garden (2006)

The Garden is a somewhat interesting flick about Satan, the Garden of Eden and the four horsemen of the apocalypse getting into it with a very special young boy (Brian Wimmer). Lance Henrikson is his usual involving self and Sean Young also redeems nicely but the story is muddled and the ending downright confusing. Maybe someone who is not a Jew would understand it better - or maybe not.

---

The Dentist (1996)

The Dentist is squirm-inducing and creepy. Corbin Bernson as the titular lunatic hits just the right notes and the drill used throughout the movie made me close my ears more than once in shivers. It's not the best horror film but it is effective.

---

Set It Off (1996)

Set It Off is interesting because it is about four females that rob banks; had the producers hired four males, the script's shortcomings would have been too pronounced. Instead we get good acting from Queen Latifah, Viveca A. Fox, Jada Pinkett and Kimberly Elise in something that starts as a buddy flick and ends...um...not as a buddy flick. Ultimately, it's convoluted and unbelievable.

---

The Unborn (2009)

Who knew The Unborn was going to be a Jewish version of The Exorcist? Who knew it would feature Gary Oldman, Jane Alexander and a girl who looks just like Megan Fox? Who knew, at 88 minutes, it would feel like an eternity?

---

Travels With My Aunt (1972)

Travels With My Aunt is Auntie Mame with an adult nephew, no humor and no emotional core. Maggie Smith (as directed by George Cukor) is a bit much as Aunt Augusta but early career performances by Louis Gossett, Jr. and Cindy Williams make up for it. All in all though, travel with a different companion because this aunt is kind of a bore.

---

Mars Attacks! (1996)

Mars Attacks!, a play on the science fiction movies made in the 50s (I think) might have been good had it been funny. It also might have been good had it been scary. Too bad it's just plain dull.

---

WΔZ aka The Killing Gene (2006)

WΔZ (W Delta Z) is a gritty, low budget police drama that kept me guessing until the end - pretty hard thing to do nowadays. Stellan Skarsgård, Selma Blair and Melissa George are excellent although the film is lit so darkly it's often hard to see. Grim and horrific scenes add to the melee but this is not a horror movie - or maybe I should write this is thinking man's horror.

---

The Machine Girl (2008)

The Machine Girl not only has a machine gun for a left arm but she has a lot of heart - which makes this bloody tale of revenge so much fun to watch. Minase Yashiro (so good in her film debut - as is Amashi and the others) and commitment is what makes this genuine Grindhouse picture so extremely watchable and enjoyable. The over-the-top blood letting out Tarentinos Tarantino but writer/director Noburu Iguchi brings it!

---

The Glass House (2001)

The Glass House is a mundane thriller (about two kids whose parents are suddenly killed) with a mundane script and a mundane lead performance from Leelee Sobieski as one of the newly crowned orphans. Diane Lane and Stellan Skarsgård take a back seat but I can't imagine that was anything more (or less) than they expected when the acting contract was signed. I guess they (and more than a bunch of people involved with this piffle) just needed the cash.

---

Thank God It's Friday (1978)

No matter what anyone says, Thank God It's Friday is a time capsule of what it felt like to spend an evening in a 70s disco. Sure it might be contrived and each character is more an archetype than an individual but if you are too young to have lived through it, this pretty much sums up the energy: straights and gays, teens trying to get in, drugs (notice the poppers), assholes, dancing and the ubiquitous music. Ahhhh, those were the days.

---