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I still don't know why I keep watching Wes Anderson films when this is the highest I've ever rated one of them, but it's also the one I enjoyed the most. Jason Schwartzman's performance is unreal. I can't quite put my finger on it about his films, but his presence always seems to make these films feel awkward and almost like watching a stage play, yet this was the least play-like of the bunch so far. Max is ambitious, obnoxious, and weirdly endearing all at once, and Bill Murray makes a perfect dry counterweight to him."When a beautiful first-grade teacher (Olivia Williams) arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max (Jason Schwartzman), who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father (Bill Murray) of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention."

Fallen Angels is one of those films that comes with a big reputation, especially among fans of Hong Kong cinema, so I went in with high expectations. The 1995 film is mostly in Cantonese, and the viewing experience had its ups and downs. It's best known for its cinematography, and that reputation is earned. I loved the wide-angle shots and the neon-soaked look of Hong Kong at night, which give the film a style all its own but the camera angles were weird angles. At the same time, the story sometimes felt all over the place, jumping between characters and moods in a way that made it hard to stay locked in. "An assassin, his boss, an entrepreneur and two women cross paths in Hong Kong as their professional and love lives collide and influence each other, mostly without their knowledge."

This 2008 film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett has a unique storyline, and it's one I could easily get behind. The biggest hurdle is the runtime. At 2 hours and 46 minutes, there are stretches where it feels too long, and the middle of the film starts to play a lot like Forrest Gump, bouncing Benjamin from job to job and place to place without always pushing the story forward. For most of the movie, I had it sitting at around a 7.5. The last 25 minutes, though, really won me over and elevated the whole experience, bumping it up to a solid 8.0. If you have the patience for a long, sprawling story, the ending makes the journey worth it. "Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flickers in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer (Cate Blanchett). Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward."

Released in 1983 and based on true events from the early days of the space program, The Right Stuff holds up remarkably well more than 40 years later. The acting is great across the board, and it was a treat seeing so many familiar faces early in their careers, including Dennis Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Sam Shepard. What sets the film apart is its unique perspective. Rather than focusing only on the missions, it shows how the space race affected the astronauts' political and personal lives, while also capturing the prestige and achievement that came with earning the title of astronaut. It feels a bit dated in places, but it still works for today's audiences. If you enjoyed Apollo 13 or First Man, this is the film that paved the way for them. All around, a great film and an easy recommendation. "This adaptation of the non-fiction novel by Tom Wolfe chronicles the first 15 years of America's space program. By focusing on the lives of the Mercury astronauts, including John Glenn (Ed Harris) and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn), the film recounts the dangers and frustrations experienced by those involved with NASA's earliest achievements. It also depicts their family lives and the personal crises they endured during an era of great political turmoil and technological innovation."

This is a solid 1996 comedy that's light and easy to watch. Robin Williams is stellar, and Nathan Lane matches him every step of the way. I think this movie was far ahead of its time, putting a loving gay couple at the center of a mainstream Hollywood comedy back in the '90s. There's nothing too crazy here, just a good movie with good acting and a solid plot. It's a remake of the French classic La Cage aux Folles, and it holds its own as a fun, feel-good watch that still lands today. "When Val Goldman asks Barbara Keely to be his wife, he can't possibly envision the chaos it will create between their parents. Val's dad is gay nightclub owner Armand, and his "mother" is Armand's permanent life partner, Albert, better known by his stage name Starina. Barbara's parents, Senator Kevin Keely and his wife Louise, want to meet Val's "parents", who decide the best plan is for Albert to pose as a woman."

This 2007 drama based on true events stars Hilary Swank, and she does an amazing job carrying the film. There are some cheesy moments you have to look past, but those same moments are what give the movie its uplifting heart, and they end up being worth it. It's a great story with solid acting all around, and it has that classic 2000s feel. A heartfelt, inspiring watch that's easy to recommend."A dedicated teacher (Hilary Swank) in a racially divided Los Angeles school has a class of at-risk teenagers deemed incapable of learning. Instead of giving up, she inspires her students to take an interest in their education and planning their future. She assigns reading material that relates to their lives and encourages them all to keep journals."

This 2005 crime-comedy starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan caught me completely off guard. Part of the fun is that you never really know what's going on, and Downey spends the whole movie narrating with all-over-the-place commentary that keeps you laughing even when the plot gets tangled. His chemistry with Kilmer is a highlight, and the two play off each other perfectly. It feels like a better version of what Ryan Reynolds is trying to do in today's action comedies, except RDJ did it first, and in his own unique way. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. If you like your crime stories with a sharp, self-aware sense of humor, it's well worth tracking down."Two-bit crook Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) stumbles into an audition for a mystery film while on the run from the cops. Winning the part, he lands in Hollywood, where he's flung into a tangled, murderous conspiracy with his childhood sweetheart, Harmony Lane (Michelle Monaghan), and hard-boiled private eye Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer). This deadpan, affectionate parody of film noir tropes is named for film critic Pauline Kael's influential 1968 collection of film reviews and essays."

It's crazy to think this film was made in 1962, because the cinematography and acting still hold up today. Peter O'Toole gives a great performance as T.E. Lawrence in this true story, and the sweeping desert shots are every bit as breathtaking now as they must have been back then. The storyline was awesome from start to finish. My only real complaint is the length. At nearly four hours, it's way too long, and you'll need to clear an entire evening for it. Even so, it was absolutely worth it. If you loved the scale and desert visuals of Dune, you'll see exactly where that film found its inspiration. This is a must-watch classic for anyone who appreciates epic filmmaking. "Due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) and serve as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. With the aid of native Sharif Ali (Omar Sharif), Lawrence rebels against the orders of his superior officer and strikes out on a daring camel journey across the harsh desert to attack a well-guarded Turkish port."

Courage Under Fire is a 1996 war thriller starring Denzel Washington, and it hasn't aged especially well. The premise is genuinely cool: an investigation where each witness's account of the same firefight contradicts the last, so you're constantly piecing together what really happened. Denzel is solid, and seeing Meg Ryan in a combat role is a real change from the rom-coms she's known for. The problem is the pacing. The movie drags a lot, and the interesting setup gets buried under long stretches that could have been tightened. "During the 1991 Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) accidentally caused a friendly fire incident, a mistake that was hushed up by his superiors. Following the war, he is assigned to investigate the case of Army Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan), killed in action when her Medevac unit was attempting to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter. But, as Serling interviews the members of Walden's crew, he realizes their stories about the incident don't add up."

Candyman is often talked about as a horror classic, but I've learned to take that kind of reputation with a grain of salt if its an older horror, and this one didn't win me over. Watching the original from 1992 today, it feels outdated. The acting was middle of the pack at best and, honestly, maybe a little below average, which didn't help it hold up. "Candyman is an American supernatural horror franchise originating from the 1985 short story "The Forbidden" from the collection Books of Blood by Clive Barker, about the legend of the "Candyman", the ghost of an artist and son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century."

This one has a lot of potential, but in the end it was just alright. If you're craving a rated-R comedy, it'll do the trick, especially since so few of them get made anymore. I really liked the plot but the movie never fully commits to it. For a film built around drugs, danger, and bad decisions, it plays things surprisingly safe, and I kept wishing it would go bolder throughout. It never reaches that level of unhinged energy."Two rock-bottom drivers transport a wealthy teen to rehab, but their simple job spirals into a chaotic journey of drugs, danger and crime as their passenger derails their plans."

Uptown Girls came out in 2003, but it looks and feels like a 90s movie, which works in its favor. The acting isn't the best, but that's to be expected given the premise and the lead actors, and it never really gets in the way. The story is exactly what you'd expect from a movie like this, and so is the ending, which is solid and lands where it should. It won't reinvent anything, but it doesn't need to. Solid movie all around, and an easy watch if you're in the mood for something familiar. "Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) has never worked a day in her life and has lived like a queen since her father, a famous rock 'n' roll star, died and left her his fortune. But everything changes when Molly realizes that her manager has stolen her money. She lands a job as a nanny for Ray (Dakota Fanning), a young girl whose serious attitude is the opposite of Molly's carefree one. With help from her boyfriend, Neal (Jesse Spencer), Molly tries to bond with Ray and learn how to be an adult."