Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)

Action/Adventure Rated R

An action comedy in the kinetic sense. The jokes here aren’t the result of buddy banter or witty one-liners. Instead, they’re the stunts themselves – acrobatic endeavors so deliriously over-the-top that you can’t help but laugh. Clive Owen is in Sin City mode as Mr. Smith, a strong silent type who reluctantly finds himself between

Delicatessen (1991)

Comedy Rated R

Before his sweet Amelie, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (and co-director Marc Caro) made this surreal black comedy about a post-apocalyptic butcher who has had to improvise in order to stay in business. Yes, I mean cannibalism. Despite the bleak subject matter, Delicatessen is stuffed with magical, life-affirming moments – the movie drips with blood and irony.

Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)

Comedy Rated NR

“Everything Hulot does is elaborately and unnecessarily complicated, which means every moment is ripe for comedy.”

Halloween (1978)

Horror Rated R

“…most compelling as a metaphorical manifestation of Laurie Strode’s sexual fears.”

Congo (1995)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

A would-be blockbuster that is only notable now for its colossal waste of Laura Linney. As one member of a jungle expedition in search of a lost city full of diamonds, Linney is a bore, but that’s preferable to the over-the-top histrionics of Tim Curry and Ernie Hudson. And the less said about Dylan Walsh

Batman Forever (1995)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

This was the first attempt to rejuvenate Warner Bros.’ comic-book franchise and it turns out director Joel Schumacher and new Bruce Wayne Val Kilmer weren’t exactly what the doctor ordered. The former drowns the film in excess, while the latter is as stiff as the cowl he wears (the same could be said for love

Apollo 13 (1995)

Drama Rated PG

Ron Howard reached another level of filmmaking with this recreation of the nearly disastrous 1970 NASA mission to the moon. When an explosion on board Apollo 13 causes the crew to lose oxygen, power and guidance, they suddenly have only one objective: to return to Earth alive. Howard brings such a detailed intensity to the

Waterworld (1995)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

More than the sum of the jokes, but not by much. This is ultimately a botched futuristic epic, but before it completely goes berserk there is plenty of disconcerting beauty and fervid imagination on display. Kevin Costner plays the Mariner, an Aquaman of sorts who sails the unending sea of a future where the polar

War (2007)

Action/Adventure Rated R

“Li…spends most of his time shooting a gun with what are usually much more ingeniously employed hands.

Halloween (2007)

Horror Rated R

“…trades insinuation for obviousness.”