Wedding Crashers (2005)

Comedy Rated R

I don’t think Vince Vaughn stops talking at any point throughout Wedding Crashers – and that includes the scenes he isn’t even in. Thank goodness, otherwise this would be just another romantic comedy piffle. Vaughn and Owen Wilson play friends who crash nuptial events to take advantage of women who are “aroused by the very

Bourne Identity, The (2002)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Matt Damon and director Doug Liman (Swingers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) bring plenty of verve to Robert Ludlum’s classic spy novel, about an amnesiac with literal killer instincts. Even someone with memory loss would recognize the action-thriller tactics on display here, but at least they’re skillfully employed.

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Drama Rated R

In this well-intentioned attempt to honor American soldiers who fought in Vietnam, writer-director Randall Wallace and star Mel Gibson have created a Saving Private Ryan wannabe, from the melodramatic air of reverence to the trendy dollops of gore. Do Vietnam veterans who fought bravely and honorably deserve our respect? Certainly. But lazily anointing them as

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Romantic Comedy Rated R

This smart adaptation of Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel is a romantic comedy in search of contentment rather than Prince Charming, which gives it a sense of realism that both aches and inspires. As the title heroine – a single British woman whose life is a cycle of highs and lows, most of which have to

Whole Nine Yards, The (2000)

Comedy Rated R

Another inconsequential comedy from “Friends” star Matthew Perry, this time with Bruce Willis as a hit man who moves next door to Perry’s uptight dentist. Only the boundless enthusiasm of then-newcomer Amanda Peet, as the dentist’s assistant and an aspiring assassin, makes the movie bearable.

Platoon (1986)

Drama Rated R

The first movie to confess the American sins of the Vietnam War, Platoon carried extra weight because it came from someone who was there: writer-director Oliver Stone. Platoon had a purging power when it was released, but years later you can see some of the picture’s flaws more clearly. As it details a rift that

Because I Said So (2007)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Perhaps it’s because I have two sisters and two daughters and my wife comes from a family of five girls that I was able to overlook the romantic-comedy contrivances of Because I Said So and instead appreciate the few moments of female, familial authenticity. Diane Keaton plays a meddling mother who tries to engineer the

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

Drama Rated NR

It feels a bit dated and preachy now, but Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner‘s racial politics were radical for its time. Paired for the final time with her on- and off-screen partner Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn plays the wealthy, liberal mother of a woman (Katharine Houghton) who surprises her parents by announcing her sudden plans

Women, The (1939)

Drama Rated NR

“…the original Mean Girls.”

Guns of Navarone, The (1961)

Drama Rated PG

Guns dramatizes a British mission to infiltrate a German-occupied Greek island to take out two powerful guns that have been terrorizing Allied ships. The 1961 Best Picture nominee is a bit bloated in the manner of an Oscar-hungry prestige picture, yet it’s a good showcase for Gregory Peck’s charisma. He commands the screen even while