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Small Fry (2011, Angus MacLane)
I find Small Fry to be a little confusing. Not just in the narrative, though the plot also has an incredibly big hole, but the approach in general. It’s a Toy Story short, only MacLane gives it enough...
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Item 47 (2012, Louis D’Esposito)
Item 47 is exceptionally lame. Though it is well-acted and Marvel did pay for a Cars song over the end credits…. 47 is an “aside” Avengers sequel, but more to the events in it. SHIELD agent Maximiliano...
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Tummy Trouble (1989, Rob Minkoff and Frank Marshall)
Tummy Trouble goes out of its way to pay homage to Tex Avery (down to a Droopy cameo) and director Minkoff does a decent job of it. Not to say Tummy‘s successful, however. While Minkoff apes Avery all...
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Trail Mix-Up (1993, Barry Cook)
I think Trail Mix-Up is supposed to be zany, what with the inclusion of an adorable beaver and a cuddly bear in Roger Rabbit and Baby Herman’s trek through the wilderness. It’s not very good, of...
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Thor: The Dark World (2013, Alan Taylor)
Thor: The Dark World toggles between cloying and disinterested. Between Alan Taylor’s limp direction and the tepid script, it never really has a chance. Either the world will end or it won’t. The film...
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The Parent Trap (1998, Nancy Meyers)
Where to start with The Parent Trap. There’s the structure–Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer split their script into three distinct parts. Well, maybe even three and a half. There’s the opening where...
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Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989, Joe Johnston)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a constant battle between trite and sincere. Except the special effects stuff; the special effects are astounding, especially the sequences where there's a mix of styles,...
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier has a bunch of great, thoughtful scenes and many excellent–and some just better than normal–performances but it doesn't add up to much. Those fine scenes don't have...
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The Radiator Springs 500½ (2014, Rob Gibbs and Scott Morse)
There's some charm to The Radiator Springs 500½, but nowhere near enough. There are hints of good ideas–like a Western showdown motif at the beginning–and some of the failed gags should have worked–a...
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Alice in Wonderland (2010, Tim Burton)
Alice in Wonderland has a number of balls in the air at once and director Burton–though he does show a good sense of them each while in focus–can’t seem to bring them together successfully. The...
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