(Last) Summer’s Blockbusters
With Cecilia in Brazil, I took this weekend to catch up on some of the movies I wanted to see that she expressed absolutely zero desire to see.
On tap this weekend were: Fun with Dick & Jane, Flight Plan, 16 Blocks, Firewall and the Manchurian Candiate. Those of you who remember my movie reviews from years back know that rather than stars, I use the value of the standard ticket ($9 in Chicago) and rate the movie based on the relative bang for my buck. Once it gets over $6, it’d be worth checking out a matinee.
Now these were rentals, so given that they ran $3.99 apiece, anything over a 4 would qualify them as worth seeing.
Fun with Dick & Jane - 2.75 - There were no suprises in this one. Not Jim Carey’s best work.
Flight Plan - 4.00 - Predictable, but fun. It was not an edge-of-your-seat thriller as promised. I correctly predicted the outcome 30 minutes in.
16 Blocks - 4.75 - The alternate ending was better. Out witness deserved to get killed though - really annoying voice.
Firewall - 5.50 - Harrison Ford and a pick-axe alwys make for a fun time. The plot was non-existant and you had to make several leaps of faith to keep watching. Indy is starting to show his age a little.
Manchurian Candidate (2005 remake) - 7.00 - One of the best I’ve seen in a while. Again, I got all the key plot points early on, but I still didn’t know how they’d play themselves to conclusion.