Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

After the nuanced, clear, and satisfying character arcs and long but coherent narrative of the first film, the overall floundering and bloated feel of this sequel is disappointing. Debts, dice, keys, compasses, curses, it’s all a bit confusing. Story aside, there’s still a lot of good fantasy adventure fare to enjoy (save for the cringey cannibal caricatures), including fun slapstick action and immersive world exploring (the design of Davy Jones and his damp crew is particularly remarkable).

Enchanted (2007)

The collision of worlds and bikers and princes is every bit as funny and delightful as you’d dream of it to be, with Amy-zing Adams’ (fall)down(up?)-to-earth princess in particular striking that perfect balance between charming naivety and heart-opening earnestness (see her park sing-along and the rat and pigeon work day song). The fairy tale outweighs the satire in the end with an overly convenient happily-ever-after but I’ll take the joy when I can in this tough world. Thank you, magic mirror!

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2 (2020)

The critique of assimilating to gain acceptance is a nice additional angle to the series’ messaging about inclusion, but it remains heavy handed, the central minorities as monsters metaphor is stronger than ever, and all that aside, the movie’s just a mess of half-baked ideas, character arcs, and plot lines in a lifeless and significantly stake-free sitcom-esque setting: Bad laws are not enforced, key elections don’t have a vote, villains just join the final dance number without explanation.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

A salt-soaked offering of pirate-y adventure movie bravado (lots of cheeky rule breaking, plus a score for the ages) and quirky character comedy (CJS is incredible) with some horror-spiked fantasy thrown in (“You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner–you’re in one!”). The rethinking of one’s moral compass, meanwhile, is an engaging thematic thread (enigmatic Jack is joined by principled Will and even nose-up Norrington here: “I think we can afford to give him one day’s head start”).

JFK (1991)

It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma and its dizzying depths and layers upon layers are captured in breathtaking (well, more like brain-bewildering) fashion by a busy, intense camera and a masterful editing together of archival footage and reenactments with jam-packed dialogues and lengthy monologues, all perfectly performed. The cliche neglected-wife-and-kids subplot and overly long and tangential courtroom speech are the only things that don’t quite fit in this epic drama.

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Bubbling with as much comedic chemistry as a test tube full of poison, that poison, the poison chosen especially for this movie. The fantastic vocal performances (Goodman’s rich tones and Spade’s spindly ones are perfect for their contrasting roles), wacky slapstick, and quirky a-sides (spuds yes, cheese no) combine to create a lload of llaughs throughout. The plot is as enjoyably quick as its banter but still manages to generate a satisfying and emotional arc for the selfish sad sack on a cart.

Remember the Titans (2000)

Despite its mostly surface approach to a systemic issue, the film still does well to maintain the central racial tension post-training camp integration, as well as add some more nuance with mean cuss Boone and his testy relationship with Yoast (“You just worry about your defence”). And you can’t not shed tears at Gary’s shedding of prejudice and new friendship with Julius (“I only saw what I was afraid of, and now I know I was only hating my brother”). Good pops of humour and songs throughout.

The Proposal (2009)

Delivers its rom, com, and even some dram with aplomb. Reynolds and Bullock have great chemistry (see the improvised proposal story), and so do the two dynamics of boss-assistant and city slicker-small town. Plenty of memorable scenes (see the dog snatching, outrageous naked collision, fake heart attack) to go with an effective character arc (see Margaret’s speech at the wedding) and poignant romantic end (see Andrew’s reply to “I think it would just be easier to forget”: “It would be easier”).

Ri¢hie Ri¢h (1994)

Feels like half the movie is world building and the plot that follows is pretty ridiculous (I mean I guess getting out of jail usually is that easy for rich people) but most of it’s fairly fun in its campy nature: The British butler’s name is Cadbury, there’s a McDonald’s in the house, the slimeball villain gets his just desserts (“Where’s the money?” “…In banks”). The parents are pretty cool for billionaires (pro-union, able to survive at sea, sentimental cheeseballs–see their song password).

Dune: Part Two (2024)

A whirlwind sci-fi epic, full of grand visions and incredible sounds of “the beauty and the horror” both inside and outside our many complex characters and the diverse cultural and religious landscape and pulsing plot of politics and control that they find themselves in. In this tumultuous world, Paul’s arc from noble and knowable to mysterious and seemingly power-drunk is a fascinating one, but the change feels abrupt (Chani gives us someone to resonate with here). Awesome acting and action.