Primal Fear (1996)

 Hot shot lawyer Richard Gere takes on a pro bono case defending traumatized young man Edward Norton who has been accused of murdering a Catholic Bishop. Strong cast includes Laura Linney, Maura Tierny, Francis McDormand, John Mahoney and Andre Braugher. Very solid, there are aspects to the ending which I don't think would play as well today, but for 1996 are effective. ***1/2

Howling III (1987)

 The weirdness of 'Howling III' outweighs its badness, resulting in a strangley watchable movie whose surprisingly drawn out coda is one of the oddest I've seen in film. The plot concerns a University professor, a B movie production, the president of the United States, a defecting Soviet ballerina and a colony of Australian werewolfs. **

Deadlier then the Male (1967)

 One of the better James Bond imitators of the 1960's. The film thankfully doesn't play as satire or broad comedy, but strikes a tone very comparable to the James Bond movies of its era. Existing character Bulldog Drummond is appropriated for the film as a troubleshooter for an international insurance company. Drummond (a pretty bland Richard Johnson) is investigating a scheme to manipulate stock prices by the well timed deaths of corporate executives. German Elka Sommer and Italin Syliva Kosina steal the show as a couple of sexy assassins.**1/2

Downhill Racer (1969)

 Minimalist character study stars Robert Redford as a rather self righteous skier, competing with the U.S. Ski Team at various European competitions. This is back when professional skiing was just starting to be commercialized in the United States. Surprisingly understated. Gene Hackman dependably good as the coach.***

Fist Fight (2017l

 A misunderstanding prompts history teacher Ice Cub to challenge English teacher Charlie Day to a fist fight on the last day of school. I always enjoy Charlie Day's line delivery, but there is not much to this weak comedy. *1/2

The Fallout (2021)

 Three vaugly acquainted students become emotionally linked after surviving a school shooting huddled in a bathroom stall together. 'The Fallout' never shows us the shooting, it focuses on the emotional impact and the various ways people cope with surviving a life threatening traumatic event.  Very good work from Jenna Ortega, you see a person changed and how difficult it can be to recover equilibrium. ***

Beaverly Hills Cop III (1994)

 Really horrible, Gene Siskel described the film as "Dismel", I concur. Lacking the playfully irreverent spirit of its predecessors. *

Beaverly Hills Cop Ii (1987)

 A worthy sequel, nearly as good as the original, though not quite. ***

Beaverly Hill's Cop (1984)

 A very solid 80's action-comdey that represents the high water mark for Eddy Murphy as a beloved personality. A straighter plot then I expected, good supporting cast. ***1/2

Y2K (2024)

 Kyle Mooney wanted to make a high school horror comedy built around a milleniaum party, so he did. This is not so much a send up, or a deconstruction of tropes, as an earnest, straight forward effort. It's okay. **

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

 Another high school movie of my high school years that I didn't see in high school. '10 Things' title isn't explained until the end of the movie. This is The Taming of the Schrew at a posh Seattle area high school. Julia Styles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordan-Leavitt, all good. Likable. ***

Money Plane (2020)

A very low budget caper movie about a heist of a casino in the sky. I have barley anything to say about it; it's not good, I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it. Lawful neutral I guess. *1/ 2