The
Hangover (2009)
The Hangover is populated with characters who are likable and who you actually want to see succeed because they genuinely care about their missing friend. This makes you care about their strange journey through Las Vegas and the end of it all, no matter where that seems to be. The mystery of what transpired the night before is, shall I say, fascinating enough to keep your attention and the humor is consistent enough to ensure a healthy stream of giggles between the guffaws.
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Oh, Harry Potter is cute and, yes, it is a wonder to behold with a lot of originality, but the core story is a boring mess and far too dry to be incredibly appealing. I'm actually shocked at how dull this movie was. Seriously shocked.
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Overall, it's a better movie than the first, but there's still a lot of room for improvement when you consider that well over forty-five minutes could have been dropped from this movie that no one would have noticed... much less missed.
Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
All in all, this is the weakest of the Harry Potter movies but, like the others it's not really that bad. Just frustratingly ordinary... but it's an ordinary movie that has no business being ordinary at all. This movie didn't fill me with awe and didn't really engage me at any level.
Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
I loved this movie despite its flaws and creepy bath scenes. Considering that the previous Harry Potter movies have ranked from "okay" to "bad" with me, The Goblet of Fire is a huge improvement for this franchise and I can only hope that the remaining films keep this momentum.
Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Out of all the Potter Pictures, this one is probably the least entertaining. It's not fun, it's not amazing, and it doesn't even give a huge impact when a major player gets bumped off. Hell, if Harry looks like he can't be bothered by it... why the hell should I?
Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
I guess The Half-Blood Prince has convinced me that I will always find the Harry Potter movies boring and tedious. You may think that gives me some sort of satisfaction, but it really doesn't. I really wanted to liked these movies.
A
History of Violence (2005)
A History of Violence may not be the big action movie that the ads were making it out to be, but it's a great movie in other more important respects.
He's
Just Not That Into You (2009)
I seriously felt at times like I was watching a full season of a television soap opera compressed into two hours. The talented cast tries and fails to save the project that just doesn't congeal into anything that surprises even once.