The Sandlot

1993 family film that quickly found its way to being a kids' classic. Perfect for those who love baseball, and equally enjoyable for those who don't or don't know much about it. All-in-all, a fun film about nine childhood friends in 1962, spending their summer days and nights at the sandlot playing baseball and having a variety of adventures related and unrelated to the sport. Nice parallels between baseball pickles and real life ones, plus other great lessons like the big and small differences between myth and actuality. Dennis Leary is perfect as the stern but awkwardly friendly stepfather, and James Earl Jones has an awesome bit role at the end.

Cinderella Man

An overall entertaining film about American boxer James J. Braddock, world heavyweight champion from 1935–37. A little melodramatic at times with interchangeable acting to go along, but ultimately a really good outing. Gordon Sim's set decoration and Daniel Orlandi's costume design fit the Great Depression-era tone perfectly, and Ron Howard's directing of the fight scenes create a wickedly superb realism that makes the audience feel like they're the ones giving and taking the punches. Neighbor DeWitt is the granddaughter of the real Braddock. Craig Bierko is incredibly interesting as challenger Max Baer, though Baer is portrayed as a harsher person than he was in real life.

Out of the Furnace

Overlooked thriller that does an excellent job focusing on the life of parolee Bale and his veteran brother Affleck, and the irony of how freedom is a prison/war when there is nothing left to come back to. Harrelson is an awesome redneck villain and Bower, Dafoe, Shepard, Whitaker and Wolfe stand out even in their minor roles. Affleck's character's conflict is overwhelmingly realistic and the actor flawlessly executes a soldier's postwar troubles; but the potentially wonderful character-development reveals itself to be a secondary interest to writer/director Cooper when we arrive at the popcorn finale. No doubt it ends as great as it began, but the climatic sequence before the last few moments is plagued with a lack of substance that is contrary to the rest of the film. All-in-all, entertaining AND moving. Final shot could be a portrait masterpiece.

Throw Momma from the Train

Immensely dark comedy for its time, about writer Crystal and student DeVito plotting a criss-cross murder à la STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. Because of its smooth parallels to Hitchcock's 1950 class, overlooked motifs and subtle details on story development, THROW MOMMA has since become a fun movie to screen in film study classes. Unfortunately, the film's most colorful character, Momma Lift (Ramsey), is way underused; and while Crystal and DeVito are both fine as the leads, neither deliver a memorable enough performance to justify Ramsey's lack of screen-time. DeVito also directed.

Silver Linings Playbook

Interesting and memorable dramedy about an emotionally scarred pair, one with bipolar disorder who is recently released from a psychiatric hospital (Cooper) and the other a young widow (Lawrence). The two leads do an excellent job of showing their characters' instability without ever being overly-dramatic or pity-party about it. The story is grounded in reality very well, but the romantic climax falls into place a little too easily. De Niro, Herman, Kher, Mihok, Ortiz, Stiles, Tucker and Whigham are all terrific in their supporting roles, but it seems like Weaver might let her Australian accent slip and is definitely not convincing as a Philly homemaker. Based on the book by Matthew Quick. Definitely a movie with replay value. Captures the difficulty of living with bipolar very well and how it also interferes with loved ones.

Jumanji

Fun family film about a magical board game that hosts many dangers that can only be stopped when a player finishes. The entire cast does their job well, but the only one not interchangeable is Hyde in a double-role as the main character's wealthy stern father and a big-game hunter (hint: intentional parallel). Entertaining from start to finish, but even children in 1995 were likely very aware that the scary creatures on screen were nothing more than special-effects—because of this, it's difficult to ever get lost in the delicious chaos despite all the funny moments and thrills. Still, despite its flaws, the story is interesting enough for the whole family enjoy and the film is good enough to be replayed every few years.

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files

Experimental Jeffrey Dahmer documentary which actually focuses more on the Milwaukeeans during and after his hidden spree. The reenactments are beautifully shot; and Andrew Swant (also the film's co-writer) slides into the monster's skin so smoothly, ultimately humanizing Dahmer without becoming charming or remotely likable. Unfortunately, the three interviewees are not overly appealing, and you can't help but remember that there are many more interesting people who had a thing or two to say about Dahmer. Archival footage included, but is used somewhat minimally. Originally premiered simply as JEFF and was later changed to THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES when picked up by IFC.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Family-fantasy flick (with touches of science-fiction) about a wannabe-inventor's (Hader) successful creation of converting water into food… and being on an island where sardines is the base of the economy, the clumsy protagonist quickly becomes a hero until the gluttonous and egotistical mayor (Campbell) takes advantage of the device. Lots of laughs for all members of the family; very visual, with a few moments of pretty computer-animated scenery; never a dull moment; and great casting. Mr. T, as the town's athletic cop (with an exact opposite hairstyle as the actor), couldn't have been voiced better by anyone else. Unfortunately, this charming outing is not without its cons, especially with an overly-whacky conclusion. And who would've thought that food falling from the sky would be such a conflict when malnutrition is alive and well? Based on the bestselling children's book.

Room 237

An in-depth analysis (and theorization) of the 1982 horror classic "THE SHINING". Anyone who has an understanding and appreciation for Stanley Kubrick's work will not only be entertained, but also fascinated. This documentary that strictly focuses on the perceived meanings can probably only be enjoyed by someone familiar with the film in question as well as an open-mindedness that understands interpretation isn't always limited to the intention of the creator. Whether or not you are completely wrapped around the things discussed in the film, or if you find it completely gibberish, it's hard to deny the appeal of digging through all the layers Kubrick left behind. The film is told entirely through voice-over, a style that's somewhat reminiscent of 2009's THE BILL HICKS STORY… and it works.

Frozen

Scenic blockbuster about a free-spirited and optimistic princess who teams up an iceman and his loyal reindeer to track down the princess's older sister (the newly appointed queen) who lammed their kingdom after her cryokinetic powers of freezing anything at will was shamefully exposed. Don't forget the loving trolls and the hilarious snowman Olaf in tow. Takes a good 10–20 minutes to actually grab you, and is less for the boys than it is the girl. Musical numbers, while catchy and well-written, occur too frequently… a few which do very little to help drive the plot. Another big-budget with all razzle-dazzle and little heart; however, this outing is worth the wasted time and money in comparison to others that fit the same criticism. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale THE SNOW QUEEN, and underwent several story treatments for years, before being commissioned in 2011.

The Monuments Men

Underrated war film directed, co-written, co-produced and starring George Clooney as Lt. Frank Stokes (loosely based on George L. Stout) who recruits six men to help him track down great works of art that Hitler has been stealing for a personal museum. With John Goodman and Bill Murray in tow, the movie easily hits most of its laughs with excellent timing, while at the same time also delivering sincerity in its message. Unfortunately, the moral of the story might be overlooked by the masses; you probably need to have a great appreciation for art or be an artist yourself to fully appreciate this movie. However, the film's greatest downfall is that the comedic moments do not segue well into dramatic moments, and vice versa. Clooney requested to have the release of this film pushed a couple of months, causing it to miss out on deserved Oscar buzz. Loosely based on the non-fiction book, THE MONUMENTS MEN: ALLIED HEROES, NAZI THIEVES AND THE GREATEST TREASURE HUNT IN HISTORY by Robert M. Edsel.

27 Dresses

Career-oriented pushover Heigl finally has enough when another woman swoops in on the man she secretly loves (Burns), the only problem… the woman is her sister (Åkerman). Ugh. Then there's Marsden's character pushing his way into conflict, as a cynical writer who tries to win the heart of Heigl. Typical chick-flick that offers as little originality as it does laughs. While the acting may not be terrible, it certainly is insincere—maybe the cast had a difficult time hiding their frustration with being a part of such a dull and empty movie. Even the Elton John music can't lift this cookie-cutter rom-com.