The Monuments Men

Forgettable-groan inducing-never ending-Ocean's 11 wannabe in WWII-toneless-undefined-and ultimately unaffecting piece of JUNK. Even the dull Valkyrie was better than this.

1/4 dull balls

The Mark of Zorro-(1920)

Magic. Essentially watching the superhero and swashbuckler film genres being birthed.

Ultimate balls. 4/4 Essential viewing.

Don Q Son of Zorro (1925)

Larger scale but not as effective as the original.

3.5/4

Cruising

A incoherent mess. A waste of so much talent.

2/4 Pacino looking out of place balls.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Interesting multi-aspect ratio. The film itself...the usual indescribable Anderson farce.

3/4 incomprehensible balls.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence

Arguably the best film John Ford ever made. Bar none John Wayne's best role, and his byplay with Stewart is worth the price of admission alone. Gorgeously bleak B&W and one of the great American parables.

4/4 Essential.

The Long Good Friday

Even Better the second time. This is a relentless, inventive, groundbreaking little movie that deserves to be better known. A gritty classic with one of the signature British characters. A shame Bob Hoskins is no longer with us. This is one of those performances for the ages.

4/4 Essential.