Black Knight

This last weekend we watched a recording of Black Knight. Having seen previews for this movie of Martin Lawrence going back in time to medieval England, I had really low expectations. It succeeded in living down to those expectations. As a comedy, there weren't many laughs. As anything else it is a travesty.

If you have seen a preview of this film, be content knowing that you will miss nothing by not watching it. Otherwise, it is very innocuous. On my scale of 1-100, I rate it a dull 24.

For a complete list of my ratings go to Mike's Movie Ratings .

Foul Play

I watched Foul Play this afternoon. Growing up, this Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase movies was one of my favorites, but I hadn't seen it in twenty years. I guess it doesn't bode well for my adult taste that I enjoyed it so much growing up. With a soundtrack prominently featuring Barry Manilow, this was slightly scary.

That said I thought that other than being a little more casual with drug references, one scene featuring a guy saying "far out" all the time, and one scene featuring a pope that could rapidly walk up a long flight of stairs, this movie could be remade today. I doubt anyone would, given the fairly lightweight material, but it wasn't a complete waste of time.

In addition to Hawn and Chase, you also get Dudley Moore as a sex crazed conductor and Burgess Meredith doing martial arts. On my scale of 1-100, I rate it a 65.

For a complete list of my ratings go to Mike's Movie Ratings .

Josie and the Pussycats

We just finished watching Josie and the Pussycats. I'm not sure that I have any feelings about this movie one way or the other. It was just there. I liked some of the music they played as a band, but I'm usually a sucker for rock music with a cute female lead singer. Now the movie was trying to make some statement about commercialism, but the intentionally overwhelming use of corporate logos did drive me crazy. I also liked the one line that was given by one of the characters when asked why she was there. She replied, "Because I was in the comic book."

Very forgettable movie, that gets a rating of 51 on my scale of 1-100.

For a complete list of my ratings go to Mike's Movie Ratings .

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

Last night, we also watched Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. This comedy set in 1940's New York was well made and entertaining. I enjoyed the villain using hypnosis to get people to steal for him.

I also liked the dialogue. It was crisp and funny while coming across as very appropriate for the time. My one quibble with this movie is the point my mother always mentions when talking about Allen's movies. It is a little hard to believe that so many attractive women would have much of an interest in someone like him. I guess that is the advantage he has of getting to write these parts for himself.

I am not a huge fan of the detective story so this also was a slight drawback.

I doubt this movie would surprise or blow anybody away, but it was pleasant to watch. On my scale of 1-100, I rate it a 69.

For a complete list of my ratings go to Mike's Movie Ratings .