Largely overlooked at the time of its release in 1979, even Sean Connery can't quite save CUBA from being a muddled drama/historical romance drama that can never quite decide what it's about. Connery plays British mercenary Robert Dapes, who arrives in Cuba just as Castro's internal forces seem poised to takeover the country. He's surprised to find former lover Alexandra living the life of the entitled as owner of a huge rum manufacturing plant. Alexandra is played by Brooke Adams (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Days of Heaven) and she and Connery have nice chemistry together as she battles her philandering, lazy husband Juan Pulido, played by Chris Sarandon (The Princess Bride, Fright Night) and his nonchalant abuse of his father's wealth. One biography of Connery details that he took on the role before the script was finished and it shows. The film meanders all over the place, with romantic scenes, political maneuvering and enough lesser characters to confuse a "Game of Thrones" fan while never really clarifying any details of their motives. A young assassin wonders in and out of the plot, popping up only when needed as a story device. It never gels and its SLOW, but its almost redeemed by the effortless Connery and two real scene stealers. Denholm Elliott (Raider of the Lost Ark, Trading Places) is terrific as Skinner, bringing much needed levity and style to the film and Jack Weston (Wait Until Dark, Gator) is hilarious and perfect as the quintessential ugly American trying to close a deal in the middle of a bloody revolution. Director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night, Superman II) brings his usual visual style and throwaways to the entire film and David Watkin (Robin and Marian, Out of Africa) shoots every scene like a great painting, capturing the wealth, poverty and excitement of Cuba. If you want to see a much better film about the same time period, check out Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack's "Havana". CUBA is just too unfocused and slow moving to be anything more than a lesser Connery vehicle and it gets a C.

Last month I finished reading William Friedkin's autobiography, "The Friedkin Connection", documenting in his own words, the making of some of the seventies greatest films like "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection". It made me want to dig into some of his other films in the 70's and 80's that I had missed, starting with 1980's CRUISING. Very controversial at the time, hated by the gay community and shunned by moviegoers, the film is a real mess. Filmed in real locations in the late 70's in Manhattan, Cruising depicts an NYC that all of us who love the highline district today will find very hard to recognize. A serial killer is targeting gays in a series of brutal murders, so Captain Edelson (Paul Sorvino) sends young new detective Steve Burns undercover as a single gay man to frequent clubs and look for the killer. Burns is played by Al Pacino in a mostly reserved performance that is played so close to the vest 90% of the time it's hard to figure out exactly what is happening in the movie. In his autobiography, Friedkin says that he was more interested in creating a look at a lifestyle that no one in America had seen in 1980 than in making an entertaining film. The gay community was rightly disturbed and angry that this is how Friedkin would chose to introduce the culture. Friedkin seems determined to show the most lurid, impersonal, vile, violent and sexually promiscuous depiction of gay life in the city. It would be impossible to call this movie entertainment on any level. Pacino was furious when he saw the final version because it's so ambiguous that (Spolier alert) you actually are left thinking he may be a serial killer at the end of the film. No one would produce the movie until Lorimar, the producers of "The Waltons" stepped in to finance the film. John Boy would not approve. Foul, nasty, poorly written, very graphic, uber violent and ugly, this is an offensive film and a huge misfire from Friedkin that gets a rare F grade.

Guillermo Del Toro is a confounding filmmaker for me. Starting back in 1997, he delivered three great horror films in a row, "Mimic", "Hellboy" and "Pan's Labrynth". Based on that, I couldn't wait to see his films, but "Pacific Rim' was a mess, and I can't really say his latest, CRIMSON PEAK is much better. You can't complain about his cast. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, In Treatment) is Edith Cushing, a young & innocent daughter of a wealthy construction man in the late 1800's/early 1900s America. She is swept off her feet by a wealthy visiting industrialist from Europe, Thomas Sharpe (well played by "The Avengers" Tom Hiddleston. After her father is mysteriously murdered, Edith leaves for Europe to live with Thomas in his massive but ill maintained mansion. Unfortunately, Thomas also has his sister in tow. She is Lucille, all dour expressions and spooky entrances embodied by Jessica Chastain. As Edith settles into the creaky, massive house, ghosts and apparitions begin to warn her to escape. del Toro knows how to scare a viewer, and there are some good scary moments, thanks to fantastic sounds and set design, but meh........ The story is slight, the path it takes is a bit predictable and save some fantastic sets and photography, it doesn't amount to much. Hiddleston and Wasikowska have strong screen chemistry and Charlie Hunnan (Sons of Anarchy) has some nice moments as a Victorian doctor/amateur sleuth with Edith's best interest in mind, but the pace is too slow and the surprises too few and far between. There's a scene near the end where Thomas bursts through the front doors and the sunlight, snow and wind create a perfectly composed shot that's been carefully composed to the last snowflake. It's beautiful, but carries no emotional weight, much like the rest of the film. Between the graphic violence, tubs of blood and the red clay the estate is built on, I get the Crimson. But Peak? For me, this lesser del Toro effort never does..... It gets a dark red C.

One of my favorite Woody Allen films, 1989's CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is the perfect mashup of Allen's humor and a powerful dramatic story in which the characters in both groups interact and intertwine. Martin Landau was nominated for best supporting actor for his role as ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal. A respected doctor, speaker and philanthropist, Judah's life appears perfect from afar. As the film opens, Judah's life is about to be shattered by his jealous and unbalanced mistress Dolores, played to perfection by Anjelica Houston. Dolores is tired of waiting for Judah to leave his wife and has begun calling his home and sending letters. Within the same social circle, documentary filmmaker Cliff Stern (a smart and witty Woody) is selected to film a documentary about his obnoxious brother in law Lester (Alan Alda). Lester is successful, adored by the public and Cliff abhors him but he takes the job to document Lester's success because he needs the money and Cliff's wife (Lester's sister) won't have it any other way. Enter Mia Farrow as Lester's assistant, who Cliff grows infatuated with during the filming, Sam Waterston as a nearly blind rabbi and patient of Judah's, toss in a childhood friend of Judah's who works for the mob and is happy to "take care of Judah's problem" and you have an intelligent, suspenseful and funny film that will make you laugh out loud while quietly making you consider the lines of morality. The cast is fantastic, the writing is as good as it gets. This is a Woody film I watch at least every couple years just to savor the film making. If you aren't a fan of Allen, its a great choice to see what you might be missing. Crimes and Misdemeanors gets an A+ and lands in my all-time Top 100.

In 1982, legendary horror director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead) teamed up with writer Stephen King for the original film CREEPSHOW. Built in the same style as the horror comic books of the 50's, the film tells five different tales built to scare, make you laugh and gross you out. The first segment details a murdered old millionaire who comes back from the grave for revenge on his murdering, money grabbing family, along with a piece of cake. Viveca Lindorfs is fun as Aunt Bedelia "I want my cake Bedelia!!" and Ed Harris (The Right Stuff, HBO's Westworld) appears as a young husband who gets a particularly smashing end. The second tale is the weakest, telling the tale of a dimwitted hillbilly (played by Stephen King) that finds a meteorite. It carries an intergalactic Miracle Grow, a fungus like plant that grows at an alarming rate, but not quickly enough to stop King from embarrassing himself with an over the top performance made up mostly of crossed eyes, gawking and slack jawed amazement. King is one of my favorite writers on the planet, but he should NEVER act. The third story introduces us to wronged husband Leslie Nielsen, playing it straight and having a blast getting back at his cheating wife and her boyfriend, played by Ted Danson. It's one of the most clever sequences and Nielsen's method of revenge is twisted, wet and wild. The bloodiest and funniest sequence is the fourth, in which College professor Dexter (Fritz Weaver) finds a very old crate with an extremely nasty monster inside. When his best friend Henry (Hal Holbrook) learns about the monster, he sees a convenient way to get rid of his wife Wilma (Adrienne Barbeau), who might be the most demeaning, drunken professor's wife in history. The best sequence is saved for last, in which eccentric germaphobic billionaire Upson Pratt (EG Marshall) hides holed up in his germ free penthouse in NYC. His fear of cockroaches is well earned as a blackout drives seemingly every nasty bug in the big apple into his apartment. It's gross, freaky and done with real roaches, which is enough to freak me out. The closing moments of this sequence is stomach churning and done without CGI. Marshall is terrific as a foul-mouthed, miserable old bastard who gets cosmic payback thanks to the 250,000 roaches used to film the sequence. KIng has a lot of fun with the screenplay, keeping it tongue-in-cheek while providing some solid laughs, especially in Weaver and Holbrooks reactions to the monster's attacks. Romero knows how to create old fashioned scares and keeps the two hour film moving quickly on its bloody way. This was Romero's only film to open #1 at the box office and the only film he ever directed that he did not also write. Watch for King's real life son Joe as the little boy in the opening and closing scenes. He's not a great actor, but he grew up to be a hell of a writer. His novels 'Heart Shaped Box" and "Horns" are terrific. If you're looking for campy horror fun with some serious gross out moments and more than a few laughs, CREEPSHOW delivers and gets a B.

When CREED was released three years ago, it blew me away as a modern extension of the Rocky franchise and a hell of a boxing movie. CREED II climbs into the ring and delivers an excellent punch of its own. The premise could have been hokey. You have to hearken back to "Rocky IV" in 1984 for its roots. I have VERY fond memories of seeing that movie in a packed theatre in all its ripped Stallone, USA v Russia, snowy training montage glory. But it's also the film that pushed the series dangerously close to self parody in its 80's excess. In that film, Ivan Drago killed Apollo Creed in the ring and Rocky traveled to Russia to battle the monstrous Drago and avenge his friends death. It's 34 years later, Apollo's son Adonis Creed (an incredibly good Michael B. Jordan) is battling his way through lesser contenders as the Heavyweight champ. The past comes calling in the massive form of Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Ivan, still played in a surprisingly good performance by Dolph Lundgren. They and their promoter want the boxing match for the ages, CREED and DRAGO in the ring, with Adonis set to avenge his Father's death. As with the first film, what makes CREED II special is the personal story behind the characters. Adonis and his fiance Bianca, well played by Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarock, Annihilation) are making a journey toward parenthood while Adonis deals with his father's legacy and his role in it. At the film's center is another excellent performance by Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. He looks old, he looks beaten. Every word from him is carefully chosen and delivered with perfection by Stallone. It's every bit as strong a performance as his Oscar nominated turn in Creed. The journey that Adonis and Rocky take together here is heartfelt and also a KILLER sports movie on top of the personal story. The boxing matches are incredibly well staged. There are surprise appearances from the past films that I certainly wont spoil here, but they are GREAT and bring back great memories of past installments. By the time we're back in Russia in the boxing ring, with composer Ludwig Goransson's (Avengers Infinity War, Black Panther) modern take on Bill Conti's Rocky theme music swelling over the action, you realize the filmmakers have done the impossible and delivered another knockout Rocky movie. Nostalgic, dramatic, well balanced between quiet personal moments and violent battles in the ring, CREED II gets an A. It's closing five minutes are just about perfect. As Rocky fans might say, "Yo Stallone and Jordan, YOU DID IT!"

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a Rocky movie as much as I did the new sequel, CREED. We are introduced to Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers in the original films) and the product of an affair his father had just before he died in the ring. We see Adonis as a young man, rescued from an orphan-like series of foster homes and the system by Apollo's wife, Mary Ann, played to perfection by Phylicia Rashad. Flashing forward to the present, Adonis is now a young businessman at the bottom rung of the ladder, with a desk job by day and a series of amateur fights (in Mexico) on the weekends. Adonis is played powerfully by Michael B. Jordan, who is perfect every moment, creating a character with unexpected depth and realism. Adonis is soon hungry to take his fighting to the next level and heads to Philadelphia to meet the legendary Rocky Balboa, one of his father's best friends and the last fighter his father coached. Rocky is played with surprising power and emotion by Sylvester Stallone, reminding you of just how good he was in the original Rocky film 40 YEARS AGO! (Let that sink in a minute, forty years. Wow.) Stallone has no interest in getting back into the fighting game, but sees something special in Adonis. The two men's relationship is built on family and respect and their moments together feel real to their core. This is the first Rocky film not written by Stallone, and its much better for it. Writers Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington bring a fresh perspective and a modern style to the characters we know, honoring them while energizing the pieces of the Rocky films we love. They manage to position Adonis as a competitor for the world championship in a way that doesn't feel forced, quite a feat for the film. The last twenty minutes of CREED are, in a word, perfect. The original Rocky films were, at their core, boxing films that staged fights for excitement and theatrical effect. This film stages fights in which the camera travels in and out of the ring, constantly moving from a perfect ringside seat to closeups of the fighters in mid punch. Director of Photography Maryse Alberti with a filmography of mostly documentaries and quiet dramas, choreographs the action in a unique style that just simply WOWS. Director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) crafts an astonishingly great film. I went in expecting "a Rocky Movie" and it blew me away. It's the first time I've immediately re-watched the final act of a film in quite awhile. Stallone and Jordan are superior. If you are a Rocky fan, get ready for a powerful, emotional story, characters you root for and a great movie that perfectly balances respect for its film legacy with a fresh and exciting perspective. CREED is a knockout and gets an A+.

Attention Kate Hudson, stop making those horrible romantic comedies! THIS is what a smart & funny comedy about relationships looks like. What a fun movie! Steve Carell is really good here and Ryan Gosling is great. Is there anything this guy can't do? The last act twist I NEVER saw coming. Probably the most surprised I have been in a movie since the Sixth Sense. I was so sucked in, never looked for it. Smart, touching, sweet and funny. Crazy yes, Stupid NO. An A in our book!

Sometimes you just want an enjoyable creature feature that knows how to provide some jolts, fun and killer special effects. On that score, CRAWL delivers! Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) stars as college swimmer Haley, who can't get hold of her Dad as a massive Category 5 Hurricane approaches Florida. As folks do in these films, she drives through roadblocks, flowing rivers of streets to her father's house and crawls down in the basement to find him. Unfortunately, her father Dave (Barry Pepper) isn't the only thing lurking in the basement. The best CGI alligators you've ever seen are HUGE, hungry, growling predators on the prowl for every tasty human they can find. You can feel producer Sam Raimi's (three Spiderman films) fingerprints all over the pace and humor of the movie. There are more than a few echoes of "Darkman" and "Army of Darkness" in the polished B-movie sheen dripping off of every frame (along with the blood and endless rain). When they try to slip in some family drama into the mix it falls flat, but there's another giant chomping CGI gator right around every corner to spice things up. The storm's great, the creatures are better and our two main actors are both surprisingly good, as are the graphic attacks. It's predictable and kind of dumb. And I had a great time. It bites a sharp B-.

Three years before he launched to fame by directing the anti-war classic comedy M*A*S*H, Robert Altman crafted his first studio film, COUNTDOWN. A young James Caan stars as a solitary astronaut sent on the first mission to the moon. Too bad they didn't wait a couple more years to capture more of the actual technology and insight the real moon missions would deliver. In an effort to beat the Russians, who have announced an imminent lunar mission, Caan is enlisted to get to the moon first and spend an entire year there in a shelter that will arrive before he does. The heavy handed screenplay gives Caan only three weeks to train for the mission, which is just as silly as it sounds. Caan is good, Robert Duvall is dependably very good and Ted Knight has a small serious role long before Ted Baxter would be unleashed on us. When you think of the movies like M*A*S*H, Nashville and McCabe and Mrs. Miller that Altman would later create, this seems like a strange first studio film. Countdown never quite creates the suspense it hopes to and other than an early glimpse of some actors who would emerge as a couple of the 70's best, it's a TV movie dressed up for the big screen. Never lifted off for me, I'll give it a C.

For all of you 70's Grindhouse or b-movie fans, check out this fun documentary about Hollywood rebel Roger Corman. He made a lot of crap movies and stumbled into making some good ones too! Remember those 1960 Edgar Alan Poe movies with Vincent Price? Death Race 2000, Piranha, Boxcar Bertha, those were some fun 70's flicks. Big stars and directors like DeNiro, Scorsese, Bogdanovich, Ron Howard and so many more started in Corman's movies. Especially moving input from Jack Nicholson, who clearly loves remembering his times with Corman. FILLED with clips from b-movies you will love if you are into that sort of thing like I am. What could I possibly give the king of the B's but a B?!

Three years before they teamed up to create "Dirty Harry", Director Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood crafted the 1968 fish-out-of-water cop thriller COOGAN'S BLUFF. Eastwood is Arizona deputy sheriff Coogan, his boots still covered with dust as he arrives in New York City to pick up a murder suspect and bring him back to the desert. Arizona and New York City have both come a long way from 1968. Manhattan seems more like an Austin Powers flashback, with plenty of tie-dye, hippies, beads and groovy music. Don Stroud (Django Unchained, The Amityville Horror) is the murder suspect, who manages to escape custody and lead Coogan on a trail through most of NYC. Like most films of that day, you'll see a lot of the Universal backlot pretending to be NYC, along with plenty of location shots for Coogan's arrival and the final chase. Lee J. Cobb (On the Waterfront, The Exorcist) is terrific as the lead NYC detective, Susan Clark (Night Moves) is a police psychologist and gorgeous Tisha Sterling is a young hippie chick (groovy baby) whose loyalty is as short as her mini skirt. Eastwood is having a hell of a lot of fun bringing his western morals to the big city, bedding every babe in town like Bond in a cowboy hat while saving time for bar room brawls and lots of broken cue sticks over bad guys heads. The police station scenes play like something out of a time warp. I counted at least 8 people that would be fired for sexual harassment in the first ten minutes. It was definitely a different time. Eastwood's still a blast. Siegel (Telefon, Escape from Alcatraz) keeps his camera and his star moving at a rapid pace and it all wraps up faster than you can put your boots back on. Audiences also loved the opening sequence in Arizona, with Coogan tracking a killer through the desert before making a quick pit stop on the way back to jail for a 007 like visit with a beautiful blonde. It's a pretty great opening ten minutes. Later adapted into the long running "McCloud" TV series starring Dennis Weaver, COOGAN'S BLUFF is a retro blast from the past with plenty of laughs dropped into the action. I'll give it a B-.