Blogging the back nine

Boeing Boeing (1965) – Tony Curtis and a subdued Jerry Lewis star in this door-slamming farce that gave me a headache. Balancing lots of stewardesses are Tony’s pleasure, but then-topical 707 screws up his timetable. Thelma Ritter is the wisecrackin’ maid. Grade: C

Southland Tales (2006) – Wow, this is what an apocalyptic disaster looks like. Richard Kelly’s career might never recover and this misfire isn’t even interesting. Note: you can’t set out to create a cult classic, it has to form that status organically. Grade: D

Doomsday (2008) – Ugh. Biggest disappointment of the year from the man behind The Descent, this awful Mad Max wannabe is barely memorable. A blenderful of ideas, none well done, resulting in a mushy pulp mess. Grade: F

The Bank Job (2008) – Jason Statham is a fine leading man in this real-life bank job story that’s much more whimsical than the usual JS vehicle. Low key fun most of the way, with some final fight scenes wedged awkwardly in at the finale. Hey, the man’s gotta deliver the asskicking goods. Grade: B

Man in the Vault (1956) – Decent little programmer is noirish enough, based on a novel by Frank Gruber and a script by Burt Kennedy (one of his first). William Campbell and Anita Ekberg star. Grade: C+

Sleuth (2007) – Awful remake has Michael Caine and Jude Law dueling within an austere Vanity Fair photo shoot. Zero suspense, fussy direction by Ken Branagh and bizarre changes to the original by Harold Pinter. Nobody looks good in this disaster, except for Sir Larry, who wisely stays out of it altogether. Grade: D

Summer of Sam (1999) - With T at Museum Duty nearly fulltime, I watched quite a few bleak crime sagas and this one kinda kicked ass. Spike Lee weaves several storylines with increasing paranoid energy, capturing the dread of the NYC summer of 1977. Worst part? Yankees win (shudder). Grade: B+

Critters (1986) - Decent horror movie spawned an endless franchise somehow (even setting one installment on a spaceship). This is the best of the bunch, with a memorable bunch of title creatures wrecking havoc. This was screenplay research BTW, completely tax deductible. Grade: B

Walk Hard (2006) - A miss at the box office and now I'm sorry I missed the live John C. Reilly performance in character as Dewey Cox. The rapid fire gags are mostly hilarious, and popular music mavens will especially love it. Poor director Jake Kasden, he's at the helm when the seemingly unstoppable Judd Apatow money train run aground (undeservedly). Now this is a cult classic in the making (box office failure always helps). Tim Meadows' finest hour. Grade: A