Cruising

I'm not sure what to make of this modern cult classic. The acting is honestly horrid, almost impossibly bad in parts. The plot has more holes in it than Swiss cheese, and the ADR is atrocious. And yet I couldn't bring myself to look away - there is something strangely compelling about this film. Unlike many, I found the end rather interesting and certainly provocative. The fact that I have my own theories about it tells me the movie got me, at least on some level. So for that, it gets three stars. 3/5

Cruising on Netflix

Manglehorn

About halfway through this film, the titular character of A.J. Manglehorn utters the sentence "She was like a great ball of fire, and I was so very small in comparison". It's a beautiful line that evokes a specific and poignant image of this man. The problem comes in that this character is played by Al Pacino, who, even when he is desperately trying to be very small, as he is for most of this film, is, in fact, a great ball of fire himself. And because he burns so very brightly no matter how small he tries to be, his inability to sink into this lush and well-written role takes a wrecking ball to the central themes of this film. I spent most of the movie wondering how Dustin Hoffman would have played this character. I also thought a lot about how another actor, Nicolas Cage, who is also known for being very large, managed to pull off a role of extreme subtlety very recently in a little film called "Joe", which, as it turns out, was directed by the same man as "Manglehorn", David Gordon Green.  I never thought I would see the day when Cage could play small better than Pacino, but that day is here it seems. A beautiful script, but I could never sink into it. 3/5

Manglehorn on Netflix

The Son of No One

Dito Montiel tries to recapture the rich flavor of his 1st film & only partially succeeds. Just... meh. 3/5

The Son of No One on Netflix

Insomnia

For a Nolan film this was weak for me - big plot holes, iffy writing, some shoddy acting. I expect better from them. 3/5

Insomnia on Netflix