1. Grace of My Heart 7/10

Stars Illeana Douglas and John Turturro

Illeana Douglas does a great job as singer-songwriter Edna Buxton/Denise Waverley who foregoes her own performing career to write songs for others.  The movie is loosely based on the career of Carole King.

2. The Bone Collector 7/10

Stars Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie

Washington shines as quadriplegic former policeman Lincoln Rhyme who, aided by his assistant, played ably by Jolie, tracks down a vicious serial killer. A good performance as well by Queen Latifah as Rhyme’s carer.

3. From Time to Time 7/10

Stars Maggie Smith and Alex Etel 

A time-travelling ghost story in which Maggie Smith is excellent as the family matriarch and Etel gives a strong performance as the 13-year-old who travels backwards and forwards through time to solve a family mystery.  Great cinematography.

4. The Oxford Murders 6/10

Stars Elijah Wood and John Hurt

Wood and Hurt give good performances as the grad student and his professor who collaborate in solving a series of murders.  The story line revolving around mathematics is somewhat reminiscent of the TV series Numb3rs.

5. The History Boys 8.5/10

Stars Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour

This movie has a strong cast and all give outstanding performances. The adaptation Alan Bennett’s play is excellent, owing to the fact that he also wrote the screenplay. Well worth watching and would especially appeal to those who enjoyed Dead Poets Society.

6. Contagion  6/10

Stars Matt Damon and Kate Winslett

This movie did not meet my expectations. Damon gave a good performance but I felt the story dragged a bit.  The premise is good but the sequencing in the movie made it lack cohesion.

7. Going All the Way 7/10

Stars Ben Affleck and Jeremy Davies

The storyline is good and the cast give strong and sensitive performances.  The post-Korean War setting provides opportunities for some great fashion, which suits Rose McGowan in particular.

8. Underworld : Awakening 6/10

Stars Kate Beckinsdale and Michael Ealy

Beckinsdale returns in the latest of the Underworld franchise offerings.  It’s not as good as the first movie but still manages to  keep the viewer engaged and interested.
9. All Good Things 6/10

Stars Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst 

Good performance by Gosling and a strong performance by Dunst meant that this movie based on a true story of a murder mystery was interesting while not grippingly so.
10. The Door 8/10

Stars Helen Mirren and Martina Gedeck

This movie met all my expectations of a movie starring Hellen Mirren. It was movie and kept me engrossed as I followed the developing friendship between a writer (Gedeck) and her maid (Mirren).
11. Just Visiting 6/10

Stars Christina Applegate and Jean Reno

This Hollywood remake of Les Visiteurs has the original movie’s star(Reno).  It’s entertaining and has some good comedic moments.  Not one to immediately watch but good for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

 12. The River Murders 5.5/10

Stars Ray Liotta and Christian Slater

Despite good performances by Liotta and Slater this movie seems to lack momentum.  It had potential to be a gripping thriller but left me slightly underwhelmed.
13. Bloodhounds of Broadway 7/10

Stars Matt Dillon and Madonna

A strong cast all of whom give good performances in this movie adaptation of Damon Runyon’s story. The four plotlines are well-presented and make this an enjoyable movie experience.

14. Yankee Doodle Dandy  9/10

Stars James Cagney and Joan Leslie

This great classic musical has Cagney giving a wonderful performance as composer and actor George M Cohan.  This movie is a must for anyone who loves classic movies or musicals.

15. Untouchable: The Drew Peterson Story 5/10

Stars Rob Lowe and Kaley Cuoco

This movie, based on a true story, has a cast that I wanted to like. Lowe is suitably sleazy as Drew Peterson, serial husband, who is suspected of killing his third wife,  but I failed to feel any connection to Cuoco’s character.

16. Liberty Heights 6/10

Stars Adrien Brody and Bebe Neuwirth

An interesting movie with no compelling storyline.  It’s just a movie about people and their relationships in 1950s US. There are themes like anti-Semitism and racial integration but above all this is a coming of age movie with good performances by the cast.
17. Stealing Harvard  2/10

Stars Jason Lee and Tom Green

When you say to yourself 10 minutes into a movie “Why did I decide to watch this?” you know it is not going to be great.  The story line was ridiculous and it seemed as though the cast were not giving any real effort to keep it flowing.
18. Priest 2/10

Stars Paul Bettany and Maggie Q

Another movie that failed to meet my expectations. The cast should have meant that it was reasonably watchable but it was just not good.
19. Ella Enchanted  8/10

Stars Anne Hathaway and Cary Elwes

This movie was very entertaining.  It’s a delightful family movie with a cast that was obviously enjoying what they were doing.  A good score and some cute songs helped to move it along.

20. The Quest for Camelot 6/10

Stars Jessalyn Gilsig and Cary Elwes

A reasonably good animated take on the Arthurian legend.  Some moments of comedy with enough in it to provide entertainment for the children while not being boring for the parents.

21. The Outsiders 8/10

Stars C. Thomas Howell and Matt Dillon

This has always been one of my favourites from this era.  IT has a cast made up of all the rising actors of the 80s and they all give strong performances.

22. Reservoir Dogs  7/10

Stars Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth

This is of those movies that have been on my ‘to watch’ list for some time and it was worth the wait.  Strong cast.  Good performances. All that one expects from a Tarrantino movie.

23. Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins 5/10

(aka Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous) 

Stars Fred Ward and Joel Grey

Not a great movie, though Joel Grey was good. Have to wonder, though, why they thought it was a good idea for him to play the Korean. Can only assume that Pat Morita was not available. Would have been more believable for a Japanese actor to play Mr Chiun than for Joel Grey to do it.

24. K-Pax    3/10

Stars Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges

I couldn’t find much to like about this movie.  Bridges and Spacey were OK but the story was slow-moving and at times boring.  It could have been good but it just didn’t make the grade.
25. Performance (A Late Quartet)     8/10

Stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken

A really good movie about a string quartet facing crisis. Hoffman and Walken were excellent as was the rest of the cast.  There was not much to fault in this movie though there were some very predictable plot elements.

26. Clueless 7/10

Stars Alicia Silverstone and Brittany Murphy

An entertaining modernised adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma‘ with good performances by all the cast.  This movie is humorous and fun.

27. ZMD Zombies of Mass Destruction 1/10

Stars Janette Armand and Doug Fahl

There are zombie movies and then there are bad zombie movies. This D grade zombie movie has nothing of merit.  It doesn’t have anything to elevate it to possible cult status.

28. Quartet 8/10

Stars Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connelly

A wonderful movie with a talented cast giving excellent performances.  This movie is funny, moving entertainment with a beautiful setting and a great score. Smith Gambon and Connelly do a great job, though a lot of Gambon’s outfits seem to be leftovers from his Dumbledore role.

29. The Brady Bunch in the White House  2/10

Stars Gary Cole and Shelley Long

This third movie in the series lacks any of the redeeming features of the others.  A change of actors playing the Brady children means even the surface resemblance to the kids in the original series is lacking. Long and Cole have the Carol and Mike characters down pat but as for the rest a big thumbs down.

30. The Final Winter 5/10

Stars Matthew John, Matt Nable and John Jarrett

An Australian Football movie set in the 1980s this is not a bad example of the sporting movie genre.  Though I can’t imagine that it would have global appeal, it would have interest for Aussie NRL fans.

31. Jack the Giant Slayer  6.5/10

Stars Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci

A little too long spent establishing the context but nonetheless an entertaining movie with the expected amount of CGI but less than expected fighting.