Wait Until Dark (1967)

It's a color film ladies and gents, yeah I know it's goin in the way back machine for this one. Three guys want to get their mitts on a doll with significant value stuffed inside it. They cannot find it in an apartment that houses a blind woman named Susy (Audrey Hepburn). In WAIT UNTIL DARK, these men collude and pretend like they are someone else in order for them to discover where it was hidden. A safe cannot be opened so they suspect that is what they have to get access to. One of the 3 bad guys named Mike (Richard Crenna) poses as a friend of Susy's husband. One poses as a policeman. A varied use of ruses to uncover where it might be proves to be unsuccessful. Turns out the blind lady is pretty tough, an attitude instilled in her by her husband. It gets scary when Harry (Alan Arkin) shows up and confesses how he did in the other two. The lights go out. Will Susy be able to hold off the trio of roughnecks before help arrives? Will she stop them of her own doing? These are pondersome questions I ask as we watch suspensefully unfold a kewl thriller tastefully put together to keep us glued to our seats. [4.2 stars]

Coma (1978)

A hospital in Boston has quite a few young patients go into comas for some unknown reasons. No one seems to notice until Susan Wheeler (Genevieve Bujold) has a friend die in a routine operation. A hospital in Boston has quite a few young patients go into comas for some unknown reasons. No one seems to notice until Susan Wheeler (Genevieve Bujold) has a friend go into a coma in a routine operation. She notices that other comas are happening. Her boyfriend (Mich-ael Douglas) steers her away from thinking about it. A virile man (Tom Selleck) undergoes an operation days later and he too is taken away unconscious. Susan gets the computer technician to print out data about the hospital and finds they all happen in a certain operation room. She visits this center where the coma victims are held (or should I say hung) and learns that a futuristic (and kewl) technology preserves these people for the business of selling organs. She is chased by guards but escapes and returns home frantically to her boyfriend who makes her paranoid by making a telephone call. She confronts the chief of surgery but he gives her something that causes her to pass out and then tries to perform surgery on her in that certain coma operating room but is saved from that and he gets his comeuppance. I see a lack of reality in making her do this on her own and discover everything but COMA stays focussed to engage our emotions. [4.1 stars]

Se7en (1995)

Mills, a new detective to the big city (Brad Pitt) teams up with seasoned pro Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who contemplates retirement. They find a man dead who apparently ate himself to death but was bound so a murderer (Kevin Spacey) is on the loose. The bodies quickly grow and a theme is discovered revolving around the seven sins. Somerset warns us that the killer is patient and intelligent but that doesn't stop the police from raiding a home where the sociopath might be. It is all your typical hyped-up movie mayhem where people run and seem determined and blood pressure rates go up but movie fans see through this as we know it's too early in SE7EN for the detectives to find him. There needs to be more buildup and more background unfolded. Yes that is the case, but it's not a total loss as they find another body ready to pass away in a few seconds. We get our clues and our two stars knock on the murderer's door. He shoots at them and a chase scene ensues with Mills lying on the ground. There is rain, or shall I say gratuitous rain as they have it out. Some unexpected scenes however give this film a kick. Get this, the serial killer turns himself in...kewl. They make a deal with him in the belief that they can save a life. In fact, Kevin Spacey's character has visited Mills' wife and there is a showdown in the desert, quite memorable I have to say. Characters emerge from two dimensions to a third. [4.2 stars]

Finding Nemo (2003)

 Not just for kids. That is what the should be written in bold capital letters on the box of this animated feature. Pixar does an excellent job and the story doesn't meander. A small fish gets taken by a diver and his father goes chasing after him. He goes against sharks who are trying to reform what we think sharks are. He goes against jellyfish and has to travel for miles to find the bay where his son is located, which turns out to be in a tank. The boy is daring as Gill, the intelligent fish next to him, asks him to help escape the tank. All the animals share the story of how the father (Albert Brooks) has intrepidly sojourned to find his boy with the small flipper. The voice of Albert Brooks sometimes gets annoying but FINDING NEMO is quite a ride and I will not soon forget the kewl East Australian Current. [4.2 stars]

Captain Marvel (2019)

Strong comic-book movie though I confess to not knowing who or what Captain Marvel is or was. She is played by Brie Larson who is well-cast as the character she plays is brash and witty and soft and tenacious all wrapped into one superhero corndog. Here's what happens. We see in a galaxy far away some aliens being attacked by other aliens, the Skrulls are the attackers. Obviously the good names are saved for the good guys. We suspect that the main character, the female lead, is one of the aliens who are being attacked but this idea changes as CAPTAIN MARVEL progresses. The Skrulls can shapeshift as we learn when an ambush is planned on our heroine. Being captured, they try to make her remember her early life which she has forgotten and the audience doesn't know why.  The Skrulls turn out to be the good guys and the aliens who found the main character (who is the earthling Carol Danvers) are actually the bad guys who want to, you guessed it, expand their planet's interests. What I really enjoyed about the heroine is her kewl colorful costume and her seemingly limitless power, like she is Superman or something. And for all you fans of the Marvel universe it has a teaser thrown in as the credits roll bridging this hero in with the ending of AVENGERS INFINITY WAR. [4.7 stars]

The Truman Show (1998)

A movie about a TV show that is a real life. That's what THE TRUMAN SHOW is about, a baby owned by a corporation that films the boy from birth to present day. It is a controlled environment with 5,000 cameras and hidden microphones. Why are they hidden you ask, because Truman (Jim Carrey) doesn't know there are actors all around. One day a lovely student tells him what is going on but someone comes along and tells Truman she is crazy and the student is moving to Fiji. A good setup as it leads to a big controversy, that Truman might not want to be a star of a television show. The kewl ending where the main character comes into contact with his creator releases endorphins and happiness in me. I wonder how much this release brought reality-TV to the fore. [4.3 stars]

Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987)

If you were looking for a film which captured the flavor of high school and teenagedom, then you might wanna take a peek at this one. From the writer of THE BREAKFAST CLUB and FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF you get some juicy lines like when someone asks how does Watts, a tomboy, know anything about kissing "I watch a lot of TV." Watts is portrayed as a nonconformist who likes to drum while her best friend is not looked upon highly with others as he enjoys art. Both are from the other side of the tracks to Amanda who is a popular one and a lil bit o money in her pocket, or should I say her boyfriend's pocket. Keith is smitten over Amanda and draws her daydreamily. His friend Watts is challenged by this all the more sweet since no one gives her the time of day 'cept Keith. We root for Keith and we feel sad Watts is overlooked, we're not sure if Amanda is sincere. SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL nails all the characterizations of school life, from the significantly insignificant cliques and the totem pole theatrics as everyone tries to find their place, or box, in this angst-ridden world of boundaries and categories that students are all-too-pleased to inhabit. Keith is badgered by his sister and his father about how he doesn't measure up but he really has a backbone and a genuine compassion for Watts. I found it so pleasant to see real people who are sweet at the same time. Keith learns he is being set up by Amanda and so the big ending involves this date between the incongruous elements, namely the two unlikely lives joining together for romance. Watts, the kewl kid, is along for the ride adding to the intrigue. Genuine characters with witty lines and true to their role. [4.5 stars]