movies are like an expensive form of therapy for me

Interesting world we're living in now, isn't it? I'm not the only one watching a lot of - prehaps too many - films these days. I am negotiating with another frequent viewer, about the possibility of having some guest movie reviews to publish. Oooh, and maybe some books, too. And music. Hmmm.... Until that happens, here is another set that's pure amy. Read that however you choose.

Vertigo (1958) - "A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman."
I watched it because: Alfred Hitchcock! and it's a classic. #61 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (original list 1998) and #9 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – 10th Ann. Ed. (2007).
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 95%, Audience 93%
story: 2/5--unbelievable, and not very compelling
visuals: 2.5/5
acting: 3/5
intangibles: 2/5
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Art Direction--Set Decoration
• Best Sound
overall: 2.375/5--I didn't like it. It was weird. Jimmy Stewart was utterly reprehensible through more than half of it. Even the "vertigo" connection was strained.

Admission (2013) - "A Princeton admissions officer who is up for a major promotion takes a professional risk after she meets a college-bound alternative school kid who just might be the son she gave up years ago in a secret adoption."
I watched it because: this has been on my watchlist for a really long time, and I finally borrowed it from my local library. The evening after a horrifically bad day seemed like the right time to finally watch it.
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 38%, Audience 32%
story: 2/5--this is an insanely funny comedy...for high-level academics. The general public is not going to find half of this shit funny. They're not even going to start to get it. Esoteric in-jokes, intellectual snobbery, and elitism. Hardy har har.
visuals: 4/5--undeniably beautiful
acting: 3/5--standout: Nat Wolff (Jeremiah)
intangibles: 2/5
overall: 2.75/5--I have to admit that I was more drunk than I have been in [many, many] years while watching this movie. My review may be worth nothing but the dregs of a few bottles of Bass??

Déjà Vu (2006) - "After a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims."
I watched it because: I was on a Val Kilmer kick for a while, and this ended up on my watchlist. It was in my Amazon cart for a few months but never dropped into the price zone where I was tempted to go for it, so I finally borrowed it from my library.
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 55%, Audience 73%
story: 4/5--I was surprised by how enjoyable it was. Complex, engaging, and sympathetic. It's an unapologetic nerd story.
visuals: 3/5--dark, dark, dark
acting: 4/5--standouts: Alas, Kilmer (Agent Pryzwarra) is wasted here in a small role. Denzel Washington's distractingly-named Doug Carlin is mesmerizing, Paula Patton (as Claire Kuchever) is a revelation (I've never seen her work before), and Elden Henson (Gunnars) is fun, funny, and a great relief from all the depth.
intangibles: 3.5/5--there's just something about this movie. I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did, and I was charmed. And the ending is pretty much perfect. Now I wish I had bought it!
overall: 3.625/5

A New Leaf (1971) - "Henry Graham lives the life of a playboy. When his lawyer tells him one day that his lifestyle has consumed all his funds, he needs an idea to avoid climbing down the social ladder. So he intends to marry a rich woman and - murder her."
I watched it because: it was recommended by someone at some point. Maybe a preview on another DVD? I can't imagine now where that hint may have come from.
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 100%, Audience 84%
story: 1/5--DNF (Did Not Finish). It's the rare movie that I can't watch through to the end, for no better reason than that I think it's unforgivably stupid. This was one of them. Some of the worst writing I've ever experienced committed to film.
visuals: 2/5--a product of its time. (Though, really? Compare this to Hud from my previous movie review post, and get some perspective about what could be done in film!)
acting: 1/5--execrable. This is Love Boat-level bad.
intangibles: 1/5
overall: 1.25/5

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - "A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor."
I watched it because: once again, that Val Kilmer phase led me here - and, once again, I had wanted to get it from Amazon but never found it at the right price. I borrowed it from the library.
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 85%, Audience 87%
story: 4/5--clever, intricate, uproariously funny, vicious, sweet, "aware of itself" yet unpretentious
visuals: 4.5/5--pretty people looking pretty while kicking ass. The Christmas elf headbutt in the park and "Stop Helping!" made me laugh until I just about peed. And this is Val Kilmer at his vulgar-angel blond-skinny-Elvis hunky best.
acting: 4/5--standout: this is Kilmer's second best role (after Top Secret!), and Robert Downey, Jr. shows unexpected range and richness.
intangibles: 3/5
overall: 3.875/5

From Paris with Love (2010) - "In Paris, a young employee in the office of

the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city."
I watched it because: it was on my watchlist because Luc Besson (who wrote and directed one of my top three, Léon) wrote it. I picked it up from Amazon on DVD a while ago, for cheap.
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer 38%, Audience 54%
story: 3.5/5--from a synopsis it seems unreal and silly, but there is a substance here that one cannot anticipate
visuals: 4/5--filmed on location in France
acting: 3.5/5--standouts: this is, in my opinion, John Travolta's finest performance to date. His Charlie Wax is bold, arrogant, skilled, wry, and very oddly captivating. Channeling that Yul Brynner/Bruce Willis hot-power-of-the-bald-guy thing. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, after a rocky start, turns James Reese (what a dumb, dumb name) from a caricature into a man.
intangibles: 4.5/5--symbolism all over the place here. The costuming is wonderful, particularly the transition for Reese from his buttoned-down start, through the eventual loss or removal of various items of clothing, stripped to the essential at the end. (Yes, he's still wearing clothes. "Essential" is relative!) The mirrors. That f'ing vase. Royale with Cheese!! The movie may not be brilliant, but the writing certainly is.
overall: 3.875/5

[the title quotation is by Tim Burton]