want some chili fries?

Pollyanna reviews movies! Yes, some of them are not to my liking - but watching movies is, so I take what the universe throws at me. It is fun to write negative reviews sometimes, too. This set includes a couple of wet ones, a sloppy thriller wearing too much makeup, and a big hit that sounds as familiar as my childhood soundtrack.

Breach (2007) - "FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his

boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was put on trial for selling secrets to the Soviet Union."
Source: part of my "conspiracy thrillers" box set
I watched it because: I am edging ever closer to the end of my list
IMDB: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 84% Audience: 67%
story: 6/10--based on a true story
visuals: 7/10
costumes, hair & makeup: 2/10--terrible makeup. Really shoddy.
acting: 6/10--Ryan Phillippe is usually a ding-dong, but he is pretty good here
intangibles: 6/10--it just misses being clever and intriguing
overall: 5.4/10

I would recommend this to: modern law or espionage nerds

Waterworld (1995) - "In a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw 'smokers,' and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land."
Source: part of my "post-apocalyptic action films" DVD box set
I watched it because: I have always been curious about this one
IMDB: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 46% Audience: 43%
story: 4/10
visuals: 4/10
costumes, hair & makeup: 5/10
acting: 7/10--standouts: Kevin Costner (Mariner) is always, always good. And Tina Majorino (Enola) is a lot of fun here.  
intangibles: 3/10--it is a fine adventure film until all of a sudden it just goes off the rails. Interesting, tight, well-acted, and then an underwater drug trip. "Hot fudge on the deep fried Mars bar of movies." Bummer.
Academy Award nominee: Best Sound
overall: 4.6/10
I would recommend this to: fans of excessive amounts of excess

Deepwater Horizon (2016) - "A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when

the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history."
Source: I got the DVD from a preview on another movie
I watched it because: it has been a watery week
IMDB: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 82%
story: 4/10--based on a true story, with caveats
visuals: 7/10
costumes, hair & makeup: 5/10--not much room here
acting: 6.5/10--standout: this is a pretty workmanlike cast. In a sea of guys in uniforms, goggles and hardhats, Dylan O'Brien (Caleb Holloway) transcends the rest.
intangibles: 6/10--a whole lot of mud, smoke, fire, and screaming. The story is good but the film is not so great.
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Sound Editing

• Best Visual Effects
overall: 6.3/10

I would recommend this to: true believers looking to reinforce their agenda, because it is hard-slanted toward one opinion.

Walk the Line (2005) - "A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins."
Source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I have not seen it since it first came out
IMDB: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 83% Audience: 90%
story: 7/10--it is a hard-fought love story, more than an overall biopic
visuals: 8/10
costumes, hair & makeup: 9/10--there must have been a hundred costume changes for each character, along with hair and makeup to match the right time period. Besides being appropriate to the characters, it was fun to see. 
acting: 8.5/10--standouts: Besides Reese Witherspoon (June Carter) and Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash), I particularly liked Waylon Payne (Jerry Lee Lewis) and especially Sandra Ellis Lafferty as Maybelle Carter. It is a dignified, complex role - "you're already down there, honey" - and she carries it beautifully.
intangibles: 8/10--makes me want to play country music and sing my lil' heart out. (Do not worry, that is not going to happen.)
Academy Award winner:
• Best Actress--Witherspoon
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor--Phoenix

• Best Film Editing

• Best Costume Design

• Best Sound Mixing
overall: 8.1/10
I would recommend this to: anyone who loves country music, wants a counter-example to their own concerns about addictions, or who believes in the triumph of true love over circumstance.

[the title quotation is Elvis Presley, from Walk the Line]