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The Usual Suspects is another one of those movies that people talk about so much you eventually have to see it. It definitely did not disappoint. It’s paced remarkably well, with just enough of the story revealed at intervals to keep you guessing. As soon as you think you get a handle on it, you’re thrown another curve. Kevin Spacey was amazing in his role of the gimpy criminal. I gave The Usual Suspects 4 stars.

Halle Berry won the Most Outstanding Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball. I don’t see it. The movie was decent, but not really thanks to anything she did. Her performance was uninspired, in my opinion. Billy Bob Thornton was average, at best. Sean Combs was surprisingly good Berry’s death row inmate husband. The movie was worth watching, but nothing special. The main issue I had was Thornton’s change in world view for a reason that I don’t buy. I gave it 3 stars.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story definitely had its moments. I’d seen the “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball” bit in commercials dozens of times, but it still managed to be funny. Hooray again for Alan Tudyk, in a hilarious role that was perfect for him. Christine Taylor looked amazing in the leather getup they wore in one of their matches. The only complaint I had is that it often goes for the easy jokes you can see coming a mile away. Worth seeing for the funny, Christine Taylor, and the Lance Armstrong cameo. I gave it 3 stars.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was a lot of fun. It takes a while to get warmed up, because you are constantly being bombarded with the introduction of new characters. I don’t think I could tell you the name of a single character, but I usually knew who they were talking about, somehow. It was good to see Vinnie Jones in the role that got him into the business; I only knew him from one of my guiltiest pleasures, Eurotrip. I have to question Netflix’s genre categorization. They call it a Thriller, while I’d consider it a Comedy. Regardless, I gave it 4 stars.

Now, Suicide Kings I would consider a Thriller, while Netflix calls it a Comedy. Denis Leary is definitely funny, but that’s more of a tension breaker, in my mind, than a defining characteristic. Christopher Walken is brilliant in this, as is the aforementioned Leary, but the rest of the cast is middling to mediocre (which is probably 2 ways to say the same thing). Jeremy Sisto was only OK, and I’m sick of seeing Jay Mohr in the same role all the time. The movie was worth seeing through once. I gave it 3 stars.

The Opposite of Sex was surprisingly good. It was interesting how Christina Ricci’s character was such a driving force in the movie, when she really wasn’t on camera that much. The movie isn’t actually much about her, but the characters around her, and their reactions to her manipulations. It was interesting to see the characters’ relationships with one another twist and turn under stress. Kudos to Johnny Galecki (of Roseanne fame) for being the funniest, over-the-top gay guy I’ve seen in a movie in a while. I gave The Opposite of Sex 4 stars.