Movies I Streamed on Netflix in 2015

Pros: A brief appearance by Dylan Baker; a random cameo by Vincent Gallo; Chris Rock isn't as annoying as I expected him to be; takes place in New York City.

Cons: Almost all of the characters are either loud, irritating, and/or unlikable; just because Rock isn't as annoying as I expected, his character nonetheless failed to capture my interest much more than the rest of them; barely passed the time enough for me to stick around until the ending.

(4/10 for Baker and NYC, and because Vincent Gallo made me snicker -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: I managed to keep watching until the end without resorting to playing the "fast-forward game" (although I was tempted to do just that a few times); interesting (if not entirely original) premise; New York City setting.

Cons: Uninteresting and underdeveloped characters; Willem Dafoe failed to change my (not very high) opinion of him as an actor; Shanyn Leigh (as Dafoe's much younger girlfriend) is just whiny; the "erotic" scenes make the film seem very... B-movie-ish.

(3/10, but just barely)

Pros: Lovely Hawaii setting; Adam Sandler gives a much more low-key performance than usual; passes the time; not entirely plausible but at least -- as a whole -- not TOO cutesy.

Cons: The two leads aren't my favorites; Sean Astin (an actor I *do* like well enough in most films) plays a VERY irritating character here (what's with the steroid addiction and gratuitous lisp?); slides precariously close to "TOO cutesy" territory in a few scenes.

(5/10)

Pros: A decent supporting cast (Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin, Christopher Walken); the fake movie clips shown in the first part of the (actual) movie are somewhat amusing.

Cons: Drags; not very funny overall; filled with dull and/or unlikable characters; HANK AZARIA'S HIDEOUS FAUX ACCENT!

(2/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Um... uh... I suppose an "American Idol" parody makes for an okay movie premise; also (if somebody was to hold a gun to my head and force me to name something positive about this film BESIDES just its premise), I guess the big climactic scene (while quite stupid) is more entertaining than the rest of the movie.

Cons: Tries to be funny and clever; fails miserably at being funny *or* clever; kind of boring; VERY predictable; the annoying misspelling of "dreams" with a 'z' -- and the stupid song performed in the movie that points this misspelling out.

(2/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Okay performances by Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton (though neither of them shows us anything new); also... um... well, there's not anything GLARINGLY wrong with the movie.

Cons: It simply isn't a very interesting or memorable movie; Michael Douglas's character acts like a jerk through at least half of the film; the childbirth scene comes across as very "scripted" (and thrown in mainly for emotional effect rather than to advance the story in any way).

(4/10)

Pros: Shout-out to "The Baby-Sitters Club"; vaguely entertaining premise; the occasional utterly-stupid-yet-mildly-funny moment.

Cons: Worst.title.EVER; looks like it had a budget of about ten dollars; grating and irritating leads; rip-off of 'Romy & Michele's High School Reunion'; too much gratuitous "gross-out" humor -- maybe not as much as I thought there would be going into the movie, but those particular "jokes" were very obviously inserted just to score some cheap laughs ... not that I'd expect anything different from a movie with such a title.

(3/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Managed to hold my attention throughout (just barely).

Cons: Not a single likable character; the lead "teen" (Katherine Waterston) looks far too old to be playing a teenager; her co-lead is played by John Leguizamo (who might be a very nice man in real life; but I've never cared for him onscreen, and this role proved no exception); plot leaves much to be desired; and by the end of the film there's seemingly no lesson or point, making it an overall waste of time.

(2/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Decent plot (for a teen/family movie) about a group of high-school aged misfits entering a battle of the bands competition; the last half hour or so (starting around the competition) is fairly entertaining (even if the band we're supposed to root for *does* butcher a Bread song); okay performances (no standouts, but nobody's glaringly awful, either).

Cons: Drags quite a bit leading up to the "bandslam"; the spelling of Vanessa Hudgens's character's name ("Sa5m"? really?); difficult to connect with or care much about the characters (perhaps because I'm not a teen or parent of a teen), although at least none of them made me hate them.

(5/10, after some deliberation)

Pros: Entertaining enough, more-or-less (meaning simply that I wouldn't call it "boring", NOT that I found it especially funny or interesting); Michael Penn composed the score.

Cons: VERY cutesy; Scott Speedman's character isn't a very nice person; weak script; the mental institution scenes are laughably unrealistic.

(4/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: More compelling than I expected (and less depressing than the basic plot suggests); interesting story (based on a short film by writer/director/star Shawn Christensen; 'Before I Disappear' was the first I'd heard of him) about a suicidal man reconnecting with his estranged sister and her "tween" daughter; solid performances by everybody in the cast.

Cons: Kept me watching throughout, but I can't say that it stuck with me afterward; in fact, until I recently spotted the title in my Netflix "viewing activity", I'd forgotten all about 'Before I Disappear' (however, once I remembered that I'd watched it, it was easy to recall specific scenes and characters and whatnot); all in all, a "good but not great" movie.

(6/10)

Pros: Some nostalgic appeal (the movie and its opening-credits song feel very "early 90's"); a mostly good cast (including Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson, CCH Pounder, and William H. Macy); takes place in the state of Washington (Spokane), i.e. my home state.

Cons: Johnny Depp just doesn't appeal to me (the "quirkier" his character acts, the more he tends to bug me; and he definitely turns up the quirk here, for seemingly no real reason); Masterson gives a respectable performance, but I didn't "buy" her character's mental illness storyline; overall, just a bit too saccharine for my personal tastes.

(4/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: As good a source as any if one wants to find some teen movies from the 1990's or early 2000's to watch; could be a fun and nostalgic flashback if you've already seen any of these films.

Cons: Seems to lack a point, other than serving as sort of a guide/introduction to teen movies from that specific time period; Fairuza Balk's presence (fortunately, she's just the narrator, but still -- I'm not a fan); too many movies spotlighted (especially horror films) -- the documentary might have seemed more focused with a smaller selection.

(5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Mild nostalgic appeal (strictly in a general sense rather than a personal one; the movie's amusingly "80's", but my 2015 Netflix viewing was the first time that I ever actually watched it); entertaining enough in a very, VERY stupid way.

Cons: A little *too* stupid (and even a bit boring at times); the two leads (meaning both the characters and the actors portraying them) were less annoying than I'd feared -- however, I'd certainly had my fill of them by the end of the movie. (I still haven't bothered with the sequel.)

(4/10... I guess)

Pros: Somewhat entertaining in a pure "mind candy" sort of way; *definitely* more entertaining than the snoozefest of a Sofia Coppola film that was based on the same true story (and shares almost the exact same title).

Cons: Acting ranges from "not great" to "atrocious"; script doesn't fare much better (it *is* a Lifetime movie, but... really); the true story wasn't particularly compelling -- and barely worthy of one movie, let alone two of them.

(3/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Kept me watching until the end; and... umm... some of the cinematography was lovely.

Cons: Very melodramatic (especially the ending); reminded me of why I've never cared for Claire Danes; basically forgettable (I'm not even 100% certain that I streamed the movie in 2015; I'm *fairly* sure that I did, but the experience didn't exactly linger in my memory -- and I've cleared out my Netflix "viewing activity" a few times since I watched, so that's no help. I know for certain that I watched this "fascinating" thing via Netflix's instant streaming, though; and if it wasn't in 2015, then it would have been in late 2014.)

(3/10)

Pros: Good performance by Tom Hanks; vaguely interesting premise; the "Wilson" scenes are more engaging and less ... tedious than much of the rest of the movie (once I got past the fact that Wilson's "face" was made from a bloody hand print; yuck!).

Cons: Longer than it needed to be; often slow and, quite frankly, dull (however, I suppose the movie seemed *slightly* less boring the second time than it did when I first watched it 14-ish years ago, shortly after it came to video); Helen Hunt and her character are very "meh".

(5/10, but I was tempted to rate it only "4.5"/10)

Pros: Great performance by Robert Downey, Jr. as a troubled yet well-meaning father/high school principal (it definitely seemed like Downey drew from personal experience for this role); while I don't take the stars of "Degrassi: The Next Generation" particularly seriously as actors, it was kind of funny to see so many familiar faces from that show turn up here; all in all, despite many flaws, compared to other teen movies from the past 10 years or so, 'Charlie Bartlett' is one of the better ones.

Cons: Felt a bit too long; the title character ranges from more-or-less tolerable in some scenes to extremely annoying in others (especially in the scenes where he was high on ADHD medication ... ugh!). Despite this, I've seen worse teen-movie protagonists.

(5/10 because of Downey ... otherwise it would be 4/10)

Pros: Hmm ... uh ... well, the normally likable Sean Astin, while thankless, is more watchable here than in his last onscreen appearance with Adam Sandler ('50 First Dates' -- see above -- which in all other aspects was Oscar-caliber compared to 'Click'; and I didn't even like '50 First Dates' all THAT much, but 'Click' is just bad all around).

Cons: Adam Sandler at his most childish and unfunny worst; FAR too stupid of a movie to take the occasional attempts at "drama" even remotely (no pun intended) seriously; made me wish I owned my own magic remote control so that I could rewind the 107 minutes I spent watching this crapola and get my time back. A giant waste of a Netflix stream.

(2/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Solid thriller based on an interesting (if bizarre) true story; managed to keep my attention throughout; great performance by Ann Dowd (as the manager of the fast-food restaurant in which the majority of scenes take place).

Cons: Drags at times; the portrayal of the "villain" (prank phone caller) is a bit over-the-top/B-movie-ish, and generally could have been better.

(would be a 5, but for Dowd's performance, I'll say 6/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Some good songs on the soundtrack (which are fortunately very easy to find and listen to without having to subject oneself to this terrible movie).

Cons: Everything else! Unappealing cast; dull and unlikable characters (*especially* Chuck Barris, the real-life game show host/songwriter/TV producer/ quote-unquote "CIA assassin" who's the subject of this biopic; Barris is portrayed by an alternately annoying and charisma-free Sam Rockwell, who really needed to put some pants on -- and keep them on); bad direction by George Clooney; drags interminably. Not even worth a "hate watch".

(1/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Brain candy-ishly entertaining; I'm sure the filmmakers' hearts were in the right place.

Cons: Somebody should have told the filmmakers that if they wanted to make a very special film about cyberbullying, it might've been a good idea to make sure that the big "suicide attempt" scene didn't come across to viewers as so unintentionally hilarious. ("I CAN'T GET THE CAP OFF!!!")

(5/10, for the "guilty pleasure" factor)

Pros: Fantastic performance by Adrien Brody; a few somewhat interesting characters (besides Brody's character Henry Barthes, I wouldn't have minded learning more about the lonely/"invisible" teacher played by Tim Blake Nelson).

Cons: The most depressing movie that I've EVER seen (with virtually nothing to balance the bleakness); too much screen time devoted to less-interesting characters, most of whom are underdeveloped; the "animation" scenes grew tiresome and seemed amateurish; I absolutely HATED what was done with the character of Meredith!

(3/10 for Brody's performance, but with a less capable lead I'd probably have rated a 2 or perhaps even a 1 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Great and under-rated performance by Robert DeNiro (and I tend to find him OVER-rated a lot of the time, so I'm not just saying that "because he's DeNiro"); good performances by the supporting cast; interesting story; nice soundtrack; some beautiful scenery; wonderful film overall.

Cons: Not many -- I could point out a few things if I wanted to "nitpick", but nothing really detracted from the film. Some people considered the movie "overly sentimental", and I suppose I (sort of) noticed a touch of this during the last few scenes.

Side Note: This occasionally gets labeled as a "Christmas" movie; while that's a bit of a stretch, there *are* several mentions of the upcoming holiday, plus there's a Christmas scene at the end. So if you like Christmas movies, there's another 'pro'for you!

(And if you DON'T like Christmas movies -- again, the holiday plays just a minor role in the story.)

(9/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Solid documentary about six young ballet dancers preparing for the Youth America Grand Prix competition in New York City -- and hoping they'll do well enough in the competition to land spots in various esteemed ballet schools; interesting peek into the world of dance (or at least into a corner of it); some of the personal stories are fairly compelling.

Cons: Despite being well-made, the documentary didn't really leave a lasting impression on me -- I'd still recommend it, though, if one was curious about the subject.

(briefly considered a 5.5, but will say 6/10)

Pros: Holds up even after several viewings (my Netflix streaming experience was probably the 5th or 6th time that I've seen 'Forrest Gump' since it first came to video back in the mid-1990's); great performances by Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Robin Wright, and the rest of the cast; great story; classic soundtrack; an overall wonderful film.

Cons: Nothing worth noting -- unless one wants to snark on the silliness of casting Sally Field (who's a whole 10 years older than Tom Hanks) as Hanks's mother (that said, Field does a fine job in this role).

(8/10)

Pros: Well... the animals (puppets?) theoretically are cute, although the poor things are made to look like idiots; the "humor" might appeal to young children; not quite as bad as 'The Sweetest Thing' (see below), which was made by the same director; the cast seemed to have fun making the movie.

Cons: Scenes range from mildly "funny stupid" (on a few occasions) to downright embarrassing (most of the rest of the movie); too many ridiculous "gross-out" jokes and silly, over-the-top gags; all in all, painful enough that I couldn't even make it through a first viewing and barely managed to make it through a second.

(3/10 bumped up from the 2/10 I rated the first time around -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Um ... a Wondermints song plays during some basketball scene; I interviewed the director once (about a different -- and much better -- film of his).

Cons: While I've seen worse, basically everything else about this lame and VERY forgettable movie (which put me to sleep; I didn't even feel compelled to finish what I'd missed) is a 'con'.

(3/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Much better than I anticipated (also a far better film than its mostly negative reviews suggest); great performances by Ann Dowd, Brendan Fraser, and James Earl Jones (and solid performances by everybody else in the cast; yes, even Vanessa Hudgens); interesting to learn about the real-life Several Sources Shelters; all in all, a movie with a lot of "heart", and one that the cast and crew clearly believed in (which, as a viewer, I appreciate).

Cons: A somewhat disappointing ending; a few clichéd/Lifetime-y moments in the script (nothing major, though); Rosario Dawson is rather grating (however, this fits her role); Fraser (whose performance is otherwise probably my favorite in the movie) looks a little too old for his role -- but although his character's age is important to an extent, again, this is mostly a nitpick and doesn't at all take away from the film.

(8/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Dark, and decidedly UNglamorous (given the subject) yet quite compelling; made me want to know more about its subjects and what happened to them afterward (particularly the casting scout/former model, and presumably mentally ill Ashley Arbaugh); haunting and effective score; some lovely cinematography.

Cons: A bit slow -- at one point while watching, I drifted off to sleep (but more out of tiredness than out of boredom; I was absorbed enough in the film to go back the next day and watch what I'd missed); I could have done without the close-up photos of Arbaugh's cyst, and I *really* didn't need to know so many details about it!

(7/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Not very many. It's always nice to see Matt Dillon onscreen (however, his role here is FAR from his best); the subplot involving the lead character's relationship with her socially-awkward brother is... alright.

Cons: Lead character Imogene proves VERY difficult to like (case in point: the movie begins with her *staging a suicide because her boyfriend broke up with her*; now THERE'S a protagonist I want to root for!); even after Imogene evolves a bit, I still found it hard to invest much interest in her; the other characters also failed to interest me; performances aren't great, even those by actors I've enjoyed in other roles (Dillon's character, for example, is just dumb, and Dillon himself seems vaguely "stoned" throughout the film; meanwhile, Annette Bening goes overboard hamming it up as Imogene's "eccentric" mother); on top of all of this, kind of dull: I fell asleep for about 15 minutes in the second half of the movie, and not just because I was tired.

(maybe a 2.5/10 if I was feeling generous -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Silly, yet mindlessly entertaining 80's fluff; the dance scenes (especially the audition) are rather classic, as are such epic lines as "Wow, you think I'm punk rock? It's not as cool as New Wave, but it's a lot better than pre-teen!" (spoken by a post-"Little House on the Prairie", pre-"Our House" Shannen Doherty).

Cons: Despite the above, there are definitely more entertaining teen-oriented movies of the 1980's (I didn't "grow up" with this one -- somehow it eluded me -- so maybe that's why I didn't find it *quite* as fun to watch as certain other movies of its time. In any case, it started to bore me a little in the second half.)

(5, or perhaps 5.5/10)

Pros: More clever and entertaining than I thought when I first tried to watch it back in the 1990's (my teen self found the movie "boring"); fun, creative story; good performances by Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.

Cons: Lost me a little toward the end.

(6/10)

Pros: Passes the time; better than the cover suggests (at first glance, I thought the movie would be some raunchy comedy about tennis -- it's not); a few genuinely enjoyable scenes (the two leads work well together, and the trivia competitions are fun); good performance by Brendan Fraser (in an underdeveloped role); nice to see Parker Posey (in a brief cameo).

Cons: The script isn't the greatest -- many scenes feel rushed or unfinished; Fraser's character seems a tad out of place in the film due to this and to overall lack of development (although I preferred his character to the younger ones); Alex Wolff's character acts like a "typical teenager" (read: whiny) and has dumb-looking hair; a handful of other lame, irritating, and/or difficult-to-swallow scenes and characters.

(5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Not really a porn film, even though it sounds and kind of looks like one based on the cover -- instead, it's a documentary about young women who "act" in online pornography "films".

Cons: Tedious; difficult to invest much interest in the subjects (girls who willingly venture into the porn world due to "boredom" or wanting fast money); plays more like a reality TV show than an actual documentary. I'm not even sure why I watched this (I refuse to type the stupid title); well, my husband mentioned that one of the "actresses" was from our state, which piqued my initial curiosity. He also warned me that the film was bad, but I watched it anyway for whatever reason. (I guess I thought that it might be something fun to snark on, but it was really just a giant waste of time.)

(2/10 ... too useless to even hate enough for me to grant it the lowest rating)

Pros: Insightful and well-made documentary about a topic not often explored on film: phone lines, and the people operating them. The documentary looks behind the scenes at crisis hotlines (I've volunteered at such a line many times, so these segments were especially interesting) as well as other services where anonymous people share connections with other anonymous people over the telephone.

Cons: Nothing really major as far as faults go; the presumably low-budget film does feel a bit more like a television special at times than a movie, but this isn't a big deal (also, I'd have liked to have learned more about a few of the phone lines and workers profiled, but I understand that films have time constraints; besides, "wanting to learn more" should actually be a 'pro', not a 'con'!).

(7/10)

Pros: Strong, solid true-crime film (both thriller and documentary) about Frédéric Bourdin, the real-life con artist who tricked a Texas family into believing he was their missing son; interesting to hear the interview with Bourdin himself, as well as hear comments from others involved with the case and affected by Bourdin's deceit.

Cons: As well-made as it is, 'The Imposter' didn't necessarily stick with me (I almost forgot about it); still, this one's definitely worth a watch.

(7/10)

Pros: *crickets*

Cons: Where to even begin? By far the worst movie that I've streamed on Netflix this year (and one of the worst movies that I've ever seen, period); PAINFULLY unfunny; James Franco's character has to be the most irritating and obnoxious character EVER; Franco is terrible, and Seth Rogen is nearly as bad; I could go on and on. Just a horrible, loathsome movie overall.

(1/10, but only because I'm not able to rate a 0 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Pleasant story (not entirely plausible, but apparently based on a real-life event; the film's presented as a sort of "fairy tale" version); Cage's character is a very nice man; more-or-less passes the time.

Cons: Occasionally slow (especially toward the beginning); Cage's character is a little *too* nice; Rosie Perez's even-more-grating-than-usual voice.

(somewhere between 5 and 5.5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Basically sweet and likable movie about life in a small and close-knit community (where the church, for once, ISN'T portrayed as destructive); far better than the basic premise (shy, socially awkward man orders a "blow-up doll" and treats her as his actual girlfriend) suggests; good performances all around; "Shane" from "Degrassi (Junior) High" has a role!

Cons: Borders on "too" sweet at times; requires more suspension of disbelief than I was able to lend (especially in the last half hour or so); also required a second viewing for me to appreciate it.

(6/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Remarkably 80's (case in point: the movie stars both of "the Coreys") which, due to its datedness, makes it VERY slightly entertaining to watch; nice to see Nina Siemaszko (who plays Corey Haim's sister), although this certainly isn't the highlight of her career.

Cons: There are dozens (if not hundreds) of more entertaining 80's movies out there; no disrespect to the late Mr. Haim (who was always marginally more tolerable than Feldman) but I didn't even like "the Coreys" when I was a teenager, and found them just as annoying to watch as an adult.

(3/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Not the greatest documentary I've seen, but solid; despite its "taboo" subject (mail-order brides and the men who pursue them) I don't recall the film or any of the men profiled in it seeming especially sleazy (for the most part, these men are portrayed as just lonely -- and perhaps a bit socially awkward).

Cons: Kind of forgettable; the film kept me watching until the end, but I had to think hard to recall most of its content.

(5/10, but considered a 4.5)

Pros: More engaging than I thought it would be, for a movie about a porn star (and it actually paints the "porn industry" in quite the negative light); good performances by Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace and Peter Sarsgaard as her abusive husband; James Franco only has a small role.

Cons: Slow at times (especially in the first half); all in all, despite some positive elements, not much different than your average Lifetime movie.

(5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Passes the time; not as terrible as the uniformly negative reviews suggest; the politician character (for a cardboard "love interest" with virtually no depth or characterization) comes across as fairly likable, thanks to a laid-back but solid performance by Ralph Fiennes; New York City setting.

Cons: "J. Lo" makes a rather bland lead; her onscreen kid (as with many movie children) is a little too precocious; not much chemistry between Lopez and Fiennes; clichéd and predictable; Stanley Tucci (an actor I normally don't mind) kind of annoys as the politician character's publicist -- perhaps Tucci was embarrassed to appear in such a role?

(5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Celebrates "snail mail" in a unique story (told with clay animation) about a pen-pal relationship between two lonely characters living on two different continents; moves quickly; several genuinely touching moments and funny scenes; nice voice-over work by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman (as Max), Toni Collette (as Mary), and Barry Humphries (as the Narrator).

Cons: Seems to go overboard with all of the bad things that keep happening to both Mary and Max (it's like writer/director Adam Elliott was in a contest with himself to see which character's life he could make worse?); a few gratuitous "gross-out" moments (nothing too extreme, but still not really necessary); Max occasionally got on my nerves; the "Que Sera Sera" scene is just... odd; I didn't much care for the ending.

(5.5/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: Scandinavian (Danish); okay performances; not as bleak as 'Detachment' (see above), aka the other movie about depression that I watched on Netflix in 2015.

Cons: Unlikable and/or uninteresting characters; quite slow; and (no doubt as a result of these things) felt like it went on for far, FAR too long.

(3/10)

Pros: Um ... the retro clothing? ('Mona Lisa Smile' is set in 1953.)

Cons: Lack of engaging performances; not a great cast to begin with; annoying characters; boring enough that it eventually put me to sleep (this was another movie that I didn't bother watching the rest of after that happened; I'd seen enough).

(2/10)

Pros: Other than Adam Sandler, the dumb thing actually has a pretty good cast; the soundtrack's not bad, either; at least 75% of the movie takes place in New York City.

Cons: Nonstop cartoon violence; childish, stupid, and silly rather than genuinely funny; poor remake of 'Mr. Deeds Goes to Town' -- okay, in fairness, I haven't see the original film ... but I'd bet money that this is a poor remake!

(3/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)

Pros: It's the MUPPETS in MANHATTAN! (Kermit and Miss Piggy get married!) What's not to love?

Cons: Maybe not *quite* as classic or as memorable as 'The Muppet Movie' (but great nonetheless). Of course, we know now that Kermie and Piggy's marriage would eventually end in divorce -- but since this didn't happen until 21 years after 'The Muppets Take Manhattan', I don't count it as a 'con'!

(8/10)

Pros: Some appealing actors in the cast (Ethan Hawke, Andy Garcia, Robin Wright, Burt Young); a few moderately interesting stories; and, of course, the subject!

Cons: Some not-so-appealing actors in the cast; even the actors I like better aren't at their best here; several rather dull stories, none of which tie together very well.

(4/10 -- for more, see the 'reviews' tab on my profile)