Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) Review
Rick Moranis at his peak, practical effects that put CGI to shame, and Disney back when it made original family adventures. The Blu-ray release is out of print and trades at collector prices.
Filming Location: California (Page 15)
CaliforniaFerris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) Review
Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, and John Hughes's most ambitious teen film. Ferris narrates Cameron's story.
CaliforniaFast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Review
Sean Penn as Spicoli, Cameron Crowe's undercover research, Amy Heckerling's first feature. The 9 reflects what those viewings have confirmed: the film is the founding document of the modern American teen comedy and one of the most influential teen films…
CaliforniaDie Hard (1988) Review
Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman as god-tier Hans Gruber, and one perfect Christmas Eve at Nakatomi Plaza. The rating is not negotiable.
CaliforniaDie Hard 2 (1990) Review
Renny Harlin takes McClane to Dulles Airport on Christmas Eve for the twistiest entry in the franchise. The 8 reflects what the rewatch test has confirmed: the film is genuinely twisty, the action sequences land, the Christmas-Eve airport setting works,…
CaliforniaLive Free or Die Hard (2007) Review
The film is held back from a 9.5 or 10 by the studio's decision to cut the theatrical release to PG-13 and by the inevitable franchise-fatigue cost of being the fourth entry. Olyphant's Thomas Gabriel is the franchise's third great…
CaliforniaHome Alone 2 (1992) Review
Tim Curry at the Plaza, the Pigeon Lady, and the rare sequel that surpasses a very good original. It is the rare sequel that is better than a very good original.
CaliforniaFired Up! (2009) Review
The cheerleading comedy filmed at the LA Arboretum. is funnier than its critical reception, with chemistry between leads carrying the film.
CaliforniaThe Italian Job (2003) Review
The production closed the intersection for seven days, used 300 cars to recreate the gridlock, and ran the sequence with the kind of practical-effects commitment most modern action films have stopped attempting. Gary Gray made a film that loves its…
CaliforniaShowgirls (1995) Review
Read as a Verhoeven satire of the American Dream, the film makes sense. The 7 accounts honestly for execution problems that remain even when the satirical reading lands.
CaliforniaVice Squad (1982) – Review
Wings Hauser's Ramrod is one of genre cinema's genuinely frightening villains, casual, flat, and relentless across a single Hollywood night. That's not a bad place for a genre film to land, it means the ambition outpaced the execution in specific,…
CaliforniaHardcore (1979) – Review
Paul Schrader grew up in a strict Calvinist household in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's a hard film to watch, not because of what it shows, which is less explicit than its reputation suggests, but because of what it understands about…