Windbreaker!

Under discussion:

Murder in the First  (1994)

Kevin Bacon alone makes this an 8/10 for me.  He plays crazed animal-man like nobody's business!  He's so good that at times you feel like you're watching a real story unfold.

Christian Slater, well... is Christian Slater.  There's a scene where Slater confronts his older brother who is also a lawyer.  The brother looks the part - older than 24, has a bookshelf full of reading material, has a nice desk.  But when Slater walks in, the brother's like "holy crap, who let this punk kid in my office?  Greta, call security!  This teenager stole someone's suit and is interrupting my meeting!"  Still, he's not *so* distracting that the movie fails.  I think the director was smart enough to work with the hand he was dealt by not focusing more on Slater.  There are no late-night office scenes with him pouring through law journals.  No solo walks through the park thinking out loud... he's just not a great actor.

But I've wildly digressed.  Murder in the First is a solid courtroom drama, and that's not easy to do pull off.  The genre is like the ill-fated "romantic comedy" that only really succeeds once every 5 years.  This one wins because Alcatraz itself is a character in the film.  Not just Gary Oldman as the tempermental associate warden, but the halls, island, buildings, families that live on the island -- lump it together and call it the best supporting actor.

Under discussion:

The Terminator  (1984)

That Thing You Do!  (1996)

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster  (2004)

Once  (2007)

10/10 people.  I was not expecting to be blown away by anything with a Sundance seal of approval.  More often than not, Sundance endorsements are about quirky people patting other quirky people on the back and telling the rest of us we're idiots for liking Terminator.  I do have an artsy fartsy streak, and I admit I'm a sucker for music-oriented films.  Hell, I love That Thing You Do!  How many grown men admit that?! 

Once feels like real time.  It has a deliberately slow pace allowing the music and lyrics to tell a lot of the story.  (not too slow -- it's not even 90 minutes)  And please, fellow rockers, don't panic at the cover.  Sure this is singer-songwriter territory.  I have Lars Ulrich on my desktop wallpaper, ok?  Some Kind of Monster is a work of genius.  But this music is flat out good.  I mean really, really good.

Boy meets girl, boy very fond of girl.  Both are lonely and at crossroads in their lives.  Both are trying to determine if they're rebounding from previous loves or if they truly belong with those loves.  The video montage toward the end with the dude's girlfriend got me up on the edge of the couch.  As cute as these two musicians are together, you see that spark they have for their respective partners and want them reunited where they belong.  Great, great message.  Married?  Good - MAKE IT WORK!!!

Under discussion:

Major League  (1989)

Shattered  (1991)

Sniper  (1992)

Shattered  (2008)

I have a like/dislike reaction to Shattered.  Not that flick from the early 90s starring Tom Berringer that you've seen on the shelf at Blockbuster a million times.  You know the one -- his smug expression and poofy hair taking over the DVD cover?  No, not Sniper.  That's right next to it.  I said Shattered.  You know, I just rememberd Corbin Bernsen is in that old Shattered.  Berringer & Bernsen together?  If it's half as magical as Major League, I should rent it. 

Anyway the one I watched is the new release that Blockbuster ordered a million copies of, not realizing no one had even heard of it.  But I guess they were thinking ahead to when it gets stocked next to the Tom Berrenger classics in the 'S' section, and people might settle for a Pierce Brosnan flick if the other Shattered and Sniper are all checked out.  So I like/dislike it.  Milder feelings than a love/hate.  This thing doesn't stir up any feelings as strong as love or hate.

If you are in the mood for a very mediocre story that keeps your blood pressure mildly raised for 90 minutes, rent it.  Don't read the back of the box, because that'll spoil the fact that it almost sucks.