Manhattan (1979)

The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.

On par with his previous masterpiece Annie Hall Woody Allen's study of love life amidst New York intellectuals scores  with beautiful b&w cinematography and more subtle humor than before.

Halliwell****: "As close to a summation of Woody Allen's views and oeuvre as anybody needs; some smart jabs about the lives we lead are sometimes bogged down in earnestness and half-comic despair."

Maltin***1/2: "Bittersweet slice-of-life...; blisteringly accurate and ultimately poignant, a worthy follow-up to Woody's ANNIE HALL. Magnificently photographed (in b&w) by Gordon Willis, with splendid use of Gershwin's music on the soundtrack."

Cruising (1980)

A police detective goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

From memory: more exploitative than effective thriller seems to revel in the sleazy underworld it presents; still, Al Pacino does another great job in the lead role.

Halliwell (no star): "Alleged thriller with phoney pretensions and repellent detail."

Maltin*1/2: "...distasteful, badly scripted film. Gay world is presented as sick, degrading, and ritualistic."

The Perfect Storm (2000)

In the Fall of 1991, the "Andrea Gail" left Gloucester, Mass. and headed for the fishing grounds of the North Atlantic. Two weeks later, an event took place that had never occurred in recorded history: a giant storm.

The story is told presenting the crew of the ship as simple fisherman who become heroes. But the only true hero in this movie is the storm.

On second viewing: it's watchable mostly for the storm scenes.

Halliwell*: "There are some astonishing visual moments here - notably the small boat attemting to climb an impossibly high wave - but the crew members, each equpiied with a personal crisis to fill in the gaps between the waves, are no more than stereotypes so that their elemental struggle remains uninvolving."

Maltin**1/2: "...drenched with special effects and noisy, exciting seagoing action, but its characters and story points are bathed in cliche'."

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Highly successful homage and rejuvenation of the old-fashioned adventure movie genre, complete with all its antics (and a silly story), but upping the ante concerning speed, wit, and professional handling in all departments.

Halliwell***: "Commercially very successful, this attempted wrap-up of the Saturday morning serials of two generations ago spends a great deal of money and expertise on frightening rather than exciting us. Second time round, one can better enjoy the ingenious detail of the hero's exploits; still, there are boring bits in between, and the story doesn't make a lot of sense."

Maltin****: "A roller-coaster ride of a movie, rekindling the spirit of  Saturday matinee serials but outdoing them for genuine thrills and chills...Perhaps a bit too much at times, but why carp?"