Fat City (1972)

Two men, working as professional boxers, come to blows when their careers each begin to take opposite momentum.

Great performances, especially Susan Tyrell, and great faded color photography. The downbeat story was slightly lost on me, though, since I've seen worse fates depicted on screen before.

Class of 1999 (1990)

Robot teachers have been secretly placed in the schools where the students have run riot.

Trashy sci-fi actioner with a put-on message; watch it waste its star cast's talents!

Halliwell (no star): "A sort of robot Blackboard Jungle, aimed at teenage audiences in love with violence."

Maltin*1/2: "Heavy-handed film wavers between high camp and taking itself seriously as a message movie! Keach goes overboard as a maniacal robot operator."

The Long Riders (1980)

The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.

From memory: Stylish, atmospheric and violent modern Western with a good cast and beautiful cinematography.

Halliwell (no star): "Well-worn territory with new-fangled violent detail. Not much of an attraction despite the gimmick of having the various anti-heroesplayed by real brothers."

Maltin***: "...stylish but extremely bloody film. Typically meticulous direction by Hill..."

Brewster McCloud (1970)

An introverted loner living in the bowels of the Astrodome plots to develop - with the aid of a mysterious guardian angel - a pair of wings that will help him fly.

Lively, wild and chaotic comedy is only occasionally funny; seems to want to say something about flying and freedom, but doesn't really.

Halliwell (no star): "Anarchic, allegorical fantasy, a delight no doubt for connoisseurs of way-out humour. Everyone else, forget it."

Maltin***: "Patently indescribable movie...Extremely bizarre; for certain tastes, extremely funny. Altman fans have a head start."

Gotti (2018)

The story of crime boss John Gotti and his son.

Half-baked Mafia crime saga removes almost all interesting aspects of an otherwise fascinating biography; the result (including Travolta's performance) could be watched as a The Godfather parody, but albeit a bad one.

Truth (2015)

Newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS 60 Minutes report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.

Solid, but a bit old-fashioned political docudrama makes well use of its star cast and does manage to convey the vagaries and risks of a high-profile journalistic investigation into a political scandal.

Nebraska (2013)

An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

Wonderful road movie thanks to paced, thoughtful direction, a splendid cast and some fantastic black-and-white photography.

Maltin***1/2: "Rich comedic portrait of taciturn Midwesterners..., featuring a gallery of wonderfully authentic faces... Dern and Forte anchor the film with their solid, credible performances. Beautifully shot in widescreen black & white..."