Poor Man’s Sophie’s Choice — stories of a women who have suffered tragedy, but Sophie comes away with more of your heart than Philomena can, despite Judi Dench’s best efforts. ★★★★☆ Some movies are just made to win awards, and Philomena is one of them. It has a phenomenal cast led by Steve Coogan and […]

Poor Man’s Braveheart — I know I am supposed to like Spartacus more, but I just found it a little less fun ★★★★☆ Everyone knows the quote, “I am Spartacus!” However, fewer know the other 3 hours and 14 minutes of film that surround that scene. Spartacus is Stanley Kubrick’s story of the titular character […]

Poor Man’s Aladdin — no need for a clever comparison here. It just is. ★★☆☆☆ This week David assigned me an animated film. I’ve been dragging him to our local theatre’s showings of Studio Ghibli movies and I think he wanted to return the favor. This movie is about a poor orphan boy growing up […]

Rich Man’s Carnage: both movies are strong limited storytelling and excellent adaptations of stage plays. Honestly, it’s hard to choose between these two as they are both exceptional but Rope gets the edge for being filled to the brim with wordplay. ★★★★★ I have always secretly dreaded Alfred Hitchcock movies. I was afraid that I […]

Poor Man’s Se7en. Morgan Freeman has been a few days way from retirement for his entire career but this movie’s villain doesn’t hold a torch to John Doe. ★★★☆☆ Earlier today, I heard someone describe The Eagles as rock and roll for people who don’t want to put the effort into liking music. This analogy […]

Rich Man’s Lord of War — they are both highly-stylized tales of men who struggle with morality and consequence in worlds devoid of them, but The Devil’s Advocate offers more satisfying answers. ★★★★☆ The Devil’s Advocate is the 1997 courtroom drama starring Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves plays hotshot Florida attorney […]

Poor Man’s The Departed. It’s possible that The French Connection hasn’t aged well or that newer movies learned from is mistakes, but The Departed is just better at everything this movie tries to do. ★★☆☆☆ Sometimes, I wish I liked a movie more than I did. I spend time trying to get people to talk me into […]

Rich Man’s Van Wilder — simplicity is a good formula for a college comedy hinging mainly on stereotypes. It helps that Animal House invented most of them. ★★★☆☆ Now, before I receive a ton of angry Facebook comments, I want to remind everyone that 3 stars is not a bad review. I gave John Wick […]

Poor Man’s Seven. Eyes Wide Shut sets up a series of captivating mysteries but refuses to follow through on them. ????? This week I was assigned Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s final film. On the back of my ode to Tom Cruise, David decided to challenge me with a Tom Cruise film featuring a director […]