Addams Family Values (1993) — One of those rare cases in which a sequel (by which I mean something that wasn’t planned before production of the initial movie) is a fitting companion to the original. I’m guessing that Raul Julia’s death in 1994 is the only thing that kept a third theatrical feature from happening — that, and the fact that Christina Ricci was growing up too much to be the creepy little girl. (No, I haven’t seen the 1998 direct-to-video Addams Family Reunion.)
Age of Dinosaurs (2013) — If you ever wondered what it would be like if the Jurassic Park franchise started going straight to DVD, this is for you. The redoubtable Treat Williams is an LA firefighter invited to some sort of big shindig because his brother-in-law is on the security team, and brings his semi-estranged teenage daughter. Turns out the shindig is company president Ronny Cox’s announcement that his firm 1) has genetically engineered dinosaurs, and 2) has crappy security. Dinosaurs get out. People run and scream. Williams and daughter find out how much they mean to each other. The CGI is adequate; what really bites is that the script just has things happen for no real reason. I mean, is there any reason for the dinosaurs to chase our protagonists’ car specifically across L.A. and trap them in a warehouse, when there’s all of Los Angeles to attack? This kind of thing is disappointing because filming a script that made sense wouldn’t have cost any more money, and would have made a better move. Sigh…
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) — Yes, it seems corny and heavy-handed to us today, making It’s a Wonderful Life seem positively subtle by comparison. Or maybe it’s that we’re all used to seeing a different kind of heavy-handedness in movies. Frankly, I think everyone needs a little two-by-four to the patriotism every now and again to keep us awake. Part of what makes it a classic is that. really, the bad guys would have won despite the efforts of the hero. If not for the last-minute attack of conscience by Claude Rains’ Senator Paine, then the mighty engine of opinion-making media moguls and co-opted functionaries would have steamrolled right over Jimmy Stewart’s titular Mr. Smith, and there wouldn’t have been a damned thing he could do about it. It may be a corny and heavy-handed movie, but it definitely isn’t over-optimistic.