I expected more from Denzel Washington’s directorial debut. The story of an emotionally troubled young man learning to come to terms with the traumas of his past with the help of a mentor isn’t particularly new. This version has a sailor prone to violent outbursts who is forced by his commanding officer to see a psychiatrist. It generally follows the expected tropes, except it speeds through the actual transformation of the main character so that it feels like a sudden, unearned change. One positive is that the acting is solid, particularly that of the actors during the flashbacks.

Growing older, it’s a mild worry as to how I’ll experience my own lessening mental facilities. Here the experience is shown from both the perspective of the one with a dementia diagnosis and their significant other. That these two people are played by Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth adds to the quality of the film, as the duo travel on one last road trip across the UK together. It’s not a new story, but it’s filled with beautiful landscapes and there is a real loving sweetness to how the actors portray their relationship.

When I was in college, my roommate introduced me and our mutual friends to both the Mortal Kombat game and the 1995 film. Those two items pair quite well together. I don’t know about later MK games, but this film doesn’t gel with the parts I’m familiar with. There’s too much time spent on a hackneyed story involving superfluous family characters. The music and fight choreography do nothing to adrenalize the viewer. Most of the actors feel rather miscast. There isn’t even a tournament. It does at least include quotes and graphic violence reminiscent of the original game.

Another film I wasn’t sure if I had watched until it started. If I was certain, I wouldn’t have watched because it’s silly trash and so similar to other trashy films that are more entertaining. James Spader is a wuss who lives a bland, but relatively successful life. Rob Lowe is the devil who gets his amusement from turning Spader’s life upside down whether James wants it or not. Lowe is one dimensional and hammy in his role with little menace. Spader would have done it better, but Lowe wouldn’t have been any better in reversed roles. Christian Clemenson is James’s brother, a thankless role where he brings more skill than this film deserves. The ending is too neat and unsatisfying.

It was purely coincidence that I grabbed another Neil Simon work after watching The Odd Couple II. This one has a similar issue that the schtick had really funny parts (it even had me comparing it somewhat to Clue), but when there were attempts at building a story, the whole thing feel apart and was just mind bogglingly confusing. The cast were quite dedicated to the parodies they were portraying with Peter Falk as the namesake detective and Louise Fletcher, Stockard Channing, Eileen Brennan, Ann-Margret, Madelyn Kahn, and Marsha Mason all playing different love interests.