IMDB: American Gangster

• OVERALL: 93
  
• VISUAL: 90
  
• STORY: 94
  
• ACTING: 95
  
• BETTER THAN: Hoffa
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: A History of Violence
  
• WAS MISSING: The ultimate showdown of Denzel and Crowe in valiant fisticuffs.
  
• SEE IT FOR: The ultimate showdown of Denzel and Crowe in stubborn, brilliant mind games.
  

The Darjeeling LImited

IMDB: The Darjeeling Limited

• OVERALL: 82
  
• VISUAL: 71
  
• STORY: 82
  
• ACTING: 93
  
• BETTER THAN: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Bottle Rocket
  
• WAS MISSING: Luke Wilson. Maybe Adrien Brody stole Wes Anderson's invite from Luke?
  
• SEE IT FOR: Neurosis and sibling rivalry at its best.

The Kingdom

IMDB: The Kingdom

• OVERALL: 79
  
• VISUAL: 80
  
• STORY: 79
  
• ACTING: 78
  
• BETTER THAN: Men of War
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Under Fire
  
• WAS MISSING: A pulse. Good luck staying awake until it gets rolling.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Your Friday Night Lights fix. From cast to directors, it's the same bunch and feel.

The Hunger

IMDB: The Hunger

• OVERALL: 90
  
• VISUAL: 89
  
• STORY: 90
  
• ACTING: 90
  
• BETTER THAN: Vampires
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Underworld
  
• WAS MISSING: Vincent Price laughter during the closing credits.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Bowie and a young Susan Sarandon, plus a sensually creepy look at vampirism.
  

Balls of Fury

IMDB: Balls of Fury

• OVERALL: 60
  
• VISUAL: 60
  
• STORY: 50
  
• ACTING: 70
  
• BETTER THAN: Rollerball (2002)
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Murderball
  
• WAS MISSING: A rousing chant of "Kumite"
  
• SEE IT FOR: Def Leppard tickets were sold out.
  

Battle Royale

IMDB: Battle Royale

• OVERALL: 90
  
• VISUAL: 91
  
• STORY: 90
  
• ACTING: 88
  
• BETTER THAN: The Condemned
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: The Great Escape
  
• WAS MISSING: You are dead, please drive through... The humor was brilliant in the first half, absent in the second. An English dubbed version would have been funny to watch for a second viewing just to see how poorly the dialogue may have matched up.
  
• SEE IT FOR: Over-the-top action. Friends turning on friends. If you are a fan of prison stories or movies about dangerous games and high stakes, this is the perfect movie for you!
  

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

IMDB: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

• OVERALL: 85
  
• VISUAL: 75
  
• STORY: 92
  
• ACTING: 89
  
• BETTER THAN: Wyatt Earp
  
• NOT AS GOOD AS: Tombstone
  
• WAS MISSING: "I'm yer Huckleberry."
  
• SEE IT FOR: The What-a-burger-ish commercial voice over guy telling a very slow tale that is worth it if you like character development.