Dark City: Director's Cut (1998): Netflixin 10/25/08

• Why I rented it: I remember being intrigued when I first heard about this movie when it came out. The image of the gaunt, pale bald guys in black trenchcoats levitating from building to building did it for me. I also remember seeing the movie and being ultimately disappointed. Too many bald guys in black trenchcoats. All style and no substance.

• Verdict: 7/10. Maybe it's the years in between, but I am leaning toward what I call the Blade Runner effect. A movie is released in a watered-down form for mass appeal...needless, intrusive expository content is added while meaty character development is excised. When you do this to a movie that is its theme, all you're left with is empty glitz. Thankfully, like the Blade Runner Director's Cut, this new version of Dark City unfurls its themes gradually, subtly, allowing the viewer to partake of it on his own without being force-fed. This "new" film will no doubt stick in my mind for much longer than the old one did.