Fanciful, brassy fantasy about an unpleasant ghost who haunts a young family. Keaton is sometimes inspired, and the special effects are good. [931]
MICHAEL KEATON, ALEC BALDWIN
Slice of life about being Jewish and growing up in Montreal. [928]
Bizarre, weird film about a housewife who runs a hit squad. Until you make the connection with all the nice, middle-class, "respectable" people who supported the Viet Nam War and violent crack-downs on student protesters, you can't appreciate what the point of it all is. One of the more truly weird films of all time. [835]
Sardonic look at the Korean War through the eyes of a cynical army surgeon, Hawkeye Pierce, and his boozing, womanizing buddies. Outward jocularity masks a dark view of humanity and war. The author of the book later disassociated himself from both the movie and the "wimpy" tv series because of it's shift towards a moderated humanism. The movie bears him out: it is far more raw and authentic, and sometimes disturbing. Some critics point out the misogyny and the retrograde attitudes towards homosexuality (a character is "cured" of his homosexual tendencies by a night with a sexy girl). [814]
Solid but somewhat antiseptic story about autistic savant Hoffman and younger brother Cruise making a trip (emotionally and physically-- get it?) across South Western U.S. Cruise is high rolling sports car dealer whose life is falling to pieces. When his father dies, he finds out that he had a brother, and that the brother inherited the family fortune of $3 million. Seeking to take advantage, he kidnaps Raymond from an extremely luxurious institution and tries to obtain custody so he can get his hands on the loot, losing his charming girlfriend in the process. Sound familiar? Should remind viewers of "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz", even to the french accent of the girl friend. Hoffman is pretty good, but Cruise has such limited range that many scenes don't work-- like when Charley (Cruise) finds out Raymond won't go on airplanes because of the safety record of various airlines-- and finally announces that Quantas, which only flies to Australia, is acceptable because they have never had a crash. Cruise reacts too glibly, too quickly to Raymond's feats of memory. People who are really astounded by something often don't believe what they see the first time, misunderstand, miscomprehend-- anything but Cruise's smooth double-takes. Well, this is what Hollywood sees as a class act, which tells you how limiting Hollywood's vision can be at times. Levinson plays the examining psychiatrist in Los Angeles. Over-rated film received several Oscars including best actor for Hoffman and Best Picture. [785]
Interesting, off-beat film. Linda Hunt is riveting. [737]
Gripping drama about young boy who witnesses a murder, and detective caught between corrupt superiors and mob. After betrayal by a fellow detective, Detective Book is wounded in an attack. He takes the boy and his mother back to the Amish community to protect them and recuperate. He is reluctantly taken in and gradually comes to understand and value the traditions and culture of the Amish community, but when the killers track him down he must resort to extreme guile and determination to take them on. Touching, daring almost seduction between Rachel and Book... Lukas Haas as the young boy is excellent. The ending is bittersweet. Really well-written, well-conceived story. [731]
, , Harrison Ford, McGillis Kelly, Lukas Haas, Josef Sommer, Jan Rubes, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover, Brend Jennings, Patti LuPone
Bittersweet comedy about relationship between a vacuous anchor (Hurt), a literate, snobbish writer (Brooks), and an attractive producer (Hunter). A triangle, of course, ensues, with some acerbic commentary on the nature of television journalism, not entirely void of hypocrisy. (Hunter is righteously indignant about Hurt's fake tears during an interview with a rape victim, but completely devoid of insight into the type of emotional exploitation even real tears would have elicited). An intelligent, likeable film with some hair- raising excitement, and an ending that is somewhat dissatisfying though forgivable. [added 2020-01-16] Very pedestrian cinematography, and often heavy-handed and obvious. And I was correct about the hypocrisy: Aaron, at one point, covering the Contras in Nicaragua, films himself hanging out with guerrillas during a firefight-- this is supposed to be the classy, high-toned, tasteful journalism? And yes, the cinematography reflects this moderation, this compromise. Still, better-written and more interesting than most films on the subject. Demoted from 8.6 to 8.0. Was nominated for 7 academy awards but won none. The nomination for cinematography-- seriously? Holly Hunter was very good. [727]
Hokum about Harmon being coerced into teaching summer school. Usual spontaneous fun versus sterile regulation theme. Harmless and pointless. [582]
Powerful drama about sensational real-life court-case concerning a rape in a bar in which on-lookers cheered and jeered and did nothing. Foster is superb as brassy victim. Viewers should always keep in mind, however, that this is Hollywood doing the social conscience thing. Why should that matter? Hollywood never strays too far from its own conventions. Elements in the real case that would disturb the purity (and banality) of the good-vs-evil tension are invariably ignored, leaving the viewer, perhaps, unfairly satisfied at the resolution of things. The danger in this can be illustrated by films about Satanic Ritual Abuse cases made in the 80's. The first films dramatized the horror of discovering that children had been severely sexually abused and assaulted at a "reputable" day care. The day-care owners were suitably sinister and devious. A few years later, once the truth emerged about how a group of naive and ambitious prosecutors created an atmosphere of hysteria and implanted the stories of abuse into the minds of the children, Hollywood did a film on the same subject reflecting the new consensus. Suddenly, the prosecutors and social workers were devious and sinister, and the day-care workers were portrayed as good, decent victims of hysterical persecution. The point is, these people were not hiding during the collection of facts that made up either case. The film-makers simply chose to play to stereo-types. The viewer should keep that in mind when watching any film that purports to be "a true story". [558]
Engaging, funny, black comedy about hit man and hit woman, Nicholson and Turner, who fall in love. Great cast, sensuously filmed. [555]
Charming, amusing, but uneven story about an inept woman who idolizes her chic employer, until she discovers that she is just as amoral as anyone else. Some absolutely hilarious scenes, especially the conclusion. [480]
Very sharp, tense drama about pool hustler Newman and price he pays in personal relationships. Worth admission just to see Gleason as Minnesota Fats turn on the intimidation after exhausting series of games. George C. Scott is excellent as agent. [443]
Good performances, but somewhat aimless translation of Kennedy's strong novel about alienation. [441]
Very uneven, sometimes annoying version of Richler novel. James Woods acts the lead as if he thought he were Clark Gable, and Gabrielle Lazure is the most beautiful stiff brought to the screen in a long time-- but she is still a stiff. Arkin is the only bright spot in the picture. [382]
Brilliant, unpretentious film about a man who disappears when he goes off to war, only to reappear ten years later. He is accepted by his young bride and most villagers, until a jealous Uncle contests his identity. The church then tries to determine if he really is who he says he is. Profound film that resonates everywhere. [358]
Murky, myserious pageant of evil. Astonishingly effective considering it's age. Filmed at the height of the German expressionist movement, featuring outsized shadows and sharp contrasts, misshapen buildings and sidewalks, and horrifying faces. [297]
Very, very suspenseful story about a butler whose wife is accidentally killed during an argument. The child who idolizes him tries to protect his friend and in so doing inadvertantly implicates him. Very good Graham Greene story. [275]
Very good documentary style look at NYC High School for the Performing Arts. Good acting and writing; honest. Sometimes brutally honest. [272]
Eerie suspense piece. A woman persuades her husband to kidnap a child so her predictions will come true. Attenborough is brilliant. [271]
Very good sequel to "The Emigrants". [241]
Very authentic, grim account of Swedish immigrants in 19th century America. Ullman and VonSydow are both absolutely compelling. Dramatizes the hardships, both physical and emotional, and the small satisfactions. No patina of "the American dream", which couldn't have meant very much to the isolated farmers and their families who actually worked the land, fought off starvation, and struggled to make something of their lives. [232]
Ultimately boring fable about a lost space alien. Is this the best America can do? Excellent example of how even when Hollywood is most serious and expensive and "quality", it still produces vacuous shit, compared to even low-budget European or Canadian films. [227]
Bittersweet and exceptional. [170]
Odd, earnest film (and oddly earnest) about two middle-aged couples trying to grapple with sixties morality, changing spiritual and moral values, and each other. After Bob and Carol (Robert Culp and Natalie Wood) come back from an Est like experience, they initiate some daring changes in their lives and gradually draw Ted and Alice (Elliot Gould and Dyan Cannon) into some new ideas and, ultimately, wife-swapping (ironically, initiated by the most uptight member of the crew-, as a defiant gesture of, come on-- if you're so high and mighty about it... it works.) It all ends with a disappointing whimper, but remains a precious film. [131]
NATALIE WOOD, DYAN CANNON, ELLIOT GOULD, ROBERT CULP
Rather over-rated but interesting story about a photographer who becomes obsessed with a photo he may have taken of a murderer. But the more examines and enlarges the image, the less clear the picture is. [127]
Stunning, shocking, but interesting account of day in the life of a city brothel in New York. Works well as low-key realization of "normal" working day for the women. [98]
Billy Booger, Billy Booger, Billy Booger, Dolly Dolores, Vlickky Vlasci, k kdkdk, ,
Earthy, sensual adaptation of the story by ___ about young, sexually voracious woman married to older man, who falls into an affair with a hired hand. They plot to kill the old man and make it look like a car accident, but things go awry and they are immediately suspected. Refreshingly free of coy rationalizations: the young couple just WANT each other more than anything else, and what drives the movie is the way their passions take on permutations as obstacles arise, but never wane. The actual murder is a rivetting, astonishing scene. The conclusion may strike some as gratuitous. [92]
Charming low budget story of rebellious teenage girl, problems. Hilarious "Up Yer Bum" sauciness. Emily Lloyd went on to uneven films afterwards, still, at this point, trying to break into a serious adult role. The story is based on the memoirs of the madame who is the subject of Personal Services. [74]
Over-rated thriller. Loses a great deal of impact because the premises are patently absurd, though the drama is well-played out and directed. Why was it withdrawn for circulation for so many years? Damned if I know. And nobody, to my knowledge, has ever demonstrated that the type of brainwashing depicted in this film is even possible. [73]
Humanistic study of problems at inner-city high school in New York in late 1950's. [49]
Scrupulously accurate portrayal of the Titanic disaster. Acting, writing, cinematography are all first rate-- until Lightoller gets on his pulpit in the lifeboat. Vastly superior dramatically to Cameron's Titanic (1997). Based on the book by Walter Lord. Captain Lord of the Californian (no relation) sued the makers of the movie for libel but died before it went to court. [46]
KENNETH MORE
Gentle, likable film about a boy who is sent to live with some eccentric relatives in the countryside while mother tries to recover from Tuberculosis. Mother eventually dies. The boy describes his life as being only slightly better than that of Laika, the Russian dog, who died upon re-entry from outer space. Great scenes with girl-friend who illegally plays on boy's soccer team and finds it increasingly difficult to hide her breasts. [44]
Brilliant film-- under-rated because of the controversy. Very powerful drama plus the interesting idea of Christ being tempted by mere ordinariness. Marred, unfortunately, by budget limitations: crowd scenes should have been avoided altogether if they couldn't have been done better than they were. Saw it again April 2006. Didn't like the beginning much but the film kept working it's way into your mind--- really about the "choice" between spirituality (death on the cross) or carnality-- embracing the physical, sensual world in all of it's fullness. Christ is shown married, with children, aging. His life is sweet but he eventually realizes that this is the temptation-- to fully embrace life. He dies not so much to save us from our sins but to save us from the one sin-- denial of immortality. [38]
Sigourney Weaver is Ripley, a very tough, beautiful warrant officer whose crew encounters a vicious alien creature-- based on certain wasps that inject their eggs into spiders or other insects-- which incubates its young in the flesh of living humans. The sets are original, extremely striking, designed famously by H. R. Giger, with an organic, sexualized quality (the face-hugger opening suggests a vagina) that adds a powerful tension to the scenes on the planet. The Nostromo is a mining space-tug, towing a gigantic refinery stocked with ore. The crew sleep in a kind of hibernation, interrupted by a message from base: a signal has been intercepted from a nearby planet and they are obliged to investigate as it may indicate a life form of unknown origin. They arrive to find a crashed spaceship with a dead pilot, known now as the iconic "space jockey". But there is more: eggs, neatly arrayed in rows in the hold. One of them opens and launches itself at one of the crew and the horrifying adventure begins, as the alien stalks the crew one by one. Given the assumptions (space travel, cryogenic sleep, androids, etc.), "Alien" is exceptionally plausible and suspenseful. And terrifying. Probably one of the most influential films of the early 80's, especially on set design and special effects. In particular, the remorseless, instinctive behavior of the alien is refreshing: it isn't malevolent or power-mad-- it's just trying to procreate and protect it's young, like every other creature in the universe. [24]
Terribly flawed thriller about a well-to-do professional (Michael Douglas) who indulges in a casual fling with a young woman (Glenn Close) and finds that she doesn't regard the affair as casual at all, to the point of psychotic obsession. Behind the mitigated suspense is a nasty, anti-feminist assumption about the nature of marriage and sex. His indulgence is passing, mischievous, but her determination to hang on to him is homicidal. [22]
MICHAEL DOUGLAS, GLENN CLOSE
Rather creepy Schrader-like obsessively vulgar examination of two gynecologists, twin brothers, caught up in intrigue and murder. [18]
Riveting retelling of the Watergate scandal from point of view of Woodward and Bernstein, with blended documentary footage. The film sometimes attributes an unwarranted degree of sinister importance to each tidbit of evidence the reporters uncover, but over-all the drama rings true, the details seem right, and acting is superb-- particularly Jane Alexander, who won an Oscar for a screen appearance that lasted less than 9 minutes. With this film, the image of the reporter as hero reached it's zenith, and distrust and suspicion of all things to do with government began in earnest. In many ways, the cynicism of the Reagan era can be directly traced to Watergate: if you distrust government, you want less of it, not more. It is interesting to compare the portrait of the media today, as a crazed hoard of grasping hyenas, in contrast to this near sanctification of Woodward and Bernstein. [Viewed again 2017-05] Note that the film is considered meticulously accurate with a few insignificant exceptions. The security guard that discovered the burglars was played by Frank Wills the real security guard. [9]
All Contents Copyright © Bill Van Dyk 1988 All Rights Reserved
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