Aimless, pointless character comedy about pair of blonde dips who decide to pretend to be more successful than they really are at their high school reunion. Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudro seemed more appealling than this in their other work. Good jokes are few and far between, and almost everything else is predictable and tired. [890]
MIRA SORVINO, LISA KUDRO, JANEANE GAROFALO
Compelling composite portrait of a Mafia crime family in New York from the 1940's to the mid 1960's. Well-acted and filmed, except, of course, for Marlon Brando's miscalculated cotton-mouthed mumblings as the senior Corleone (which MAD magazine lampooned so deftly in thier "The OddFather"). The film is vulnerable, however, to charges that it glorifies crime. It is clear that the "heroes" of the film are the Corleone family, and the villains are rival families and corrupt police. The film staggeringly omits dramatization of the pain and suffering of the victims of organized crime, while inviting the audience to grieve when a Corleone takes a hit. Yet it does raise legitimate questions about the source of authority and justice in a society in which the police and city governments are sometimes indistinquishable from criminals. Violent and suspenseful and Coppola never lets the action rest too long. [706]
Intriguing, unusual film about a man's obsession with videotaping women about love and sex, leading to marital problems for his friends. Andie MacDowell is intriguing and provocative. [703]
Shocking, sometimes rivetting World War II drama about an American soldier who links up with an amoral girl, Emily Lloyd, who, enraptured by the sights and sounds of violence all around her, wants to get in on the killing. Seems to lose focus half-way through, but some interesting concepts, and Lloyd is a compelling presense. [658]
Shocking, well-made film about IRA terrorist who falls for the girl-friend of the British soldier he murders. He sneaks off to England to visit her and becomes obsessed. She is fascinating. The film pulls off a difficult feat in achieving an extraordinary shock. It also manages to hang that shocking revelation on some interesting ideas about violence and revenge and politics. [631]
Somewhat tiresome formulaic story of cat, golden retriever, and other dog that get separated from their family and undergo a strenuous journey to return home. [629]
Well-intentioned document about the formation of a "girl's" baseball league in 1943, to replace the men who were off to war. Makes some good statements about beauty when scout doesn't want to sign a homely-looking woman who can slug, and the players are forced to wear skirts. Non-exploitive and sincere. I sometimes wished it would have demonstrated a bit more thoughtfulness about the effects of feminism on subsequent history. A bit maudlin near the end. One very touching, insightful scene: a black woman picks up a fouled ball and hurls it back while Davis looks on... you know what she's thinking: another representative of the excluded and downtrodden. Rosie O'Donnell is very good, very funny. All the players did their own stunts and the bruises shown are real. [628]
ROSIE O'DONNELL, DAVID STRATHAIRN, LORI PETTY, JON LOVITZ, BILL PULLMAN
Very interestingly filmed, slow-paced, suspenser about a couple whose daughter drowns in the family pond. Attempting to rebuild their lives, they escape to Venice, only to encounter a series of bizarre, unsettling incidents. The wife develops a mystical belief in daughter's persistence, and a psychic tells her that her husband is in danger. But the ending! What is the point of the dwarf dressed in the red mack? Random violence? Revenge? A plot by the fortune-teller? Unsatisfying conclusion to a sometimes fascinating film. Based on story by Daphne DuMaurier. [627]
We finally saw it. Helen picked it up from the library. It is of course, technically, well filmed, well-lit, and shot in the gorgeous scenery of Austria. It is also just as facile and stupid as I remember it being. [626]
Surprising film, starts out sloppy, slowly becomes more and more unexpected and interesting, building layer upon layer of sophistication until it becomes genuinely moving at times. Cheap production values; Andee MacDowell is not flattered by the lighting and cinematography, but remains charming and quite one of the most appealling faces on film. Murray is funny and actually rather convincing as the boor who very slowly makes a convincing change for the better, without becoming mawkish or insincere. Enjoyable. [624]
Tedious, aimless film about decadent police lieutenant's rather quick and improbably decline. This film ignores the day-to-day obligations of police officer to try to make decadence more convincing. Instead, it becomes less convincing. Keitel doesn't seem to find his stride either. What is the point of the world series games anyway, except for the most obvious. Did it lift nun rape scene from Hill Street Blues? [623]
Enchanting, playful film about toy company left to a general, who attempts to use it to create war toys that really kill and destroy. Robin Williams is starting to make a career out of down-playing himself. That may be the right strategy for an acting career, but in this film he hasn't created anything new to take the place of the frantic free-wheeling side he displays in earlier work. The romantic interest seems gratuitous. Intelligently written however, and the first half is spectacularly film, magical, stunning. [622]
Has obviously lost a great deal of shock value over the years. Unmemorable musical with rock score, really a parody of horror films, with transvestites who really seem to believe themselves to be so endearingly shocking and sophisticated. Rather boring, actually, after a while. [621]
Brilliant, though not without shortcomings. A lot of Allen's power derives from the simple honesty of his presentation. Reminds one constantly how contrived most Hollywood emotional dramas are. [620]
Unusual film about two French officers who hate each other with an over-riding passion, that continues throughout the Napoleonic wars. Based on Conrad's "The Duel", and clearly about the senselessness of violence and hatred. Beautifully filmed. [618]
Impressive, grandly scaled biography of Pu Li the last emperor of China, his priveleged seclusion in the forbidden city in Bejing, and his disastrous flirtation with Japanese after they conquered Manchuria. Beautifully filmed, but marred by excessive detachment, probably because Bertolucci was oblidged to be politically correct in his portraiture. [617]
Entertaining but surprisingly predictable-- if there is such a thing. About a basketball coach in small Indiana town who leads his team to State Finals. You keep thinking there is going to be a big surprise, but there isn't, though the movie also avoids the most contemptible forms of audience manipulation. Rugged, honest style. [616]
Hilarious, funny, and surprisingly provocative (after all these years). "Plot" concerns Groucho as head of a small college trying to beat rival at football, while keeping his son out of trouble. [615]
Sensual, spectacular fairy tale, sometimes confused, sometimes elegant, mostly rather miscalculated. How did Cruise ever salvage his reputation after this piece? [614]
Taut thriller about mild-mannered professional who moves into an apartment recently rented by a suicidal young woman. He begins to take over her identity, and is eventually driven to madness by paranoia, obsessions. [613]
An aging Italian architect recalls a failed affair with a Russian woman, and problems with his marriage to wealthy banker's daughter. Wistful and amusing, and well-acted. Beautifully filmed, but not particularly strong in narrative. [612]
Lush, visually attractive, well-acted, well-written, and nicely directed. Is it a great film? I don't know. The viewer is deceived into thinking that a subtle and nuanced view of British upper class life in the early 20th century is a subtle and nuanced film with meaning. It's still fun to watch good actors and directors at work, but I'm not sure there isn't less here than meets the eye. Watched again 2022. Still feels the same way: a class, polished, artistically rendered story but with elusive content. See it as a well-made character study, the "character" being British class. It's not a direct attack, as if it's creators aren't sure they don't want to be there, but more of an awareness of the inherent injustices built in to the class structure, particularly around the way Margaret and Helen stumble into creating a disaster for Charles with bad advice. [611]
One of the more repulsive products of 1982 features Sharon Stone as a supposedly intelligent writer who may or may not have committed several gruesome murders, and Michael Douglas as (what else) a tough cop who "doesn't play by the rules". Give us all a break, please. Mindless, exploitive, and homophobic. Ambiguous ending tries to have it both ways and fails both ways. Sharon Stone is very sexy and far more compelling than Douglas whose stereo-typed tough guy image has now exceeded Stallone's in terms of self-parody. A repellent little whiney creep. [610]
Very exciting and visually stunning sci-fi story about a man who recreates dinosaurs from DNA found in mosquitoes locked in amber for 10 billion years. Technically, absolutely the most brilliant special effects of all time. The story itself becomes increasingly improbable and even stupid at points. The scene of the T-Rex attacking the travellers in the jeeps is vintage Spielberg, taught, purposeful, and superbly editted. [609]
Fascinating documentary style parody of senatorial campaign by a new wave conservative, Bob Roberts, who models himself on Bob Dylan (even releasing albums called "The FreeWheelin' Bob Roberts" and "The Times They Are A'Changin' Back". Hilarious, wise, and sometimes wicked. Great songs very well performed, by the director, writer, .... Fun. [608]
Charming if not quite believable story of adolescent girl who travels from Chicago to Seattle in the Depression to be reunited with Lumberjack dad. A lot of Disney contrivance but Salenger is compelling and credible. [607]
Bergman is good as Anastasia. By some accounts, this movie plays fast and loose with history, but works dramatically partly because of the fascination with the story. Yul Brynner, however, is, as always obnoxious. Helen Hayes is excellent. Bergman plays a character based on Anna Anderson, the woman (who later emigrated to the U.S.) who claimed to be Anastasia. She is found wandering the streets of ... well, some European city... on the verge of madness, when Yul Brynner picks her up, planning to try to pass her off as the Princess Anastasia! The plan goes astray-- the Russian aristocrats who escaped the revolution are unconvinced-- until she meets the Grand Duchess, Anastasia's real grandmother. In real life, we now know that Anastasia did die in the fuscillade in the basement of that house. The question is, where's Alexey? His bones were never found. [606]
Charming and lively story about 6 women who in Southern U.S. and how they support each other emotionally through many years of trial and tribulation. Well written, well-acted, and generally earnest, though men's roles are decidely minimized, leaving the impression that they sat around the house watching television all day and had no emotional involvement with families. [605]
Dark, fascinatingly filmed story about a deeply religious girl who is raped and murdered and how her father exacts his revenge when the perpetrators inadvertently arrive at his house expecting to be housed for the night. Explores the nature of religious belief, violence, revenge, and grace (or the lack of it). [603]
Entertaining, erotic comedy about a widow who takes over husbands restaurant but is a terrible cook. One day, truck-driver Goro and sidekick drop in, take on a rude thug, and stay to help her cook the best noodles in Japan. Many scenes parody well-know westerns and musicals. Thoroughly enjoyable. [602]
Intense study of a disaffected youth, Antonine Doinel, who slides from school miscreant to juvenile delinquent. Autobiographical elements from Truffaut; authentic and honest and low-key. Last scene is justly celebrated as one of the most memorable in film. It may strike the viewer quite so intensely today, due to the way it has been shamelessly stolen by other directors. The Truffaut films, especially this one, are important to cinema buffs for the tremendous influence they had on film-making around the world, and still do today, especially on independent films. Truffaut, like other members of the French "new wave" shot outside, away from the studio, frequently improvising his story along to accommodate the immediate, dynamic environment. As a result, New Wave films, like independent films today, seem far more "real" and less contrived and packaged like Hollywood films. [599]
Movie about two gay men about to separate, and sub-plot about a mutual friend who has AIDS. Primarily note-worthy as a very openly homosexual film. The director, Sherwood, died of AIDS himself several years after making this film. Interesting, but not especially compelling. [598]
Somewhat scary but compelling drama about two very young brothers forced to deal with father's desertion, a move to California, an abusive step-father, and vicious neighborhood bullies. They retreat into fantasy, of building the "radio flyer", a magical flying wagon, to help the youngest escape. Fine well-made film but too reminiscent at times of "Stand By Me", particularly in use of narration. The ending is enigmatic and suggestive, and somewhat startling. Is this really a kids film? [597]
Over-rated comedy about widow, Cher, who decides to accept marriage proposal from stodgy older man, only to fall in love with this black sheep brother. I've tried to see Cher sympathetically, but I really don't think she got a grip on this role. The movie is really an update of "Mid-summer Night's Dream" though I didn't see this acknowledged in any of the reviews. Dukakis and Gardenia are good, as is Danny Aiello. Watched again in 2013. Actually, it's quite well- written and occasionally funny but the comments about Cher's acting stands: her attempt at Brooklyn - Italian accent is clearly a failure. But the rest of the cast is good and it has it's moments. [595]
Very entertaining comedy about a college student who becomes mixed up with a "Don", played with self-amusement by Marlon Brando, and his daughter Tina, and various other crazies in New York. Worth the price of admission for the outrageous Bert Parks rendition of "Maggie's Farm" alone! The rest is a bit uneven, but there's enough freshness and humour to keep it going. The ending stiffs you a little: why this compulsive need in movies to tie everything up so neatly? You feel a bit cheated from what is otherwise a sharp little film. [594]
PENELOPE ANN MILLER, BRUNO KIRBY, PAUL BENEDICT
Pretty dumb film about an immortal man who battles his arch foe into the 20th century and makes love to a nice-looking redhead. Didn't see it in its entirety and don't ever plan to. [591]
Bizarre concoction of eroticism and sci-fi, with Fonda as mystical female whose overwhelming sexual potency causes chaos in 41st century planet she visits to find "Duran Duran". I missed a few parts. Fonda is a tease, but CITY didn't reveal parts of her anatomy I hadn't seen before. [590]
Predictable but entertaining story about a high school student who fakes illness to go downtown with friends in Chicago. Unpretentious with some nice light touches. [March 11, 1993] I watched this film again recently. It is a difficult work to assess. There is a moment-- when Ferris leads half the City of Chicago in a lip-synced rendition of the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout"-- that the movie reaches an epiphany of surreal giddiness and becomes a hallucinatory celebration of impulse and imagination and spirit. You know that this scene can't possibly be happening-- it's not merely improbable: it's over-the-top, ridiculous, completely outrageous-- but it completes something that started with Ferris talking to the audience at the very beginning. It's as if Ferris' fantasies co-exist rationally with the real conditions and limitations of his life. He can be what he wants because he projects himself onto the lives of everyone around him and manages to accommodate them within their own fantasies, if they want to be accommodated. The kids at school begin raising money for his kidney transplant, the police send him flowers, the polka queens know how to boogie to rock'n'roll... Not everything works-- the restaurant scene doesn't-- but it's got enough verve and spirit to keep you interested and hyped. And then everything crashes. I don't mean the movie ends up a complete dud. It doesn't. But Hughes suddenly decides he needs more than a flight of fantasy to make a film out of this, so, after neglecting the interesting Cameron for about 3/4 of the film, he suddenly turns the spotlight onto the unhappy boy, gives him a dysfunctional family (the same one that belongs to the characters of "The Breakfast Club") and has him commit a mindless act of destruction, to prove that Ferris has saved his soul and liberated his spirit. It takes too long, it's too gratuitous, and Hughes makes too big a deal out of it. It's as if Hughes couldn't trust his audience to make the necessary connections for themselves: he has to make the Ferrari a spectacular symbol of Ferris' warm-heartedness, and then, to really bring the film to a kludging halt, he has Sloane "realize" that this was what Ferris had intended all along. What was good and true and wonderful about the rest of the movie sinks under this burden, and it isn't even fun anymore to watch Dean Rooney's humiliation at the end, when he thinks he has finally caught Ferris playing hookey. You can't "unlike" the first half of this film. Cameron and Sloane are wonderful complements to Ferris' craziness: they acknowledge his outrageousness without that manipulative coyness you so often see in secondary characters in movies about stars or clowns. It's worth seeing "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" but you can understand why many critics don't like Hughes' films. [584]
Another big Hollywood production that trades in truth and integrity like any other pimp. About a Navy lawyer (Cruise) who is assigned to defend two marines accused of "Code Red"-- internal discipline of a fellow marine, which resulted in death. Based on a real incident in which 9 enlisted men performed "code red" on another marine injuring him. The real ringleader, David Cox, was acquitted, and eventually murdered! (Unsolved). Compromises everywhere for cheap dramatic effect. Good performances by Nicholson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kevin Bacon are wasted. Cruise is tedious and tendentious, making an utterly implausible transformation from irresponsible dissolute to disciplined courtroom mastermind, on the specious logic that his conscience is aroused by the flagrant injustice Demi Moore calls to his attention. Not many films are as badly damaged by the mediocre performances of its stars (both Moore and Cruise) as this one. Once Cruise is transformed, Demi Moore is suddenly relegated to the traditional subservient, hero-worshipping Barbie Doll. Was this really directed by Rob Reiner? Rewatched 2024-11: probably better than I initially thought. The script is actually fairly good-- the dialogue between lawyers, judge, and defendants tends to hang well. But Cruise and Moore are both pathetic. Clearly, someone wanted a romance there, but apparently Sorkin and Reiner fought the idea. Nicholson and Bacon are okay to good. Revised from 6 to 7.4. [583]
JACK NICHOLSON
Entertaining story about a princess who runs away, gets lost, gets rescued by newspaperman Peck who senses a great story. She tries to pass herself off as a commoner for a few hours for fun. Marred by sentimental conclusion, by Hepburn is lovely, Eddie Albert is enjoyable as a crafty photographer. Was Peck miscast? I think so. He really isn't a very funny man in a role that called for some self-mockery. [581]
Pure thriller, with allusions to post-apocalptic world. Mad Max is a violent individualistic rover who teams up with a group of nomads to transport precious gasoline 2000 miles to a supposed civilization somewhere, while evil thugs try to take it. Good action sequences, but somewhat unsatisfying. Very violent. [580]
A brooding, dark, austere, colourless look at life in a convent. This is a biography of Therese, a fifteen-year-old girl who receives special permission to join a Carmelite convent, endures privations, contracts tuberculosis and dies. She was later canonized by the church. The film is very simple and static, mysterious at times, often fascinating, but also frustrating. Does it really tell us enough about these women, or Therese? It certainly attracts attention, but I'm not sure it delivers. It certainly does give you a fascinating glimpse inside a Carmelite convent. [579]
Above average drama about child abuse/incest, with Hindle effective as father, Kate Nelligan and Rosemary Dunsmore very good as Crown attorney and mother. Ultimately predictable but holds the view in suspense with extraordinary precision of imprecisions, i.e., some of the women, including the child's teacher, are a little too eager to press charges. [578]
Very amusing film about two men, Curtis and Lemmon, on the lam from the mob, hiding out disguised as women in an all-girl orchestra. Filmed in black and white because make-up made actors hideous. Marilyn is luminescent and the script is taut and very funny. Hilarious last shot when Joe E. Brown as millionaire discovers that the "woman" he's been courting is Jack Lemmon in drag-- and doesn't care. [577]
Set in 16th century Japan, a thief is persuaded to take the place of a dead warlord by his circle of generals/allies, who fear a general uprising if word leaks out. Every scene is a pictorial gem, the action rivetting. Kurosawa puts more implied action in static shots than anyone after Chaplin. [573]
KENICHI HAGIWARA
Absolutely one of the worst films ever made. [565]
Highly reminiscent of Don Shebib's "Going Down the Road", but nearly as appealling. The problem is the central character is just totally blank, vacant, unmotivated, thoughtless, and doesn't even possess the virtue of self-consciousness or sensitivity. Story concerns a garbage truck driver who falls for a lonely and unglamourous check-out girl at a grocery store. Then what? Not much. [562]
Earnest but ultimately failed attempt to bring Laurence's highly regarded novel to the screen. The acting is stilted, every scene filmed with undue portent, self-consciously profound, and unengaging. The director failed to take the large volume of material under control and discipline it to cinematic form. [561]
Charming, serious look at modern relationships. Demi Moore plays Debbie, who meets and quickly sleeps with Danny (Lowe) and then struggles to establish a relationship with him, with usual ups and downs. Perkins and James Belushi are cynical counterpoints and try to sabotage the relationship for selfish reasons. This film is more poignant than it deserves to be, because of Moore's sexy vulnerability and Lowe's convincing ambivalence, and probably because it was written by the formidable David Mamet (See Glengarry Glen Ross). The film is striking because it was one of the first to present a frankly modern view of relationships. This is not the 50's or early 60's. People fall in lust with each other and then move in, without necessarily knowing all that much about their new partners. Both Danny and Debbie are ultimately self-interested. It is plain that the minute the relationship doesn't work for either of them, it is over. Mamet makes it seem as if it is important they give each other chance, without the interference of friends or family, but it is not clear that there will be anything to hold them together once the initial physical attraction wears out. They are giving up the one-night-stands for one extended night stand. But the dialogue is punchy and compellingly believable and frank (discussing, at one point, Tampax, periods, and who sleeps on the wet spot on the bed after sex) the film's greatest asset is its de-romanticization of romance, and fundamental honesty about the factors that go into young relationships. [557]
Restrained, slick story of chauffeur's daughter, Audrey Hepburn, courted by two wealthy brothers played by Bogart and Holden. Hepburn is better than I expected, and more engaging than in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Not an especially wonderful film, but solid, well-written. Unfortunately, Bogart looks like an old man, and Holden looks like a desperate old man, and both of them look like predators when they come anywhere near Audrey Hepburn. And Holden really doesn't present anything in his character that looks like impulsive or reckless or passionate or spontaneous. Really quite disturbing-- why is Hollywood so damned desperate to get famous old actors into roles that are completely unsuited for them? Note also the sexual innuendo, always between the lines in this Hayes Code (1954) film. Sabrina, having lived in Paris for two years, comes back more "sophisticated", a woman, not a girl. David brings champagne to the tennis court. Sabrina doesn't even seem to care that David is engaged and dances closely with him at the engagement party. Really deserves to be watched carefully, but, like I said, the casting is off-putting. [556]
All Contents Copyright © Bill Van Dyk 1993 All Rights Reserved
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