In movies, as in life, there’s nothing worse than overstaying your welcome. Think back on how you felt when your relatives came to visit and wouldn’t leave. That is how I felt about “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” an engaging thriller that is also a little long in the tooth. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1977, I attended a press screening of John Frankenheimer’s “Black Sunday” at the Village Theater in Westwood. Fifteen minutes after we were let into the theater, we were asked to immediately exit. While standing out in the cold, we were told that the theater had received a bomb threat. Seems the terrorist organization depicted in the film didn’t like the final cut. Read the rest of this entry »

“Panic Room” is an occasionally intense, stylish thriller that demands you suspend disbelief and logic in order to appreciate what is on the screen. It’s a movie that only works in the moment. The second you leave the theater it all falls apart. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who has had the displeasure of sitting in a prefabricated office cubicle with no view and the hum of the florescent overhead lights sucking the very soul out of you will identify with an even appreciate the humor of “Office Space.” Read the rest of this entry »

Grey skies are going to clear up, but not before writer-director P.T. Anderson drags his characters through heaven and hell in “Magnolia.” One half biblical epic, one half human opera, “Magnolia” emerges as one of the best films of 1999. Read the rest of this entry »

I saw writer-director John Sayles’ newest film today. It was called “Limbo.” It should have been called “Limp Dick.” The film is nothing more than a tease. Like great sex, it lathers you all up into a frenzy. Instead of reaching a climax, it becomes impotent, leaving you unfulfilled and angry. Read the rest of this entry »

In this age of instant information, rabid paparazzi, and tabloid television, it’s virtually impossible for anyone who is someone to keep a secret. Winona Ryder supposedly gets caught shoplifting, and it’s not just news, it’s the topic of conversation on talk shows for weeks. I bet Winona wished she could control the press. Read the rest of this entry »

As someone who frequently travels back and forth through time, I immediately learned what ever I tampered with in the past affected my present. Corey Feldman? Totally my fault. The unfortunate result of too much tequila and an attempt to own a freshly minted first edition of Mad Magazine. Don’t ask. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to imagine the Pink Panther films without Peter Sellers, whose fumbling Inspector Clouseau ranks as one of the funniest film creations in memory. Other have tried to imitate Sellers, yet he was so perfect as Clouseau that any one else pales by comparison. Read the rest of this entry »

Elmore Leonard is such a great pulp writer it’s a shame when Hollywood mangles his words. Every now and then they get it right, but for every “Get Shorty” and “Out of Sight” there’s a “52 Pick-Up” and “Stick” hanging around like a lead weight. Read the rest of this entry »