“Slums of Beverly Hills” is one big grin, an awkwardly funny tale that proves that no matter how low you rate on the social scale, you can always depend on family. Even when I doubted writer-director Tamara Jenkins’ sincerity, I still found “Slums of Beverly Hills” entertaining and morbidly funny. Read the rest of this entry »

Corporate responsibility and greed have ruined horror movies. Pressured by public and political groups to clean up their act and stop marketing adult material to teenagers, Hollywood has gone to such extremes to comply that most of the horror films of the last couple of years feel like shadows of their former self. Instead of making and marketing R-Rated horror films that obviously appeal to teenagers, Hollywood now makes PG-13-Rated horror films so they can have their cake and eat it too.
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Robots is a junkyard joy, a dazzling, gee whiz computer animated tale from the director of Ice Age. Set in a presumably futuristic world inhabited by robots of every shape, size and mechanical appendage, Robots is packed full of satisfying visuals and intricately designed riffs. Read the rest of this entry »

I was never a big fan of mathematics. Oh sure I learned the basics. I was even forced to take calculus and algebra to get in to college. You know what? I’ve never had the need to square root anything in my life. Never. The only density I worry about is in my butt and gut. Math may have its place in the universe, but my planet has never felt the need to orbit around it. Read the rest of this entry »

In this age of political correctness, there are no longer losers, just winners. Don’t believe me? Ask the back-slapping folks who hand out the annual Academy Awards. Actors, writers, directors, editors, all looking for an edge to make the final cut. Campaign advertisements, screeners, talk show appearances. Read the rest of this entry »

I was so thrilled with the release of “My Fair Lady” on DVD that I just had to sing. How else could I explain this jubilant feeling I have inside? “My Fair Lady” is one of my favorite musicals. I have seen it countless times, with numerous leads, and I never tire of seeing it over. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty-eight years after Sidney Poitier chowed down with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, guess who’s coming to dinner? Why it’s none other than That 70’s Show Ashton Kutcher and comedian Bernie Mac, proving that interracial relationships are still grist for the mill. Unlike the groundbreaking 1967 comedy, which had something relevant to say about the subject, Guess Who plays the idea strictly for laughs, sidestepping all but superficial social ramifications. Read the rest of this entry »

In Hollywood, the young teacher Nell (Angela Bettis) and her husband, the resident Steven Barrows (Brent Roam), move to an old building called Lusman Arms. Some sixty years ago, the place was glamorous, but presently is completely decadent, inclusive many dwellers have disappeared along the years. While her husband is working in the hospital, the lonely Nell hears some weird noises and becomes afraid of the place Read the rest of this entry »

On the surface, “From Hell” may seem like a radical departure for filmmaking twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes. Upon closer inspection, this marriage of gothic horror and the urban sensibilities of the directors of “Menace II Society” makes perfect sense. Read the rest of this entry »

Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne’s bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns Read the rest of this entry »

Halfway through Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” a character is impaled and then dragged to his doom by the headless horseman. Towards the end of “Sleepy Hollow,” the film’s hero, Ichabod Crane, finds himself being dragged by a carriage during a fight with the horseman. Read the rest of this entry »

When John McNaughton was hired to direct “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” he was a distributor for MPI Home Video. When McNaughton completed “Henry,” Chuck Parello, another MPI employee, was assigned to market the film. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all of life’s romantic pleasures, to me the most erotic is passion. A lot of people mistake lust for passion. Real passion goes beyond superficial sex. It totally inhabits the individual, rendering them helpless. Real passion creates a heat wave that sears through everything else. Read the rest of this entry »

Global warming. Personally, I blame the big hair bands of the 1980’s. Melting polar ice caps. Unpredictable weather. Severe storms. Biblical floods. Where did they think all of those free- floating fluorocarbons went? A decade of Twisted Sister and Night Ranger in exchange for a new ice age. Sounds like a fair trade to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Stan Ross was a baseball superstar who turned his back on the game years ago when he finally hit 3,000 hits. Years later, he’s now a successful, self-made entrepreneur whose many businesses revolve around his title: Mr. 3000 Read the rest of this entry »