One of my favorite films of all time, “Field of Dreams” is a celebration of life, baseball, and of fathers and sons. Written for the screen and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, “Field of Dreams” is quintessential entertainment. It entertains, informs, and provides a cathartic emotional release. Read the rest of this entry »

The first question is why. Why do people pay $45 to see four guys imitate The Beatles? Why is one of the longest running shows in Las Vegas a revue of celebrity impersonators? Is it because people feel the need to connect with their nostalgic roots? Read the rest of this entry »

After attending an evening of drinking and flirting at a Christmas party, Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise) and his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) retire to their swank Central Park West apartment for a little dope smoking and mind games. Read the rest of this entry »

As a film critic, I always find myself looking beyond the projected image. I’m constantly asked if dissecting a film detracts from my enjoyment of it. Hardly. A well constructed film holds up under any scrutiny. Unlike most audience members, I also derive pleasure in knowing how the filmmakers arrived at this point. Read the rest of this entry »

Extremely lightweight comedy about a two-time felon trying to avoid a Third Strike. It’s not as easy as Rob Douglas (Brian Hooks) thinks, as his career criminal buddies keep trying to draw him over to the wrong side of the law. Having just been released from prison, Douglas makes every effort to stay clean, knowing that one more strike could send him away for a very long time. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite good intentions, Hollywood filmmakers cannot resist the temptation to water down demanding subject matter into mainstream entertainment. War films are especially troubling, mostly because writers and directors feel the need to humanize the characters by allowing them to stop dead in their tracks and express their emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

You’re much too talented to be wasting time on sluggish potboilers like “High Times” and “Twisted.” Formulaic, derivative, and completely boneheaded, the script for “Twisted” should never have made it past a studio reader, much less someone with their client’s best interests in mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Talk about an easy pitch. Imagine selling “Mona Lisa Smile” to a studio. What’s it about? Well, it’s “Dead Poet’s Society” with chicks. So it’s a chick flick? Not really, it’s a people flick. Who’s attached? Julia Roberts. Good choice, Oscar winner, can open a film. Who does she play? Read the rest of this entry »

Who let the dogs out? Welcome to Hollywood’s Hall of Shame, late August, a favorite dumping ground for mindless movies. No, this isn’t a case of saving the best for last. On the contrary, the Dog Days of Summer are reserved for films aimed at audiences not smart enough to sneak out of town for one last hurrah. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of characters in Sin City lose their head, and if you’ re a fan of the graphic novels, you’ ll probably lose your head too over Frank Miller’s Sin City, pulp fiction so thick and perverse it literally oozes off the theater screen. Director Robert Rodriguez, the independent firebrand who changed the face of low budget cinema with El Mariachi and Spy Kids, doesn’t borrow from Miller’s series of graphic novels about the thugs, pugs and jugs. Read the rest of this entry »

In “Extreme Ops,” a team of extreme sports enthusiasts have been hired by a commercial director to outrun an avalanche in the Austrian Alps. You know “Extreme Ops” is a bad film when you root for the avalanche. Read the rest of this entry »

I have two confessions to make. The first one is that I am a big “Beach Blanket Bingo” fan. Not just “Beach Blanket Bingo,” but “Beach Party,” “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini,” “Muscle Beach Party” and just about every film with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. Read the rest of this entry »

The logistics of getting a whole baseball stadium to do the wave are staggering. Imagine trying to get the whole Eastern seaboard of the United States to do the wave simultaneously. That’s the task of director Mimi Leder, who capably brings the first of this season’s two comet movies to the big screen. “Deep Impact” takes a human look at an extinction level event, the threat of a comet the size of Manhattan colliding with Earth. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1966, filmmaker Woody Allen released “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?” Originally a dreadful Japanese spy thriller released to take advantage of the James Bond phenomenon, Allen re-edited and re-dubbed the film to turn it into a satirical comedy sending up the genre. Read the rest of this entry »

One look at Wayne (Robert Redford) and Eileen Hayes (Helen Mirren) confirms the existence of the American dream. Successful, proud parents and grandparents, a good home and a good life. Look closer and you’ll notice dings in their perfect marriage, distance between them and their children, and an American dream that’s about to become a nightmare. Read the rest of this entry »