Archive for May, 1999

Titanica

While I’m writing this review of “Titanica” on DVD, I’m listening to one of those flashback CD’s. The song currently playing is “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon. Great song, but what if the CD label decided to chop the song in half. No real reason. Just “Slip out the back Jack” and then nada. Read the rest of this entry »

Hilary and Jackie

It is a common practice in Hollywood to save Oscar-worthy films and release them at the end of the year, where they will be fresh in the minds of voting members of the Academy. That’s why there is always a proliferation of personal dramas and epic undertakings crowding theaters the last two weeks of December. Read the rest of this entry »

A Perfect Murder

Alfred Hitchcock was such a great director that whenever he put his stamp on a property, it became his own. Which is why a lot of people forget that Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller “Dial M For Murder” was a successful stage play before he brought it to the screen. Some say it’s sacrilege to tamper with Hitchcock’s masterpieces, which explains the uproar that followed the announcement that director Gus Van Sant was working on a shot-by-shot remake of “Psycho.” Christopher Reeve received less flack for his remake of “Rear Window,” while Danny DeVito got more laughs than thrown tomatoes for turning “Strangers on a Train” into “Throw Momma From the Train.
Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review June

DEAD HUSBANDS (PG-13)

Better-than-average made-for-cable comedy stars John Ritter as a husband who suspects that his wife is trying to kill him. Well, that’s not exactly the truth. True, Dr. Carter Elston’s (Ritter) wife Alex (Nicollette Sheridan) wants out of the marriage, but she never figured that murder would be an option. Read the rest of this entry »

Analyze This

Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) is going through a mid-life crisis, and like most men his age, he’s having a tough time dealing with the stress. Under normal circumstances, Vitti would turns to a professional therapist for help. That’s the rub.
Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review June

HI-LO COUNTRY, THE (R)

Set in New Mexico just after the end of World War II, director Stephen Frears’ western is pleasant mix of drama and romance. Although it is never entirely successful in its delivery, “The Hi-Lo Country” emerges as an excellent platform for such artists as Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup and Patricia Arquette to stretch their collective acting muscle. Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review July

ADVENTURES OF YOUNG BRAVE, THE (PG)

Congenial family adventure stars Ashley Peldon and Zachary Browne as two friends who are assisted in their search for gold by the spirit of a Native American, played with gusto by Raoul Trujillo. Read the rest of this entry »

A Shot in the Dark

With the immense success of “The Pink Panther,” writer-director Blake Edwards immediately went to work on a sequel, adapting a French stage farce into a workable screenplay (co-written with William Peter Blatty) that would feature Peter Sellers as the clumsy Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Even though Sellers co- starred with David Niven in the first film, his Inspector Clouseau was obviously the real star, and this film took full advantage of Sellers’ unique talents.
Read the rest of this entry »

Mean Streets

1973 was a seminal year for films and film makers. When you compare his competition, it’s amazing that director Martin Scorsese’s first studio feature “Mean Streets” even found an audience. Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review May

CURVE, THE (R)

Even though they share the same theme, compared to “Dead Man on Campus,” “The Curve” is a classic. The difference between the dumb-dumb “Dead Man” and the smart and sassy “The Curve” is night and day. Read the rest of this entry »