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. As one of New York’s two mob bosses, Vitti must maintain an image of strength. Seeing a therapist might help him overcome his stress, but to his rivals it would be a declaration of weakness that could ignite a hostile take over of his business. The trick is to find a therapist he can see on the sly, and that’s where Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) comes in. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always admired television stars like Mary Tyler Moore, the cast of “M*A*S*H” and more recently Ray Romano, who would rather close up shop while at the top than beat their shows to death until they become an embarrassment. Read the rest of this entry »

If history has taught us but one thing, it is every time Robin Williams plays a dramatic role in a film with three words in the title, he’s Oscar bound. Look at his relationship with Oscar: “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Dead Poet’s Society,” “The Fisher King,” and finally a win for “Good Will Hunting. Read the rest of this entry »

“Is that another chicken joke?” Not since Joanne Worley bellowed that line on “Laugh-In” has fowl been so chic. After roosting with the fine feathered friends of “Chicken Run” for an hour-and-a-half, you would assume that you’ve heard and seen every chicken joke and pun imaginable. Read the rest of this entry »

“Lethal Weapon 4” was the first film I’ve ever known to gross $140 million and be considered a disappointment. Perhaps it was because the film cost something like $100 million to make and market, and that the major players had a first piece of the pie deal in place before agreeing to reprise their roles. Read the rest of this entry »

t’s hard to believe that “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is over fifty years old. It doesn’t look a day over thirty. Honestly, someone took good care of the Technicolor negative that was used to strike this DVD. Aside from the visible reel change marks and a couple of small scratches, the negative is absolutely beautiful. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but not nearly as frightful as “Jack Frost,” possibly the oddest and least comforting holiday family film to come around since David Cronenberg’s “Crash.” Read the rest of this entry »

Director Henry King brought the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical “Carousel” to the screen with all of its heartbreak and whimsy, and using a combination of fanciful studio sets and location shots, managed to create a musical that is pure fantasy but has an edge of reality to it. Read the rest of this entry »

How sad. It took 10 films, 1979’s “Moonraker,” for the James Bond franchise to become a parody of itself.

With the third film in the spy spoof series, “Austin Powers in Goldmember” has officially become a parody of itself, which when you consider that Powers was originally conceived as a parody of the Bond franchise, that is not a good thing. Read the rest of this entry »

Laura Garrety (Cameron Diaz) is a woman who won’t be denied. She has waited 27 years to get married, and she won’t let a little thing like a bachelor party get in her way. Which explains her reluctance when fiancee Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau) announces that his buddies are taking him to Las Vegas for one final blowout. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Kyle. Read the rest of this entry »