Archive for January, 2001

Battlefield Earth. Travolta turns fiction into pulp

Imagine a reggae production of “Robin Hood: The Prince of Thieves,” with John Travolta playing the Alan Rickman role of the Sheriff as the Frankenstein monster. Imagine “Blade Runner” with iron poor blood. Imagine a film so undeniably bad that it’s not even funny. Read the rest of this entry »

Company man

Sure must be nice to have friends like Woody Allen, who will appear in your movie even if the script sucks. Despite an impressive roster of stars, this lame comedy starring, co-written and co-directed by Douglas McGrath. McGrath stars as a mild-mannered high school teacher who, in a desperate attempt to look more like a man to his wife and in-laws, pretends to be a secret agent. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet The Parents

For anyone seriously in love, meeting the in-laws can be a traumatic experience. Will they like me? Will they hate me? What will they like about me? Am I good enough? The heightened sense of expectation can turn common, ordinary in-laws into monsters. Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review February

CONTENDER, THE (R)

Fireworks ignite in this delicious political thriller that features top notch performances and tight, taut writing and directing. Joan Allen delivers a fiery performance as Laine Hanson, a Democratic nominee for the Vice President slot. As the first woman picked to hold the coveted job after the sitting Vice President dies, Laine comes to the table with a fierce, independent spirit. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicken Run

Something fowl is happening on the Tweedy Chicken Farm, and the hens don’t like it. Birds of a feather may flock together, but the ingenious stars of “Chicken Run” have something more daring in mind. Thanks to the pluck of one hen named Ginger, the chickens are about to stage one of the most daring escapes since Steve McQueen jumped his motorcycle over a fence in “The Great Escape.” Read the rest of this entry »

Small Time Crooks

All roads lead home, so it’s not surprising that filmmaker Woody Allen returns to his roots 31 years after he wrote and directed “Take The Money And Run.”

His latest, “Small Time Crooks,” is a reflective comedy that proves everything old is new again. With the daft assurance of his earlier work and the bold strokes of his recent, “Small Time Crooks” emerges as the perfect Woody Allen film for the new millennium. Read the rest of this entry »

Repo Man

Otto (Emilio Estevez) is having a bad day. No, make that a very bad day. He loses his job as a grocery store clerk and his girlfriend, and just when he thinks his life can’t get any worse, he runs into a repo man named Bud (Harry Dean Stanton). With nothing to lose, Otto accompanies Bud on a job, and finds himself a member of an elite group of men. Eccentric is more like it. Read the rest of this entry »

Mystic River

Even though “Mystic River,” Clint Eastwood’s twenty-fourth film as a director, takes on water at the end, the journey remains a memorable experience. Based on Dennis Lehane’s page-turner, “Mystic River” benefits from a faithful, intelligent and involved screenplay by Brian Helgeland, whose keen knowledge of police and procedurals earned him an Oscar for “L.A. Confidential.” Read the rest of this entry »

U-571

Movies set inside crippled submarines are always ripe for drama. The very thought of being trapped inside a high-tech sardine can, hundreds of feet below the surface, gives me the willies. I would feel like Donald Pleasance’s character in “Fantastic Voyage,” so desperate to get out that I would lose all touch with the reality of the situation. Read the rest of this entry »

Prizzi’s Honor

After enjoying the antics of “Analyze This,” what better time to reacquaint myself with another great mob comedy, “Prizzi’s Honor.” Has it really been 14 years since director John Huston unleashed this outrageous comedy on us? Read the rest of this entry »