Archive for February, 2001

Films Review March

SWIM FAN (PG-13)

Standing pool side in his black Speedos, hair wet and water dripping down his chest, Jesse Bradford (Clockstoppers) looks like another in a long line of post-pubescent Calvin Kline underwear models. Read the rest of this entry »

Arachnophobia

I used to raise tarantulas, so spiders really don’t give me the creeps. I’ve always believed in live and let live, and will more often than not try to move an indoor spider back outdoors instead of squashing it. Potato Bugs are another story. They give me the creeps. Honestly. So for me to thoroughly enjoy the giddy nature of “Arachnophobia,” the directing debut of producer Frank Marshall, I just envisioned the creepy crawlies in the film as Potato Bugs. Mission accomplished, as I found “Arachnophobia” to be a fun-filled adventure with enough chills and thrills to satisfy most audiences. Read the rest of this entry »

Rodgers and hammerstein’s carousel

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 »

The Watcher

“The Watcher” is the cinematic equivalent of going to a moderately-priced restaurant, ordering a decent meal, only to have it just lie there on your plate. You’re not expecting haute cuisine, but you do expect your meal to have some flavor. Instead, it’s blander than Brittany Spears. Read the rest of this entry »

Bull Durham

“Bull Durham” is a romantic comedy about America’s other favorite pastime. The first is baseball, but there’s plenty to root for on and off the field in writer-director Ron Shelton’s extremely enjoyable debut. Before stepping behind the camera as a director, Shelton had written numerous films and served as a second unit director. Read the rest of this entry »

Films Review March

CHARLIE’S ANGELS (PG-13)

What do you call a movie that is a spoof of a television series that was a spoof of a film series that in itself had become a spoof? I don’t care what else you call it, but the big screen version of “Charlie’s Angels” is bad, real bad, and not bad in a good sort of way. Read the rest of this entry »

Gone in 60 Seconds

There was a time when studios distinguished between “A” movies and “B” movies. The process was devised by the studios to fill double bills. Wary of giving away two high profile movies on one marquee, studios developed programmers, or co-features designed as the bottom half of a double bill. Read the rest of this entry »

Requiem for a Dream

Despite the obviously infected open sore on his arm, the young, frail-looking man injects a needle filled with heroin into it. He ignores the pain, patiently waiting for the drug to kick in and numb his mind. It doesn’t take long before his pupils expand, signaling that all is well in this junkie’s world. Read the rest of this entry »

An everlasting piece

Uneven comedy-drama from director Barry Levinson, who leaves his usual stomping ground of Baltimore for Belfast, Ireland. Maybe that was the problem. “An Everlasting Piece,” despite its attempt to feel like one of those quaint British imports like “The Full Monty,” suffers from jet lag. Read the rest of this entry »

Love Actually

Ask anyone who has worked on a film set and they will tell you that it’s a collaborative process. Actors rely on the director and writer, the writer relies on the director and actors, the director relies on the craftsmen, who rely on the director to know what he is doing. When a link in that chain is broken, the end result can be compromised. Read the rest of this entry »