Like Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown,” “L.A. Confidential” perfectly evokes a time and place. An engaging crime drama about corrupt cops set in the 1950’s, “L.A. Confidential” transports us to another era bathed in exquisite period detail. Read the rest of this entry »
In “The Tuxedo,” Chan plays a taxi driver who is recruited to be the chauffeur of a secret agent. Desiring everything that his new boss is and possesses, Jimmy Tong (Chan) is amazed to learn that most of the credit goes to a two-billion high tech suit that allows the wearer to defy gravity, defeat bad guys, and even dance. Read the rest of this entry »
Sumptuous to look at, the latest big screen incarnation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel “Les Miserables” is a handsome yet flawed production. Despite the film’s excellent cast and literate script, this version of “Les Miserables” seems constrained by it’s budget. Instead of being stirring, it’s complacent. Instead of being epic, it’s lean but not mean. Read the rest of this entry »
A couple of weeks ago I saw a tight, thrilling, suspenseful 3-minute movie. Now someone has had the audacity to turn it into a two-hour coming attraction. The film is called “Arlington Road,” and unless you have been hiding in a cave the last three weeks, you know that it deals with a man who suspects that his neighbors may be more than they represent.
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All is fair in love and war, but it’s the romance that really screws up things. Take the new World War II film “Enemy at the Gates.” Here’s a really gripping drama about two professional snipers that gets shot down by a meaningless love story. Read the rest of this entry »
John Wayne had a busy year in 1962. He appeared in the epic war drama “The Longest Day,” the epic western “How the West Was Won,” the classic “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” and the African adventure “Hatari!.” Read the rest of this entry »
You remember the old nursery rhyme, the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout? Writer-director James Gunn, who gleefully resurrected George’s Romero’s zombie franchise with Dawn of the Dead, doesn’t have worms playing pinochle on snouts in Slither, but he does stack the cards against the characters. Read the rest of this entry »
You can’t miss them. Every high school has them. They walk through the halls like royalty. They date star athletes, wear the homecoming crown, edit the yearbook, and always look perfect. They’re the high school clique with a stick up their collective butts, “Mean Girls,” plastic pretties who make life a social nightmare for those who grovel at their $200 shoes. Read the rest of this entry »
About a year ago I was rummaging through some boxes in the garage, and came across a box of movie memorabilia that I had collected over the years. Actually, it was one of many boxes, but this box in particular contained numerous cardboard and plastic 3-D glasses. Read the rest of this entry »
You can imagine Julia Roberts reservations about starring in “Notting Hill.” Would one of America’s best loved and most popular actresses be able to play one of America’s best loved and most popular actresses? Read the rest of this entry »
