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 »

Someone once said that dying was easy, comedy was hard. If that’s true, then satire is a bitch. A female dog to be exact. Like the canines on display in Christopher Guest’s “Best In Show,” satire can be just as finicky. It takes someone with keen observation and a sharp ear to get it right. One slip and the illusion is broken. Read the rest of this entry »

“Charade” is such a smart, pleasant romp that it still holds up after 36 years. Written by Peter Stone and directed by Stanley Donen as an antidote to the then current super spy trend (James Bond), “Charade” plays like a combination between Alfred Hitchcock and Blake Edwards. Read the rest of this entry »

If indeed there is life on Mars, the last two films about colonizing the planet haven’t been able to find it. Like “Mission To Mars,” “Red Planet” is a lifeless spectacle. Pretty pictures valiantly trying to hide characters and direction that are as thin as air on the moon. 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 »

“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 been subjected to every chicken joke and pun imaginable. Read the rest of this entry »

BEACH, THE (R)

Disappointing effort from director Danny Boyle, who has never been able to match the intensity of “Trainspotting.” “The Beach,” based on the popular novel by John Hodge, plays like “Apocalypse Light.” Read the rest of this entry »

70’S, THE (NR)

If you thought the real Seventies sucked, then prepare for more of the same. I really liked the television mini-series “The 60s.” It worked for me, even if some of the dialogue and acting was borderline at best. Read the rest of this entry »