FLYPAPER (R)

A millions dollars provides the catalyst for three separate storylines in director Klaus Hoch’s look at one really hot day in Los Angeles. The cast is game, but the director tries too hard to make the film unique, providing for some unintentional laughs. Read the rest of this entry »

BLOWBACK (R)

Tired direct-to-video thriller stars Mario Van Peebles as a police inspector on the trail of a serial killer named Claude Whitman (James Remar). Since Whitman’s handiwork involves religious trappings, it falls on former divinity student-turned-cop Morrell (Peebles) to find Whitman and stop him. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget snowboarding and base jumping. Today’s thrill seeker’s think they invented extreme sports. Far from it. That honor would go to the gladiators of ancient Rome, who were trained with one goal in mind: kill or be killed. As if life in ancient Rome wasn’t harsh and decadent enough, imagine being enslaved and forced into brutal combat for the amusement of the masses. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s something out of the ordinary. A trio of filmmakers investigate a myth with the hopes of turning their footage into a documentary. The trio seek out the cast members of “The Facts of Life,” who has disappeared from the television landscape without a trace. They attempt to find out whether or not star Lisa Whelchel was like the character she played on the series. Read the rest of this entry »

SUMMER OF 2000 GETS THE “SHAFT”

by John Larsen

They’re coming soon to a theater near you, and the crop of summer films is a case of everything old is new again. Hollywood sticks to the tried and true this summer, relying on familiar themes and tent pole films to entice audiences away from vacations and the beach. Read the rest of this entry »

BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (R)

If one is to believe everything they see, then somewhere in a New York building on the 7½ floor is an office that has a small passageway into the mind of actor John Malkovich. Those who enter the passageway find themselves inside Malkovich for fifteen minutes before they are deposited on the shoulder of the New Jersey turnpike. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the benefits of reviewing video and DVD is the opportunity to catch up with old friends, and make new ones. A lot of smaller films come and go so quickly in theaters that your only chance to discover them is during their ancillary runs. I had such a privilege this week when I saw a little film called “Titanic.” I didn’t hear much about it when it played in theaters. Small films like this usually don’t have a big advertising budget, so they depend on word of mouth. I guess none of my friends heard of it either. I was pleasantly surprised by this minimalist effort.
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When people talk about the Golden Age of television, inevitably Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” comes up. Why? Because “The Twilight Zone” defined everything that was right about television during it’s teen years. It was smartly written, sharply directed, convincingly acted, and challenged audiences raised on “I Love Lucy” and “Father Knows Best.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sixty-eight years after its release, director James Whale’s “Frankenstein” still leaves an impact. Ahead of its time both cinematically and thematically, the horror film based on Mary Shelley’s acclaimed novel stands up to the test of time. It’s not only relevant, but remains topical. While scientists figure out how to clone human beings, Dr. Harry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) has been playing God for more than six decades. Considered shocking and daring when it was first released, the film went through some major revisions before reaching American’s hinterlands.
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It wasn’t love at first sight. It was lust. When he first saw her, she was more than the nubile 17 year-old best friend of his daughter. She was a goddess, capable of stopping time so that a moment with her would seem like eternity. Her lips were full and red, her young body tight and firm.
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