Could you imagine how bummed out I was when I realized “The Ugly” wasn’t one of those Fox specials about Linda Tripp? Once I got past my disappointment, it was easy to sit down and appreciate the ferocity of writer-director Scott Reynolds debut. The New Zealand native has constructed a horrifying nightmare of tension and psychological mind trips. Read the rest of this entry »

“Pleasantville” begins pleasantly enough with a commercial for one of those retro-cable channels like “T.V. Land.” Ah, the good old days. “Father Knows Best,” “Leave it to Beaver,” I Married Joan,” and everyone’s perennial favorite, “Pleasantville.” Read the rest of this entry »

CHILDREN OF HEAVEN (PG)

Director Majid Majidi’s powerful and engaging film was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award this year, and once you’ve experienced the film it’s easy to understand the accolades. Read the rest of this entry »

I was never a big “Billy Jack” fan (as a matter of fact, my review of the re-release of the film back in the late 70’s caused me to leave the daily I was working at), but my brother was, so I was destined to see the film (hey, he could drive at the time, I couldn’t). He was into all of that karate and Kung Fu stuff at the time (thank you Bruce Lee), so he really got a kick (literally) when Billy Jack would slap people on the side of their face with his foot. Read the rest of this entry »

CELEBRATION, THE (R)

Director Thomas Vinterberg’s deliciously dark drama about a birthday celebration that is marred by the revelation of a family secret. Vinterberg uses natural lighting and sound to good effect to tell his story about how a 60th birthday celebration of a family patriarch turns into game of show and tell. Read the rest of this entry »

After scoring cult success with “Maniac,” director William Lustig tackled the “Death Wish” formula with “Vigilante.” It’s been sixteen years since its release, and “Vigilante” definitely shows its age. Robert Forster (“Jackie Brown”) stars as a family man who turns his back on his friends (including Fred Williamson) when they form a vigilante squad to rid the streets of gangs. Read the rest of this entry »

Director-writer David Cronenberg has guts, and he isn’t afraid to show them. From his early films (“They Came from Within”) to his later films (“Scanners”), Cronenberg has show a propensity for exposing his actor’s innards. People pits up parasites, their heads explode, and in “Videodrome,” they become human VCRs. Read the rest of this entry »

America’s insatiable appetite for television has been fodder for Hollywood for generations, but never has the picture been as bright nor as sharp as it is in “The Truman Show,” a wonderfully realized dramatic comedy from director Peter Weir. There is a lot to admire in “The Truman Show,” from it’s clever and very human screenplay by Andrew Niccol (“Gattaca”), to an amazing dramatic star turn from rubber-faced comic Jim Carrey. Read the rest of this entry »

You know the drill…high priest gets his hand caught in the cookie jar, finds himself being wrapped up for the holidays, only to be resurrected 3,700 years later by a long, long descendant. Hey, it happens all the time, but it happened first on the big screen in “The Mummy.” Read the rest of this entry »

Director Paul Schrader’s latest film is painted against a snow white backdrop, like one of those empty canvases with only a dot on it that hang in a museum. The bleak background helps put the emphasis on the dot, magnifying it to the point of distraction. That’s what Schrader has done in adapting Russell Banks novel for the screen. Set during a cold, frigid winter in New Hampshire, “Affliction” ignites the screen with powerful performances and a lit fuse of a screenplay that never lets up. Read the rest of this entry »