Before I go any further with this review, it’s important to note two things:

(1) I have a “Chucky” doll hanging on my swinging lamp in the room where I write.

(2) I had a really nasty encounter with John Ritter at a charity benefit once, and ever since then I can’t stand is guts. Read the rest of this entry »

I was fortunate enough to attend one of the first studio screenings of “Alien” in 1979. It was at the Academy Building in Beverly Hills, and the theater was about half-full. No one knew what to expect. All we knew was that it took place in space. They handed out t-shirts that evening (they were black, with the words “You are my lucky star” on the front, and the title on the back), and since the turn-out was less than half, they let us take all the t-shirts we wanted. Read the rest of this entry »

Agatha Christie has always been in favor in Hollywood, especially during the thirties and forties, when some of her most famous novels were made into chilling movies. The love affair waned during the late fifties and sixties, but the film version of “Murder on the Orient Express” changed all of that.
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John Candy delivers one of his best performances in director-writer John Hughes’ outrageous comedy. As the carefree and irresponsible Uncle Buck, Candy finds a character who is both humorous and human. There’s a lot of guffaws and pathos when Buck gets stuck babysitting his brother’s three kids, including a rebellious teenage niece (Jean Kelly) and a sharp-as-a-nail young nephew (MacCaulay Culkin). Read the rest of this entry »

I was in college when “Animal House” opened, and I remember laughing so hard that it hurt. It doesn’t take a lot to make me laugh, yet “Animal House” spoke a language I knew all too well. It struck a chord with America, becoming one of the biggest grossing comedies of the 1970’s, and launched the career of it’s stars. It was the first film to sport the moniker of National Lampoon, the highly regarded satirical magazine that was popular with college students.
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DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS (R)

There is a good idea for a movie here (See “The Curve”), but the filmmakers behind “Dead Man on Campus” didn’t understand its potential. It’s a college comedy that is almost complete devoid of laughs. Read the rest of this entry »

BEST MEN (R)

Delightful concoction from director Tamra Davis features engaging performances and an offbeat premise. Luke Wilson stars as Jesse, a young man about to get married to Hope (Drew Barrymore, Wilson’s co-star in “Home Fries”). Read the rest of this entry »

FUTURESPORT (R)

Shades of “Rollerball!” Former cinematographer-turned-director Ernest Dickerson helms this made-for-television futuristic thriller that plays like a budget version of the cult film. Read the rest of this entry »

ANTZ (PG)

For an ant, life is no picnic. As part of a colony, there’s a lot of work to be done. Food has to be gathered. Tunnels have to be dug. The queen has to be tended to. There’s no room for individuality. Read the rest of this entry »

As a budding entertainment writer, “Young Frankenstein” was my first major studio screening. Invitations went out a month before the screening, and I immediately R.S.V.P.’d. A week later, I was in a nasty automobile accident that ripped off half my face and broke my right knee. I was a mess, but I was determined to attend the screening. I had three weeks, and I knew that the over 1,000 stitches in my face would be removed by then. Oh sure, I still looked like a mess, and I still had a cast on my right leg, but I wasn’t going to miss “Young Frankenstein.”
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