“Robocop” was Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s first American film. What a debut. Filled with ultra- violent images and a comic book sensibility, “Robocop” immediately caught America’s fancy. Released in 1987, “Robocop” is set in the not-so-distant future of the late 1990’s. Read the rest of this entry »

BARBERSHOP (PG-13)

SIGNS (PG-13)

(Touchstone) Read the rest of this entry »

I remember the first time that I saw George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” I was a junior in high school, and was trying to get over a bout with pneumonia. It was 1974, and the first time that television was going to show the film in it’s complete, uncut version. My bed was by a wall with the window in it, and a storm was brewing outside. Read the rest of this entry »

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Armageddon.
Armageddon, who?

Armageddon off this planet on the next space shuttle.
Honestly, it has not been a good year for the blue planet in general, and New York in particular. First 1,000 foot high tidal waves clean the streets in “Deep Impact,” and then “Godzilla” takes a bite out of the big apple. Now comes “Armageddon,” which impressively lays to waste Manhattan with one spectacular asteroid blow after another.
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Queen: We Will Rock You – Pioneer (NR/1982/90 Min./Full Frame/1.33:1)

Quest, The – Universal (PG-13/1996/95 Min./Letterbox/2.35:1/5.1 Dolby) Read the rest of this entry »

Originally released as “Mohammad: Messenger of God,” this middle-seventies religious epic about the beginning of the Islam faith would have been more at home in the fifties or sixties, when such fare as “The Ten Commandments,” “The Robe” and “King of Kings” were fashionable. Read the rest of this entry »

“Blade” begins with a bloodbath, ends with a bloodbath, and has enough blood in between to give a hematologist wet dreams. God how I love this movie. You can’t make a good vampire film without spilling a little of the red stuff. That is what it is all about. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the movie “Blade,” based on the Marvel comic books super hero, is as splashy as it is. 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.
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One of 1997’s funniest films, Mike Myers’ spoof of James Bond-“In Like Flint” super spy thrillers is one hilarious gag after another. Top heavy on the references and snappy one-liners, “Austin Powers” perfectly captures the look and feel of it’s source material while creating a style all its own. Myers stars the hip 60’s secret agent Austin Powers, who enjoys his carefree life in London. Read the rest of this entry »

Like a rabid pit bull in heat, “The Big Lebowski” goes right for the jugular. It’s a ferociously funny comedy that dares to be different. It’s no surprise that this collage of calamity comes from Joel and Ethan Coen, the dynamic duo whose last film was “Fargo.” “The Big Lebowski” harkens back to the brother’s “Raising Arizona,” a wild, free-for-all comedy with a gallery of bizarre characters and dizzying cinematography. Read the rest of this entry »