reviewId
int64
363k
588k
userId
int64
33.9k
15.9M
itemId
int64
1
1.42M
rating
float64
1
10
title
stringlengths
1
10.9k
content
stringlengths
81
11.6k
551,063
989,035
105,391
3
WWII , Berlin , Melanie Griffith = bad Strudel
They had to be kidding : Susan Isaacs ' book about an American secretary turning spy during WWII , posing as a nanny in Berlin and moving into the home of a powerful German family , turned into a movie vehicle for " Working Girl " ' s Melanie Griffith ? Woebegone picture given curiously old-fashioned , melodramatic tre...
551,377
989,035
113,097
3
When Billy met Debra . . .
Sadly lackluster romantic comedy , co-written , directed and starring Billy Crystal , is told in deadly flashbacks . A group of friends recount a colleague's courtship ( and eventual marriage ) to an unfulfilled woman , resulting in comic disasters . French locations and a bright cast do help a little bit , but the scr...
550,541
989,035
105,428
3
Well-cast , but inappropriately bright and snappy
I have nothing against a fast-paced fright-flick , but this Stephen King-derived nonsense is too freshly-scrubbed , too bright and modern . The plot , about a new teenage boy in a small town who is a " Sleepwalker " - - sort of a cross between a vampire and a werewolf - - and who feeds on the blood of female virgins , ...
552,695
989,035
61,008
3
Way-out comic fantasy . . . but just a staple of mod Italian cinema in the ' 60s
Those who see " Shoot Loud , Louder . . . I Don't Understand " - - a title which refers to Marcello Mastroianni's mute uncle who communicates with his fireworks ( ! ) - - might think the film alone in its surrealistic jumble of fantasy and romantic comedy , but it is merely one in a dozen choppy , bizarre , deliberatel...
551,310
989,035
77,854
3
Godawful TV fakery
Linda Lavin and Kristy McNichol fail to convince as mother and daughter . With Mom single again , she and her teenage daughter unpack in their new house and do a little dance together in the kitchen ( The Bump , I believe , or is that The Hustle ? ) . With all signs apparent that these two really get along just like bu...
552,555
989,035
70,334
3
Long on atmosphere , short on substance . . .
Critically-acclaimed modern noir from director Robert Altman , a rather rambling adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel , has drowsy , early-a . m . atmosphere and rumpled panache to spare , but a dreary plot and characters to contend with . Elliott Gould does the gumshoe genre proud with his portrayal of Philip Marlow...
550,516
989,035
70,363
3
The new-fangled Old West , with anti-heroes , bloodshed , rape and robbery . . .
The kind of cynical ' 70s western that might have turned John Wayne's stomach : runaway wife Sarah Miles ( as Cat , née Catherine ) hitches a ride with a gang of scurrilous train robbers , and ends up falling in love with their leader . Overwrought picture gives Miles in particular an insulting role ( she can't even mo...
552,989
989,035
95,357
3
Like , it's a bad movie , eh ?
Director Peter Bogdanovich seemed to have it all at one point early in his career , but I can't imagine a worse string of pictures than " At Long Last Love " , " Nickelodeon " , " Daisy Miller " and " Texasville " , not to mention this one , a dud meant for theaters but relegated to dusty bins at the video store . Rob ...
553,602
989,035
60,728
3
Murderers ' Row . . . and headaches galore !
This is only the second entry in the Matt Helm spy-series and already star Dean Martin looks tired , beleaguered and in need of a good belt of gin . It isn't the groovy Bond-satire you hope it'll be - - and that the first film , " The Silencers " , nearly was . It has Ann-Margret , and she has energy and pizazz to spar...
551,071
989,035
96,193
3
Has the germ of a good idea , but overall execution is poor . . .
Writer-director Blake Edwards helmed this disappointingly flaccid fictional murder mystery featuring true-life players . Miscast Bruce Willis is entirely inappropriate as silent screen cowboy Tom Mix , here befriending James Garner's Wyatt Earp and together solving a baffling Hollywood murder . Edwards ' screenplay , f...
550,632
989,035
25,822
3
Blazin ' brimstone ! It's a backwoods skeleton in Kate's closet !
Katharine Hepburn as a mountain woman who mixes prayer with positive thinking - - and is thought by the local folk to be a witch . Kate works overly-hard trying to convince us she's a backwoods hick ( named Trigger Hicks ! ) , but you can see she doesn't even believe in this unintentionally comical scenario . Constantl...
552,285
989,035
87,428
3
Fatuous example of how not to film a novel . . .
Author John Irving's " The World According To Garp " made a decent movie not just because the director and the stars were a perfect fit - - it was an interesting study of eccentric lives and behavior , and the paths the characters took were worth following . Irving's " The Hotel New Hampshire " is a far less interestin...
552,004
989,035
60,801
3
Don't miss Tony Bennett as Hymie Kelly !
Absolutely atrocious film from producer Joseph E . Levine , here ripping the lid off the Hollywood can but getting nothing out of it except hot air . Ruthless , snarling Stephen Boyd scratches his way up from seamy strip joints ( as manager for the non-blushing Jill St . John ) to the top of the H-wood heap as the worl...
553,283
989,035
113,158
3
An art-house bummer : broadly drawn , unbelievable , and nearly unbearable . . .
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham are a good match portraying vastly different siblings , but only Winningham is able to bring something convincing or substantial to her role . Leigh , playing bar-band singer and alcoholic Sadie Flood , constantly leans on older sis Georgia , an acclaimed folk singer in the Joni...
552,384
989,035
78,767
3
Mean-spirited instead of scary , hammy instead of intense . . .
There's nobody in this haunted house movie who merits much interest . Not the brooding dad , the vacuous mom , the noisy kids , the terrified priest . It just doesn't work . You can't have a suspenseful get - out - of - the - house - it's - haunted flick with a bunch of dullards at the center . The opening moments , sh...
551,539
989,035
53,146
3
An aural delight . . . but as a film , not very stimulating
Modern updating of the Greek legend " Orpheus and Eurydice " set in Rio during Carnival . Local man meets a naive young woman from the country and they fall in love , but theirs is a doomed affair : he's set to marry a man-hungry spitfire and she's being stalked by a mysterious admirer in costume . French-Brazilian co-...
550,580
989,035
190,590
3
Handsome production , but awkward , detached serio-comedy isn't too funny . . .
Terrific production and a good comedic performance by George Clooney can't save curiously detached , occasionally clumsy quasi-comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen . Depression-era road tale hearkens back to yesterday with three escaped chain-gang prisoners seeking a hidden fortune , and inadvertently becoming country music...
553,643
989,035
87,277
3
It rarely livens up . . .
One of director Herbert Ross's weakest efforts , an extremely self-conscious under-achiever about a born-to-boogie city kid who lands in a repressed small town under the thumb of a tyrannical preacher . There's no rock music or dancing allowed in this Right Wing Valley , so the local teens hit a neighboring town to sha...
550,841
989,035
104,928
3
Wallpapered with shtick . . .
Billy Crystal co-wrote , produced , directed and stars in this sentiment-laden Neil Simon knock-off about a Jewish comedian in the late 1950's who becomes a television staple in the ' 60's , and an aged grouch in the present day . David Paymer tries hard in the doormat role of Crystal's put-upon older brother , but he ...
553,541
989,035
78,350
3
Bees ! Bees ! They're all around us ! Bees ! Bees !
Killer bees attack residents in a small town preparing for a flower festival . Fred MacMurray BEGS Olivia de Havilland to marry him and she looks to the heavens with an empathic , " Oh , how lucky I am ! " ( they both perish . ) When the train , packed full of stock characters , derailed , the theater audience I saw th...
550,584
989,035
60,512
3
About as exciting as a headache . . .
British pop group Herman's Hermits land in Los Angeles to play the Rose Bowl , but what they really want to do is see the sights and meet some girls " to talk to " . They're pursued by a scientist collecting data on the band for NASA , who are thinking of using the group's moniker on the new spaceship , a would-be actr...
552,535
989,035
60,619
3
He thinks ' James Bond ' is some kind of suit . . .
Art thieves in France are in for trouble when a couple of clumsy American tourists-turned-spies ( Steve Rossi and Marty Allen ) are assigned to expose their operation . Loud , poorly-written slapstick comedy might appeal to Three Stooges or Martin & Lewis fans . It isn't a bad-looking film , but it's shrill instead of ...
552,016
989,035
113,819
3
Instantly forgettable
I couldn't remember the title of this Woody Allen comedy the morning after I watched it . It isn't terrible , it's not unfunny , it's just meager . At its core , the movie concerns Mira Sorvino as a nasal-voiced prostitute whose baby was adopted by Woody Allen and his wife , Helena Bonham Carter ; curious , he tracks h...
553,514
989,035
106,226
3
Meticulous to the point of being embalmed . . .
Gorgeously-crafted , but otherwise inert and aloof rendering of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning book about a love triangle in New York , circa 1870 . Martin Scorsese directed and , though a few of his trademark touches are in evidence , his ultra-restrained atmosphere ( while appropriate for the period ) proves ...
553,613
989,035
94,678
3
Arthur sequel arrives seven years later . . .
Had this sequel to 1981's " Arthur " been made immediately following that film's surprise success , maybe audiences would've been interested . Maybe Dudley Moore wouldn't look so stung by the career-bombs he endured throughout the 1980s . Alas , the biggest problem with this draggy , silly comedy is the absence of Stev...
551,273
989,035
44,837
3
Maudlin Chaplin
A tippling ex-vaudeville performer in 1914 London takes in a suicidal young woman who longs to be a ballerina . Vanity project from writer-director-producer-star Charles Chaplin ( who also composed the music score and actually won a belated Oscar for this in 1972 , due to eligibility requirements ! ) . The film itself ...
551,862
989,035
131,325
3
More smarmy than clever
Inoffensive but unmemorable comedy continues writer-star Steve Martin's love / hate relationship with Los Angeles ( which began with the 1991's tepid " L . A . Story " ) . A fifth-rate movie director attempts to make a feature with a big name action-star in the lead . . . without the star's knowledge ! Some laugh-out m...
551,184
989,035
131,369
3
Obnoxious comedy . . .
A misfire from the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel , an unfunny satire of reality television shows concerning a video store clerk picked by a lagging cable network to be the star of their new series . Matthew McConaughey gets followed around with cameras twenty-four hours a day , straining family relatio...
550,965
989,035
78,869
3
Star Wars sent every major studio into the space-age ; think of this as Exhibit A . . .
Attempt by the Disney Studios to partake in the newest rage , science fiction , was hotly anticipated in 1979 , but the results are much closer to " 20000 Leagues Under the Sea " than to " Star Wars " . A Captain Nemo-like misfit , obsessed with black holes ( vortexes in space with incredible suction ) , risks his life...
550,602
989,035
59,930
3
Artistic handling , good cast , but a fatigued melodrama . . .
The life story of Dublin playwright Sean O'Casey ( here called Johnny Cassidy ! ) has a sweeping , arty direction by Jack Cardiff , with assistance from John Ford , but it is full of characters who fail to come to life despite a sterling cast of players . Adapted from O'Casey's autobiography " Mirror in My House " , fi...
551,272
989,035
113,972
3
Good cast and director , mediocre returns . . .
Lately , Johnny Depp has proved he can do no wrong at the box-office , though occasionally in the past he has stumbled or the pictures themselves failed to catch fire . Although he generally makes movies of quality , it's in films like " Nick of Time " , with the actor playing an Everyman embroiled in danger , where De...
551,983
989,035
94,332
3
Despite lots of frantic happiness and high spirits , a pall hangs over the project like a gloomy cloud
Everyone seems to be having fun here , so what's wrong ? Cher , Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer are three single gals in New England who fall in lust with the new man in town - - a fat , balding , horny character with a high charisma-rate and a smile of temptation . The picture has a sassy opening and some ribald ...
553,129
989,035
94,291
3
Heavy-handed rendering of old TV clichés . . .
Great cast , with Michael Douglas in an Oscar-winning turn as Gordon Gekko , struggles to overcome the plastic , smug handling in this rendering of political and economical pseudo-realities in the trade market . Douglas ' cutthroat investment buyer , who takes Charlie Sheen under his wing , has one memorable moment whe...
551,383
989,035
44,665
3
Bourbon Street balderdash . . .
Would-be ' hard-bitten ' product from MGM suffers from too many disparate ingredients . A retiring newspaperman in New Orleans reflects on his best subject : a prize-fighter named Socks ( ! ) who infamously deserted a boxing match at the eleventh hour ; after stints as a huckster and as a soldier in the Korean War , he...
552,169
989,035
59,724
3
Situation peculiar . . . but not hopeless
Two American soldiers stationed in Germany during World War II are captured by an odd German shopkeeper ( Alec Guinness ) ; he imprisons the two men in his basement and keeps them there long after the war is over . Strange , unhappy , insecure comedy-drama is extremely well-cast but is really too creepy to laugh at . A...
551,237
989,035
44,417
3
Tedious distress thriller . . .
Artificial melodrama with a screenplay adapted by Mel Dinelli from his play " The Man " concerns a boarding-house proprietress taking in a troubled handyman who may be homicidal . Despite solid work from Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan ( both trying their best ) , this tedious yarn isn't very inventive within its one primar...
552,949
989,035
120,889
3
Impossible concoction . . .
As a doctor who seeks out his family in a complicated after-life following a car-accident , Robin Williams is perpetually wet-eyed and talks in a simpering voice . Despite an eye-popping spiritual world ( with Oscar-winning special-effects ) , this dreary film is a real downer . There's no driving personality behind th...
552,649
989,035
70,948
3
I see nothing inside except for my own perplexity . . .
Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling star in this cold , meandering , often howlingly silly science-fiction melodrama which has futuristic savage Sean led into a world of decadent youths who mean to exploit and kill him . Convoluted premise is cluttered up with pseudo-intellectual dialogue , uninteresting characters and...
552,972
989,035
70,915
3
Reynolds fits like a glove in a tale of the sweaty South . . .
Burt Reynolds plays Gator McKlusky , a likable ex-convict just released from prison who helps the feds nab a corrupt small town sheriff . Laid-back Reynolds was often accused by critics of merely phoning these ' good ol ' boy ' performances in ; true , he's on auto-pilot throughout . But in his day , Reynolds knew just...
551,242
989,035
70,916
3
A perfectly ordinary crime-thriller . . . doggedly filmed in Duo-Vision !
An entire movie filmed in split-screen ? Well , almost . . . and it's almost difficult criticizing a low-budget effort which nevertheless clearly demonstrates a filmmaker's ambition and courage . Richard L . Bare , who directed the film from his own screenplay ( and also served as co-producer ! ) , is unfortunately too...
552,306
989,035
174,480
3
The stench of truth - - ewww !
Autumn In New York has delectable shots of brown and golden leaves fluttering down in the winds from craggy old tree branches , covering wet sidewalks and surrounding two movie stars staring into each other's eyes . But these stars ( Richard Gere and Winona Ryder ) are distinctly un-New York , and the filmmakers keep...
551,624
989,035
36,723
3
Rusty is right . . .
Rita Hayworth plays a Brooklyn nightclub dancer named Rusty who specializes in cheesecake chorus revues ; she manages to get herself on the cover of a national fashion magazine , but her impending success as a solo ( with romantic offers all around ) has smitten boss Gene Kelly chomping at the bit . Terribly tired piec...
552,512
989,035
86,383
3
You're a dinosaur , Callahan , your ideas don't work any more !
Clint Eastwood produced , directed and stars in this " Dirty Harry " entry ( the fourth in the series ) which might have been enjoyably cheesy were it not for the accent on rape , the threat of rape , degradation and humiliation . It's a sadomasochistic police-thriller which pits cop Harry Callahan against a vigilante ...
552,879
989,035
105,481
3
Corny , poorly-made vehicle for Dolly
Advertised as a " date movie " , this comedic vehicle for Dolly Parton is really full of chick-flick clichés , hopefully the last gasp for the Cinderella Specialty . Parton plays a country bumpkin named Shirlee who relocates from the sticks to Chicago , inadvertently landing a job as a talk-radio psychologist ( when as...
553,701
989,035
44,413
3
Great cast in second-string western production . . .
B-western from Universal , adapted from William Gulick's novel " Bend of the Snake " , features James Stewart as a leader of Settlers traveling through Oregon in the 1840s , dealing with Indian attacks and a lovestruck female . Outdoor adventure yarn competently directed by Anthony Mann , yet rather dully presented - -...
551,908
989,035
59,462
3
Merlin Jones is back . . . but film looks like some quickie B-flick
Say what you will about Walt Disney's silly suburban comedies of the 1960s , they at least LOOKED good . Walt always ensured a decent production and usually threw in some nifty visual effects for the fun of it . The exception is " The Monkey's Uncle " . After a spunky start with Annette Funicello singing on-stage with ...
552,412
989,035
59,453
3
Moody , curious , but ultimately unenthralling melodrama
Amnesiac James Garner tries to sort out his apparently complicated past . This adaptation of Evan Hunter's book " Buddwing " ( and retitled " Woman Without a Face " for its overseas release ) looks terrific but is a distressingly unsatisfying soaper . Photographed by the great Ellsworth Fredericks in crystalline black-...
551,227
989,035
51,786
3
Where's Sigourney Weaver when you need her ?
For B-movie / sci-fi afficionados only : rescue team in space unwittingly picks up bloodthirsty alien from Mars aboard it's craft . Sounds like Dan O'Bannon's script for 1979's " Alien " , minus the pretentious , overlapping chit-chat . It's also minus any of the thrills , and the cast is a semi-professional group of s...
553,277
989,035
94,799
3
Dim lights , fuzzy details .
It must have struck cinematographer Gordon Willis as highly ironic that he would shoot a film with the title " Bright Lights , Big City " . Willis , known for his fabulous work with dark , muted colors and characters in shadows or silhouettes , seems absolutely lost within this night-life milieu , which isn't bright an...
552,009
989,035
59,575
3
Edgy but imperfect
Rod Steiger doesn't so much give a perfect actor's performance in " The Pawnbroker " as he does give an actor's seminar on film . He spits his lines and twists his face and is mired in bitter , embattled rage . We get few other dimensions ( and even at the film's close , I felt little about the character's progression ...
551,820
989,035
59,578
3
Sluggish Leone
Sergio Leone's second installment in his spaghetti-western trilogy with lead actor Clint Eastwood ( following 1964's " A Fistful of Dollars " and in turn followed by 1966's " The Good , the Bad , and the Ugly " ) . Bounty hunter Clint spars with gunslinger Lee Van Cleef amidst a great many dirt-town and saloon shoot-ou...
551,548
989,035
59,390
3
Bond spoof gets a double-ZERO
Vapid spy-stuff with tongue-in-check and brain-in-neutral . Rod Taylor ( handsome and game , as usual ) plays an accidental hero who becomes a secret agent for the British . Begins well ( with an amusingly melodramatic Shirley Bassey theme song and clever credits sequence ) , but film then goes downhill while trying - ...
551,000
989,035
149,624
3
Newcomers trying for old-style Hollywood feel , and failing
From Cormac McCarthy's novel about young man in 1949 Texas leaving the family ranch for a life in Mexico , and winding up in hot water . Despite mystical undermining ( which , presumably , is what director / co-producer Billy Bob Thornton brought to the table ) , film has a distracting ' formula ' feel : two-parts west...
551,649
989,035
103,016
3
Another sex switcheroo . . . weakly cast
Typical Blake Edwards comedy , covering familiar ground while tickling potentially amusing male-female gender issues , ultimately settling for timeworn , routine gags . Womanizer Perry King is killed off and reincarnated as sexy Ellen Barkin - - a man in a woman's body ! How will he handle the men who lust after her . ...
552,588
989,035
103,069
3
One miscalculation after another
Director Peter Bogdanovich's failed follow-up to his critical breakthrough film , 1971's " The Last Picture Show " , returns to small town Texas to catch up on the lives of those once-compelling characters . Bogdanovich , who - - in a replay of the first film - - also adapted Larry McMurtry's novel , is now too jaded t...
552,339
989,035
90,060
3
Get these kids another round of drinks !
The youthful group in " St . Elmo's Fire " who just graduated from college barely seem able to make it through high school much less four years at any prominent university . For the most part , these kids are irresponsible , selfish , greedy and stupid , yet co-writer and director Joel Schumacher appears to hold them u...
551,806
989,035
50,546
3
Robot-aficionados will love the hardware . . . but the script is a loss
Human players take a rightful backseat to incredible Robby the Robot , first introduced in 1956's " Forbidden Planet " . Scene-stealing Robby is cast as a mechanical playmate to Richard Eyer's young Timmie , but soon begins receiving diabolical orders from a power-crazed computer . Long outdated science-fiction nonsens...
552,968
989,035
134,630
3
Too-slick valentine to karaoke . . . with no vitality off the stage
Writer John Byrum and director Bruce Paltrow ostensibly had a good idea - - to catch the fever of semi-professional karaoke singers in action - - but maybe this subject might have been better served by a documentary . Byrum's hackneyed plots involving the troubled performers never take off , and Paltrow's staging of th...
551,702
989,035
28,478
3
Karloff on auto-pilot . . .
Hollywood great Michael Curtiz directs Boris Karloff in this middling thriller about an ex-con , just out prison , who is framed for a judge's murder by racketeers ; after he's convicted and killed in the electric chair , a team of scientists revive him . Fatigued entry in the 1930's horror-movie cycle doesn't allow Ka...
553,159
989,035
367,594
3
Begins wonderfully . . . but the fun dissipates inside the factory , and Depp is a disappointment
Tim Burton's version of Roald Dahl's classic children's book , previously filmed with music in 1971 as " Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory " , opens with great promise , featuring incredible art direction that mixes German Expressionism with Grimm-like fantasy ( aided by Danny Elfman's atmospheric , if familiar , sco...
552,640
989,035
59,106
3
The actors take it more seriously than the filmmakers do . . .
Religious zealots and well-meaning people held captive against their will are my two least-favorite subjects for movie material , and here they're combined for a really queasy effect . The plot , based on Anne Blaisdell's book " Nightmare " , is somewhat helped along by frisky bits of levity dotting the scenario , but ...
553,668
989,035
120,746
3
Designed to give you whiplash . . . but who wants a slam-bang Zorro ?
The Zorro legend , slicked up with slam-bang , high-tech , expensive effects , so that it resembles an action-flick or a high-budget martial arts movie . Anthony Hopkins is surprisingly - - though nicely - - cast as an elderly Zorro passing his skills and knowledge ( not to mention his cape and mask ! ) onto a Latin fu...
553,189
989,035
59,094
3
Fussy , annoying family comedy ; ersatz Disney without the car chase . . .
John Haase's novel " Erasmus With Freckles " gets a woebegone Hollywood makeover and , while it may look promising at the outset , it turns out to be one of the weakest films James Stewart ever starred in . Young Billy Mumy , a mathematical genius , spends all of his spare time writing juvenile love letters to French f...
550,554
989,035
120,647
3
An all-American disaster flick for the 1990s : better effects but the same old clichés
U . S . President ( Morgan Freeman ) announces that a 7-mile-long hunk of rock is on a collision course with Earth , and much of the last-act destruction we see is based in New York City . A great wave not only takes down the Statue of Liberty , it decapitates her ! Director Mimi Leder and screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin...
550,535
989,035
111,054
3
Wayward melodrama , but Sarandon is always worth a look . . .
From Ellyn Bache's novel about the feisty mother of seven boys , most of whom are now grown and out of the house , still worrying after them , concerned over their health and safety , which eventually puts a strain on her sanity . Extremely odd piece is not an attractive vehicle for Susan Sarandon , although she's as i...
552,678
989,035
243,133
3
Thornton once again the only good thing in a mediocre film
Self-consciously dry and offbeat drama of irony has barber Billy Bob Thornton involved with a con-man , a businessman who is having an affair with the barber's wife , and . . . a spaceship . Black-and-white offering from the hit-and-miss Coen Brothers has a streak of bemused malice , but the pacing is so deliberately s...
551,471
989,035
72,253
3
Frigid drama of Cold War romance = icy bore
It's nice to see Julie Andrews trying a straight dramatic role here - - something she hadn't done in awhile - - but her character of Judith ( wise they didn't try to pass her off as a ' Judy ' ) has the old refined manners and tomboyish hairstyle of yore , and Andrews enacts ' grown-up ' as any other actress would inte...
553,421
989,035
58,981
3
Wild-eyed ( but still G-rated ) bachelor escapades . . .
Tony Curtis / Jerry Lewis combination adapted from a play by Marc Camoletti about an American in Paris who is juggling the affections of different sexy stewardesses . Bedroom-comedy isn't smutty , but neither is it particularly witty or funny . The slapstick staging isn't spirited , yet the players react crazily , hopi...
553,480
989,035
250,720
3
Just the thing to kill off the motion picture once and for all . . .
Blatantly ridiculous . Decorated , heroic canine ( who apparently has the strength of a large man and understands the entire English language ) is separated from the FBI and ends up with an unwashed postal carrier and the little boy he's currently babysitting . David Arquette , talking like the first white hip-hop mail...
553,655
989,035
41,652
3
Another disappointment for Lucy fans . . .
Unemployed Lucille Ball , the worst student at secretarial school , is hired by a phony reality company precisely due to her innocent ignorance - - and her nice legs ! William Holden is her boss who doesn't mind if she can't type , as long as she provides a good cover for his private bookie joint in the back room . It ...
552,035
989,035
204,313
3
Demonic dementia . . .
With all that talk in 1973's " The Exorcist " about Father Merrin's previous encounter with demonic possession in Africa , it certainly wasn't going to be forgotten by the folks at Warner Bros . there was a potential thriller there . John Boorman covered some of that ground in flashbacks for " Exorcist II : The Heretic...
551,078
989,035
51,196
3
Limp satire . . .
Director Frank Tashlin stretches his anything-for-a-laugh method of comic film-making to the breaking point with this very weak advertising send-up ( with equally dull romantic-confusion underpinnings ) . Tony Randall seems the wrong actor for the part of struggling ad-rep Rockwell Hunter , who gets a buxom beauty quee...
553,365
989,035
212,985
3
Withered sequel . . . with Hannibal our new Freddy Krueger
Overdue follow-up to Jonathan Demme's " The Silence of the Lambs " from 1991 reportedly cost a bundle to make , yet it looks grimy and ugly throughout . Where did all the money go ? Ridley Scott directed from Thomas Harris ' lackluster bestseller , bringing back both escaped killer Hannibal Lecter and FBI agent Clarice...
550,967
989,035
102,577
3
Dysfunctional movie without much to offer beyond the presence of Cyndi Lauper . . .
Pop-star Cyndi Lauper's bid for an acting career never gained momentum , partly due to poor choices like this one . Theatrically unreleased comedy-drama about an actress / cocktail bar mermaid ( don't ask ) who gets involved with race-track low-life is strictly amateur night in terms of directing , writing and producti...
552,739
989,035
33,723
3
One of A & C's worst . . .
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello bicker and shout at each other throughout this tepid haunted house comedy . They play service-station attendants who , along with a host of oddballs , become stranded in a spooky gangster's mansion . For those who stick with it , see if you can count how many times Abbott screams at Costello...
550,409
989,035
315,327
3
Comic-fantasy preys on the undiscriminating viewer . . .
Fans of Jim Carrey , who enjoy him on-screen no matter what he does , will no doubt like " Bruce Almighty " for it is designed to be a Jim Carrey vehicle , a showcase for the actor and nothing more . He plays Bruce , an unlucky news-reporter for a Buffalo TV station who blames all his troubles on God ; after a meeting ...
552,496
989,035
119,896
3
So out of touch with reality , it might resemble something created by alien beings . . .
Desperately-single advertising employee , who apparently lands all the biggest accounts for the firm based on her sheer talent and drive , is passed over for a promotion because she lives her life like " a college student " ; her gal-pal invents a fiancée for her friend , but soon this unkissed honeybunch has to pony u...
553,107
989,035
165,773
3
Turgid drama bites off more than it can chew
Unsettling melodrama , but not particularly absorbing . Bob Hoskins ( looking ever more like a cross between an English bulldog and a teddy bear ) is a wealthy British caterer who takes in an Irish lass , unmarried and pregnant . Film zigzags back and forth in time without giving us any clear perceptions of the charact...
552,541
989,035
89,208
3
Where is Cyndi Lauper when you need her ?
Excruciating teen fracas , taking its title from a hit ' 80s song by Cyndi Lauper , is one that hopes to straddle the line between cartoonish tomfoolery and semi-realistic teen-rebellion nonsense . Sarah Jessica Parker plays a religious school student who defies her strict father and auditions for a popular dance TV sh...
552,296
989,035
58,529
3
The Rat Pack in Sherwood Forest ?
. . . no , but that might have made a more interesting picture than this . It's Prohibition-era Chicago , and Frank Sinatra coasts indifferently through his role as a gangster in 1928 trying to stay one step ahead of the law , aided by his faithful cronies . Sappy semi-musical doesn't even look good ! It's a poor excus...
550,985
989,035
89,175
3
Long-in-the-tooth teenagers tangle with an equal-opportunity bloodsucker . . .
Suburban kid , living with his single mom , thinks the new next-door neighbor is a genuine vampire , but can't get any of his friends to believe him . Tom Holland wrote and directed this low-rent , yukked-up horror movie , but his handling of the genre is depressingly straightforward ; he invests nothing new in the sce...
552,318
989,035
102,768
3
Artificial piece with a screwy message . . .
One of those high-budget , yet relentlessly schlocky movie-star vehicles which both pander and condescend to a mass audience ; the pedigree talent involved may well warrant a viewing , yet the film is so pompous it makes viewers feel like chumps for watching . Harrison Ford plays a slimy , self-absorbed lawyer whose li...
552,139
989,035
80,569
3
All dressed up , no place to go
The first knifing in William Friedkin's " Cruising " , taking place in a seedy hotel room after two men have just had sex , seems so real I stared in numb surprise . It was something akin to what I imagine a snuff film would be like . Once cop Al Pacino is assigned to the case , going undercover in New York's gay leath...
552,889
989,035
95,652
4
Peculiar thriller from Romero , though far from a success . . .
George A . Romero directed and adapted this low-watt thriller from Michael Stewart's book about a sweet little monkey who is turned into a killer after a lab experiment goes awry . Handsome Jason Beghe is very good as a quadriplegic who relies on the monkey to help him get around , and Joyce Van Patten is also excellen...
553,185
989,035
43,983
4
This is a pretty box of pickles !
American brother and sister song-and-dance act sets sail for England after their manager gets them a London booking on the eve of Princess Elizabeth's royal nuptials . Stereotypical Brits litter the phony , contrived scenario ( one waits - - not in vain - - for the first " Jolly good show ! " or the proverbial walk in ...
551,311
989,035
35,258
4
Charming opening degenerates into silliness ; one of Henry Fonda's few poor performances . . .
Unrefined shopgirl is pegged by a confidence couple to use as a lure for bilking wealthy men - - she hesitates for a moment , but is soon in cahoots with the wily twosome , that is until she falls for one of their victims : a bumbling ( and broke ) mathematician . Gene Tierney has some wonderful scenes at the beginning...
551,970
989,035
95,726
4
Terribly trite , despite some good actors
Alan Alda worked his way away from the TV series " MASH " cautiously and nimbly , first as an actor in " Same Time Next Year " , then as an actor-writer with the classy " The Seduction of Joe Tynan " and eventually with his smoothest film to date " The Four Seasons " , where he was writer , director , and star . 1988's...
553,699
989,035
78,136
4
That Judy ! She was always chasing rainbows . . .
Fan-magazine equivalent of a biography , in this case a television-budget glimpse into the early life of actress and vocalist Judy Garland ( née Frances Gumm ) . Director Jackie Cooper , who reminds us he befriended the real Judy during their years together at M-G-M , lays the pathos at our feet right from the start , ...
553,646
989,035
52,529
4
Filmed in Wonderama !
Lou Costello ( sans Abbott ) plays a small town self-employed " rubbish collector " ( and the inventor of a time-controlling machine ! ) who is secretly courting the niece of the town big-shot . After a spat , Lou's girl ( Dorothy Provine ) runs into a misty cave - - why it's misty we never learn - - and emerges as a 3...
552,942
989,035
52,530
4
Although a touchstone movie for baby-boomers , " 4D Man " is more cult item than classic thriller . . .
Robert Lansing plays a scientist experimenting with passing objects through solid matter , but he goes too far one night and unintentionally makes himself four-dimensional ! Atomic-age fantasy is rather charming in a very cheesy way . Perhaps it was considered a thoughtful sci-fi in its time ( with psychological overto...
552,137
989,035
78,111
4
All style
At the beginning of this film , there's a tight shot on Brooke Shields ' baby face : she's watching something with interest and we hear a woman moaning just in front of her . Since we all know what " Pretty Baby " is about , one is to assume the child is watching some sexual act with curiosity . Actually , it's just th...
551,360
989,035
26,138
4
Portions of it are surprisingly stilted . . .
Dr . Frankenstein's monster ( Boris Karloff ) , thought dead at the end of 1931's " Frankenstein " , rises from the ashes and creates more havoc in a tiny hamlet ; meanwhile , the shady doctor prepares to supply the gentle giant with a mate . Handsome , but extremely somber film won't please anyone looking for a good o...
553,072
989,035
105,017
4
Slapstick theatre hit congeals on the screen . . .
Movie-adaptation of the British stage farce by Michael Frayn about the comic foibles and headaches derailing a stage production . Lots of pratfalls and double-takes courtesy director Peter Bogdanovich , whose love for this material is apparent despite a stop-and-go execution which doesn't always run smoothly . The cast...
553,141
989,035
70,599
4
Terrific actors sunk by desultory , obtuse plotting and a draggy pace . . .
Sheltered young woman , home-schooled and possibly quite gifted , harbors a disturbed , overly-emotional side which comes to the surface after her absentee father pays her mother a visit , asking for a divorce . Directed by celebrated cinematographer William A . Fraker , this ill-titled psychological thriller falls int...
551,998
989,035
95,613
4
Doesn't leave behind any good memories . . .
Billy Crystal co-wrote , co-produced and stars in this extremely safe and comfy comedy-drama about fathers and sons , adult irresponsibility , and growing old . Billy plays a heart surgeon who has a heart attack ( ha ha ) which causes him to seek out his estranged father ( Alan King ) , a movie-extra who fancies himsel...
552,184
989,035
61,380
4
A perfectly acceptable entertainment . . . . . for 1937
One of Doris Day's lesser-known entries from late in her film career , one even she wishes she had passed on . Feisty female turns rancher in this feminist western , butting heads with the local-yokels in a distaff variation on " The Sheepman " . Doris doesn't look her best here ( blame it on that wig ) , although her ...
552,115
989,035
95,556
4
Directed by . . . Anthony Perkins ?
Portly nice guy falls for a luscious blonde ; she likes him too , but not for the reasons you might think . Black comedy with good performances by Joe Alaskey and Donna Dixon , but it makes no lasting impact . Just a quickie throwaway , and on that level even the somewhat-similar " Eating Raoul " is a better bet . Ther...
552,096
989,035
78,227
4
Enervated satire pokes fun at everything but sports . . .
Advertised as a sexy comedy about pro-football players and their women , this Michael Ritchie film , based on Dan Jenkins ' book , instead takes aim at fads and other eccentricities of the 1970s , using the sports world as a backdrop . It wasn't the big commercial hit some were predicting , though it garnered good noti...
553,371
989,035
60,980
4
Scatter-brained cool
Dean Martin personifies Donald Hamilton's super-spy Matt Helm , especially in this era of girl-ogling and martini guzzling . " The Silencers " was the first of four Helm adventures , and , while not a classic , it does offer some laughs and colorfully tatty ' 60's surroundings . Helm attempts to stop madman Victor Buon...
551,222
989,035
60,983
4
Strictly for nun-addicts ; all others outta the way !
She sings , she's feisty , she rides a scooter , she plays guitar ! Debbie Reynolds dimples her way through super simplistic comedy-drama about a nun who inadvertently becomes a pop star . Based on a real-life Belgian nun who had a hit with " Dominique " ( and subsequently left the church and took her own life ) , the ...