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573,964 | 4,532,636 | 32,455 | 7 | Before the Little Mermaid , There Was This | Fascinating as an experiment in film animation , but you're forgiven if you find yourself fidgeting after half an hour or so . The most famous segment of this film is not surprisingly the one that bears the most striking resemblance to other Disney animated films , the " Sorcerer's Apprentice " portion that finds Micke... |
573,721 | 4,532,636 | 32,976 | 7 | Renowned Hitchcock Film Is a Bit of Bore | I was expecting big things from " Rebecca , " Alfred Hitchcock's Best Picture Academy Award winner from 1940 , and I was disappointed . Give me " Foreign Correspondent , " Hitchcock's other 1940 release and fellow Best Picture nominee , any day . " Rebecca " starts out promisingly enough , as a Gothic ghost story about... |
573,846 | 4,532,636 | 120,616 | 7 | Take That , Boris Karloff | Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz save the world from the undead in this special effects extravaganza . Though reputedly based on the 1932 Universal Pictures classic of the same name that starred Boris Karloff , this movie shares almost nothing in common with the original except for the fact that it features , well , a m... |
574,279 | 4,532,636 | 43,459 | 7 | Earnest WWII Drama Falls Just Short | A WWII yarn about a German prisoner ( Oskar Werner ) who volunteers himself for spy work in the front lines during the waning days of the European conflict . He's sent off on a mission that also involves another German spy and an American radio man ( Richard Basehart ) . While carrying it out , he suffers a crisis of c... |
574,081 | 4,532,636 | 80,855 | 7 | Unfairly Maligned | Michael Cimino's " Heaven's Gate " is certainly not without its problems , but it's hard to believe , now that the historical context in which the film was released is long past , that it received such a rough drubbing when it came out 25 years ago . It's quite an interesting film and even a very well made one . It bea... |
573,642 | 4,532,636 | 54,997 | 7 | Well Made , But VERY Depressing | A stark , downbeat film , proof that Hollywood produced more in the late 1950s / early 1960s than just colorful Biblical spectacles and musicals . Paul Newman stars as Fast Eddie Felsen , one of the roles that made him famous and for which he would win an Oscar when he reprised it over twenty years later in Martin Scor... |
573,872 | 4,532,636 | 286,499 | 7 | No Big Deal , But Utterly Enjoyable | Bend It Like Beckham reminds me of the best of those 80's teeny-bopper movies directed by John Hughes . Everything takes place in a bubble-gum colored world where everyone is attractive , there are some easily-resolved conflicts that occasionally take away from the mostly happy proceedings , and vast amounts of plot ... |
573,887 | 4,532,636 | 87,469 | 7 | Hokier Than " Raiders , " But Still a Good Time | Hokier and jokier than its predecessor , " Raiders of the Lost Ark , " " Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom " gives us a pretty good idea of what Steven Spielberg would be like if he were hopped up on amphetamines . " Raiders " felt like it was full of non-stop action until you see this movie , which barely pauses to... |
573,786 | 4,532,636 | 102,511 | 7 | A Surprisingly Touching Nightmare | After preparing myself for a completely inaccessible movie experience , I was surprised to find myself quite moved by a strange and sad film about the urges that drive one tortured soul . The movie makes some very interesting parallels between the urge to destructive behavior ( drink , for example ) and the urge to cre... |
573,816 | 4,532,636 | 89,385 | 7 | Don't Remember Very Well , But Remember Liking It | I barely feel qualified to write a comment on this forgotten Disney live-action film from the mid-1980s , since I've only seen it once , and that was back when it first came out . But I do remember liking it , and it's probably worth a re-watch for those who saw it back in the day , and a first watch for those who've n... |
573,997 | 4,532,636 | 93,773 | 7 | An Oddly Appealing Sci-Fi Horror Film | What is it about this sci-fi horror film that's so appealing ? All I know is that every time I come across it on cable , I almost have to stop what I'm doing and watch it . Governor Arnold leads a platoon of commandos into the jungle to face off against a malicious alien . There's your plot . It's an even more uber-mac... |
574,090 | 4,532,636 | 111,161 | 7 | Entertaining Prison Movie Isn't Nearly as Good as Its Rabid Fan Base Would Lead You to Believe | I'm utterly mystified at the cult of idolatry that has developed around this solid but not overly memorable prison film based on a Stephen King short story . " The Shawshank Redemption " came out of nowhere in 1994 to be nominated for 7 Academy Awards , and I have to believe that it's the film's underdog story that has... |
574,102 | 4,532,636 | 91,867 | 7 | It's a Good Movie If You Can Stay Awake Through It | I'm pretty sure I've seen " A Room with a View " from beginning to end , but I can't say with any certainty that I've done so sequentially . See , my wife loves this movie , but every time she puts it in it lulls me instantly to sleep . It's like an adult version of a " Mr . Rogers " episode . This Merchant / Ivory pro... |
574,415 | 4,532,636 | 107,290 | 7 | Landmark Film for the Art of Visual Effects | Steven Spielberg's " what if " movie set in a theme park where dinosaurs have come back to life holds up remarkably well today . This is Spielberg at his best , taking us on a fun house ride and making us feel like we're eight years old again . The visual effects in this movie were absolutely AMAZING at the time , and ... |
573,993 | 4,532,636 | 33,717 | 7 | Bogie Heads to the Hills | The majority of this Raoul Walsh crime thriller is standard issue , but it does boast a knockout finale set in the gorges of the Sierra Nevada mountains . Bogart plays a brooding thug " rushin ' toward death , " who's hitched himself to one last scheme - - knocking off a ritzy hotel - - that will allow him to rest easy... |
574,012 | 4,532,636 | 871,426 | 7 | A Buddy Comedy with a Healthy Dose of Estrogen | Tina Fey and Amy Poehler prove that buddy comedies need not be the exclusive domain of naughty boys . " Baby Mama " is no comic masterpiece , but it's at least as good as any number of formulaic comedies churned out by Hollywood and much better than many others . Fey is the uptight career woman who hears her biological... |
574,298 | 4,532,636 | 804,522 | 7 | The Sum Is Better Than the Parts | I came out of " Rendition " with a list of flaws a mile long , so how is it that my overall impression is that it was a pretty decent movie ? It's definitely a film whose sum is better than its parts . Those parts include a cast of big name stars , not one of them giving a memorable performance ( Omar Metwally , a rela... |
574,126 | 4,532,636 | 54,885 | 7 | Frothy and Enjoyable Minor R & H Musical | Popular consensus holds that " Flower Drum Song " is a weak link in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon , and that's mostly true . It doesn't have as important a story to tell , and since it's not a period piece it's the most badly dated . And certainly , in cinematic terms alone , the film version is one of the worst of... |
573,769 | 4,532,636 | 65,724 | 7 | A Fine Character Study | Jack Nicholson delivers a wonderful performance - - back when he was still playing characters other than Jack Nicholson - - in this well done but awfully gloomy film from Bob Rafelson . Nicholson plays Bobby Dupea , a worker on an oil rig with decidedly anti-social tendencies , who returns home to make peace with his d... |
574,140 | 4,532,636 | 427,944 | 7 | Smoke ' Em If You Got ' Em | Thank You for Smoking isn't especially meaty , and it likely won't give you much to chew on after viewing it , but as a funny , clever 90-minute diversion , you could do much worse . The chameleon actor Aaron Eckhart is perfect casting as a gifted spin doctor working on behalf of big tobacco companies . The film is e... |
573,818 | 4,532,636 | 78,841 | 7 | Has a Cult Following That Doesn't Include Me | This movie just didn't click with me . I very much like Hal Ashby's films , and I like this one as well , but the love it has received as a cult classic gives me that uncomfortable feeling I sometimes get about movies that I've missed something obvious everyone else can see . Ashby's tone for the film is quiet , gentle... |
573,880 | 4,532,636 | 264,761 | 7 | A Cute Performance from Westfeldt | This charming , lightweight comedy about sexual orientation and experimentation stars the adorable , funny Jennifer Westfeldt as a good Jewish girl who decides that maybe the whole heterosexual dating thing isn't working for her , so she's going to play for the other team for a while . She begins a timid " romance " wi... |
573,927 | 4,532,636 | 111,257 | 7 | One Bus That Doesn't Make Any of Its Stops | Keanu Reeves has the uncanny ability to pop up in a legitimately good movie just often enough to keep people convinced that he may not be a completely worthless actor after all . " Speed " became a big hit in 1994 against all expectations . It was meant to be a disposable genre film and instead became a blockbuster . I... |
573,879 | 4,532,636 | 50,976 | 7 | Again with the Meaning of Life Thing - - Enough Already | The Seventh Seal would strike me as a better film today had Ingmar Bergman not gone on to remake virtually the same film countless times over the rest of his career . In " Seal , " Max von Sydow sits down to a game of chess with the Grim Reaper and seeks answers to the meaning of life , existence of God , and so on a... |
573,354 | 4,532,636 | 435,625 | 7 | Scared the Hell Out of Me | The Descent is like " Steel Magnolias " crossed with " Deliverance , " with a healthy dash of " Alien " and " The Blair Witch Project " thrown in for good measure . What a truly creepy , scary movie this is , and what a nice surprise to find that good horror movies are still being made . This movie isn't for those wi... |
573,343 | 4,532,636 | 53,125 | 7 | Not One of My Favorite Hitchcock Films | I've found this admittedly classic Hitchcock entry a bit tough to warm up to on multiple viewings . I enjoyed it very much the first time I saw it , but I don't want to revisit it the way I like revisiting " Rear Window , " " Psycho " or " The Birds . " Almost every Hitchcock film has at least one classic set piece tha... |
573,735 | 4,532,636 | 65,777 | 7 | In the Garden of the Elite | Director Vittorio De Sica eschews the neo-realism that defined his earliest work and takes a more poetic approach with this story about a wealthy , privileged family who shut themselves away from the encroaching threat of fascism in the early days of WWII Italy . They ultimately find that their elite status does not pr... |
574,378 | 4,532,636 | 765,443 | 7 | Cronenberg's Latest Feels Less Important Than " A History of Violence " | I have a love / hate relationship with David Cronenberg , or maybe more aptly a like / hate relationship with him . I liked " Naked Lunch " and " The Fly . " I hated " Crash . " I loved " A History of Violence , " and on the strength of that film , and the fact that he was re-teaming with Viggo Mortensen , came into " ... |
573,529 | 4,532,636 | 87,277 | 7 | Gotta Cut Loose for Kevin Bacon | Aw , come on IMDb'ers , why the low rating ? Where's your sense of loyalty ? I can't hear that Kenny Loggins title song and see those pairs of dancing feet during the opening credits without sitting down to watch this whole movie . And even if it's largely to make fun of it , I still love it for old times ' sake . Kevi... |
573,462 | 4,532,636 | 1,129,442 | 7 | Statham Strips and Kicks Ass ( Sometimes at the Same Time ) | More fast and furious action from Jason Statham , directed in this outing by Olivier Megaton ( is that name for real ? ) The " Transporter " series is the bargain bin version of the James Bond films , but I enjoyed this film way more than the latest Bond , " Quantum of Solace . " This installment exists as nothing more... |
573,852 | 4,532,636 | 57,193 | 7 | The Screen Comedy Goes Epic | Hollywood insulted our brains and our backsides with any number of " serious " epics in the 1950s and 60s , like " Ben-Hur , " " Cleopatra " and " How the West Was Won . " It also gave us the not-so-serious but no less boring " cameo " pseudo-adventure pics like " Around the World in 80 Days , " which existed mainly as... |
573,365 | 4,532,636 | 58,557 | 7 | A Deeply Unnerving Film with Two Tremendous Lead Performances | Kim Stanley delivers a tremendously affecting performance as a sad English suburban housewife who desperately wants to prove her validity as a medium and will go to criminal means to do so in this chilly and chilling drama . Critics heaped praise upon Stanley , always known as more of a stage actress than a movie actre... |
573,555 | 4,532,636 | 829,482 | 7 | A Tame Dirty Comedy | Boys behaving badly is the subject of this pretty funny adolescent comedy . Three uber-geeky high school seniors are invited to a party they otherwise would never get invited to because they promise to bring the booze . Their struggles to actually get to the party comprise most of the film's action . End of story . " S... |
573,476 | 4,532,636 | 27,977 | 7 | Individual Parts Greater Than the Whole | One of this movie's most famous images - - Chaplin sliding around inside the gears and cogs of a monstrous machine - - provides a handy visual to go along with my opinion of the film in general : there are individual cogs that I remember as being brilliant , but when put together they don't make a totally satisfying ma... |
574,294 | 4,532,636 | 95,953 | 7 | Road Trippin ' with Hoffman and Cruise | Barry Levinson mostly resists the urge to give in to the rampant sentimentality that this story begs for , but the end result is still rather treacly and weepy . Tom Cruise plays a selfish hot head who ends up having to care for his autistic brother ( Dustin Hoffman ) . It's a road trip movie , the kind where you just ... |
574,517 | 4,532,636 | 27,969 | 7 | Harold Lloyd , Middle-Weight Boxing Champ of the World | In this very solid Harold Lloyd screwball comedy , Lloyd plays an unassuming milk delivery man who finds himself on the front pages when he's credited with knocking out the world middle-weight boxing champion , Speed McFarland , in a street brawl . The negative publicity this news generates for McFarland comes much to ... |
573,615 | 4,532,636 | 98,384 | 7 | Well Acted Soap Opera | The material in " Steel Magnolias " teeters dangerously on the brink of " Terms of Endearment " territory - - maudlin , gloopy and shamelessly tearjerky . But it's saved by its cast , who are able to keep things palatable . The most praise must go to Sally Field , who's perfectly suited to play the tough-as-nails South... |
574,262 | 4,532,636 | 27,996 | 7 | Dress Rehearsal for " Mr . Smith Goes to Washington " | It's funny how common it was for directors in the 30s to remake their own movies , sometimes no more than a few years after they made the original . " Mr . Smith Goes to Washington " isn't exactly a remake of " Mr . Deeds , " but it sure bears more than a merely striking resemblance to Capra's earlier film . The idea o... |
573,834 | 4,532,636 | 418,279 | 7 | Uncle Sam Wants You ( to See This Movie ) | I was actually slightly motion sick after leaving this film , so my final impression of it is somewhat marred by that , but overall this was dumb summer fun at its best . I was the right age for the transformer toys , but I never really got into them . However , having played with them is not a prerequisite for enjoyin... |
573,980 | 4,532,636 | 420,223 | 7 | A Creative and New Examination of Old Questions | Harold Crick lives a boring life of dull routine and never seems to entertain the notion that any other kind of life is a possibility . He quietly gets up every morning , catches the same bus to work , spends his day auditing people who hate him ( he's an IRS agent ) , comes home , goes to bed and repeats everything th... |
574,473 | 4,532,636 | 35,567 | 7 | A Hepburn / Tracy Debut | Watching this first pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn , it's easy to see why the two became a legendary screen couple ( and real-life couple for that matter ) . They seem perfectly suited for one another , and you can't imagine either of them with anyone else . But it's hard from a 21st Century sensibility... |
573,674 | 4,532,636 | 24,069 | 7 | Legs , Legs and More Legs | Gold Diggers of 1933 is lighter and funnier than " 42nd Street , " released earlier in the same year and the product of much of the same production team . Though at the same time , the Depression is more constantly present in " Gold Diggers " than it was in " 42nd Street , " and the film culminates ( and ends rather ... |
573,760 | 4,532,636 | 78,346 | 7 | The Man of Steel Is Also a Dork | Some mighty big names lined up to be in this still-most-famous screen version of the comic book series , but a relatively unknown actress , Margot Kidder , manages to steal the show out from everyone in her performance as the spunky Lois Lane , and it's her that I remember most now . Richard Donner's direction is as sq... |
573,599 | 4,532,636 | 57,129 | 7 | A Good Old-Fashioned Ghost Story | Robert Wise was never an especially artistic director . You never sensed that he was really trying to push the limits of film as an art form with the movies he made . Yet he had a knack for creating especially well-made films . They weren't fancy , but they were far beyond merely competent . With " The Haunting , " Wis... |
574,154 | 4,532,636 | 319,343 | 7 | A Modern Holiday Classic | Will Ferrell has escaped the curse of most SNL veterans who try to transition to major motion pictures ( at least those who have tried to make the jump in recent years ) and manages to produce the most consistently funny films of probably any of them ( including Mike Myers ) . " Elf " is destined to be a holiday classi... |
573,692 | 4,532,636 | 74,512 | 7 | Tremendous Fun for Fans of Karen Black or Barbara Harris | Family Plot , Hitchcock's last film , is about as zany as the legendary director would ever get . It's a very fun if lightweight entry in his canon . It holds a special place for me , because it stars two of my favorite actresses , Karen Black and Barbara Harris . I think both of them were underused by Hollywood , ma... |
573,881 | 4,532,636 | 58,620 | 7 | She Was All Woman . . . And Knew It | And so with those words begins this wacked out slasher film / murder mystery that shows Joan Crawford lopping off the heads of her husband and his girlfriend while they lie in post-coital repose - - and that's before the opening credits have even started ! " Strait-Jacket " has the look and feel of " What Ever Happened... |
574,426 | 4,532,636 | 434,139 | 7 | Surprisingly Good Relationship Drama | This solidly written and acted relationship dramedy surprised me with its adult approach to material that has been done to death elsewhere . Zach Braff attempts to shed the goofball charm that makes him such an appealing heartthrob to college-age girls who know him primarily for his work on the television show " Scrubs... |
574,289 | 4,532,636 | 94,027 | 7 | Edward James Olmos Delivers as a Tough Teacher Taking on the System | The " Blackboard Jungle " of its generation , " Stand and Deliver " kicked off a revival of the tough teacher taking on a troubled class genre , but this remains the best of them . Edward James Olmos delivers a wonderful performance as this film's tough teacher , and the film resists the maudlin sentimentality that the... |
573,913 | 4,532,636 | 45,555 | 7 | Don't Let Gloria Grahame Make the Coffee | Since I love film noir , I enjoyed " The Big Heat , " but I didn't feel that it distinguished itself from any number of other similar films from the same time period . This surprised me somewhat , as I don't think of Fritz Lang as an anonymous director , and he's usually able to imprint a strong visual style on his fil... |
573,385 | 4,532,636 | 104,756 | 7 | Nolte and Sarandon Are the Reasons to See This One | An inspiring true-life account of a husband and wife who , out of desperation , discover a treatment for their son's disease that otherwise had been dismissed by the medical community as untreatable . This is Lifetime movie stuff , and at any number of moments the film threatens to topple over into the overly maudlin a... |
574,006 | 4,532,636 | 94,142 | 7 | Refreshingly Nasty | A deliciously nasty black comedy about a middle-aged schlub ( Danny DeVito ) who wants to bump off his mother and hatches a plan to do so with a bitter divorcée , who wants to bump off HIS ex-wife . The movie is completely unapologetic in its cynicism , and gives us no one to like , but for once that works in the movie... |
574,217 | 4,532,636 | 97,937 | 7 | Daniel Day-Lewis Is Why This Movie's Remembered | At the time , " My Left Foot " was the little movie that could . It was hugely popular , and everyone applauded the fact that such a small , independent film could make it all the way to the Oscars . Since then , movies like " My Left Foot " are a dime a dozen , so it might be hard in retrospect to understand what all ... |
573,532 | 4,532,636 | 58,385 | 7 | Many Flaws , But Enjoyable Anyway | Not so much a film as a taped version of the stage play , " My Fair Lady " is about as cinematic as a community theatre production , yet it has much to recommend it anyway . For one , the Lerner and Loewe score is timeless , and it sounds great in the film . It's also nice that it's captured in its entirety - - - no so... |
574,364 | 4,532,636 | 20,475 | 7 | Sally Bowles Anyone ? | Liza Minelli's character in " Cabaret " ( 1972 ) looks so much like Louise Brooks that you have to wonder if Minelli didn't model her look after the famous silent film star . " Diary of Lost Girl " puts the drama in melodrama . Brooks stars as a young innocent thing who's life goes a bad direction when she's introduced... |
574,060 | 4,532,636 | 100,395 | 7 | Postcards from Carrie Fisher and Debbie Rey . . . . . er . . . . Merly Streep and Shirley MacLaine | Carrie Fisher adapted her own book about the contentious relationship between a Hollywood mother and daughter - - hmmmm , wonder who this film is about ? " Postcards from the Edge " isn't going to be remembered as a significant contribution to film history , but I do remember enjoying it well enough . It would have to ... |
573,439 | 4,532,636 | 464,049 | 7 | Diverting , But Something Must Have Gotten Lost in the Translation | The phenomenally successful and award-winning stage play has been given a modestly entertaining screen treatment , and those of us who didn't see the theatrical version may fail to see why it was so beloved . " The History Boys " features stellar acting and some juicy ideas , but it left me far from overwhelmed by its ... |
573,513 | 4,532,636 | 884,328 | 7 | Something Wicked This Way Comes . . . . | Just in time for Thanksgiving comes the feel-bad movie of the year . Man , I thought after " Gone Baby Gone " that I'd seen the year's biggest downer ; I shouldn't have jumped the gun . " The Mist " is based on a Stephen King short story and is written and directed by Frank Darabont ( " The Shawshank Redemption , " " T... |
573,875 | 4,532,636 | 305,206 | 7 | Very Good Biopic | American Splendor is a terrific film , and easily one of the best of 2003 ( though that's not saying much ) . It tells the story of Harvey Pekar , famous in comic book circles for starting the American Splendor series . I didn't know anything about him or the series before I saw this movie , so it might be even more ... |
573,593 | 4,532,636 | 1,093,824 | 7 | Herzog Heads to the South Pole | Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica to film a colony of scientists going about their work with seals , penguins , volcanoes and the breathtaking sea life of this lesser known part of the world . This film is not the warning about global warming that you might expect , though the topic of global warming and man's future... |
573,974 | 4,532,636 | 41,090 | 7 | Another Tracy / Hepburn Boxing Match | Another in the long line of him vs . her domestic feuds that made Tracy and Hepburn a famous screen pair . " Adam's Rib " isn't as good as their first pairing , " Woman of the Year , " though its attitudes about women may be a good deal more palatable to a modern day audience . But it's still a fun movie - - it probabl... |
574,462 | 4,532,636 | 393,109 | 7 | A Fun Experiment That Parodies Film Noir | Brick is a lot of fun if you are familiar with the genre it is parodying . It takes a 1940s film noir - - the kind that would have starred Humphrey Bogart - - and transplants it to an unnamed suburban California high school . A murder takes place , and our anti-hero , who was in love with the murdered girl , sets out... |
573,338 | 4,532,636 | 111,503 | 7 | Big Dumb Action Film with Tongue Planted Firmly in Cheek | True Lies is a big action movie extravaganza that falls prey to many of the weaknesses common to James Cameron films : it's bloated , too big , too loud , too long . But what I do like about it is that it doesn't take itself overly seriously , and it spends as much time poking fun of big dumb action films as it does ... |
573,345 | 4,532,636 | 52,918 | 7 | Racial Tolerance , Sirk Style | That most shameless of directors Douglas Sirk stops at nothing to wring tears from your eyes in this candy-coloured weepy . Actually , true to form , he manages to deliver a film that's both hopelessly dated and trailblazing at the same time . Here he takes on racial prejudice , told through a story about a young black... |
573,328 | 4,532,636 | 31,971 | 7 | A Society in Microcosm | As every film buff by now surely knows , John Ford's " Stagecoach " is credited with reinventing the western genre . It presents the society in microcosm , as a stagecoach full of traditional types ( the hero , the whore , the puritan , etc . ) travels across the untamed West . What maybe felt vibrant and different at ... |
573,359 | 4,532,636 | 395,251 | 7 | Fun , If Missing the Mel Brooks Touch | I thought the stage musical adapted from Mel Brooks ' classic 1968 film was terrific and if anything even more outrageous than the movie . So it's strange that this movie based on the musical should feel so tame by comparison . It doesn't have that bawdy , let's offend everyone sense of fun that Brooks projects usually... |
573,830 | 4,532,636 | 71,746 | 7 | Well Made But Dismally Depressing | This biopic about shock comedian Lenny Bruce was Bob Fosse's followup to his well-received 1972 film " Cabaret . " I'm pretty sure that " Lenny " was a financial bomb , and I'm not surprised . It's a relentlessly depressing and ugly film , despite the stylish polish Fosse gives it . Anyone who has seen Fosse's last fil... |
573,853 | 4,532,636 | 57,263 | 7 | Natalie Wood's Best Vehicle | This refreshingly bitter and raw-edged relationship dramedy showcases Natalie Wood in her best screen performance ( and at her most gorgeous , to boot ) . She and Steve McQueen play antagonistic lovers who get pregnant before they know each other very well , and proceed to make a life together , becoming acquainted alo... |
573,558 | 4,532,636 | 783,233 | 7 | One Third of " Atonement " Is Brilliant | The first third of " Atonement " is superb . We are introduced to a group of affluent English aristocrats whiling away their summer hours at a massive estate . One of them , Cecilia ( Keira Knightley ) , is nursing a raging case of sexual attraction to her childhood friend and now family gardener , Robbie Turner ( Jame... |
574,414 | 4,532,636 | 1,175,491 | 7 | Professional But Unnecessary | So many films based on historical events take place either before I was born or before I was old enough to comprehend those events that watching " W . " carried a certain fascinating appeal . It's interesting to see something you've just lived through and have strong opinions about given shape in the fictitious world o... |
574,342 | 4,532,636 | 37,865 | 7 | Beautifully Shot 40's Corn | Leave Her to Heaven came out during a period when Hollywood was totally jazzed about psychological illness , its effects and its treatment . Two of the Academy Award best picture nominees from 1945 ( the year of " Heaven's " release ) were " The Lost Weekend " and " Spellbound , " both dealing with some sort of menta... |
573,378 | 4,532,636 | 364,955 | 7 | Unfocused Satire , But Has a Lot of Funny Moments to Recommend It | In " Ghost World , " Terry Zwigoff's wonderful rumination on the awkwardness of adolescence , the main character felt like she didn't belong in a world that cherishes conformity . Her hostility toward others and general unpleasantness was a defense ; she was going to reject others before they had a chance to reject her... |
573,677 | 4,532,636 | 458,352 | 7 | As Glossy as a Magazine , and About as Substantive | A slick entertainment with a plot someone phoned in and a fairy tale ending in which every conceivable loose end is tied up as neatly and happily as your average network sitcom . I had a lot of fun with the movie , but my expectations were low and would have been sorely disappointed if they'd been any higher . The key ... |
573,744 | 4,532,636 | 90,329 | 7 | When Worlds Collide | This solid thriller stars Harrison Ford , given his first chance to truly act , as a detective who must infiltrate an Amish community in order to protect a little boy who accidentally witnessed a murder . Director Peter Weir and his screenwriter use the story as an opportunity to examine the culture clash between the m... |
574,250 | 4,532,636 | 183,649 | 7 | Hell Has Officially Frozen Over - - A Joel Schumacher Film I Don't Hate | No one wanted to hate " Phone Booth " more than me , since I absolutely despise Joel Schumacher and almost every movie he's ever made . I've actually taken the trouble to think about who my least favorite director of all time is , and Schumacher won the booby prize . So blame it on my incredibly low expectations , but ... |
573,472 | 4,532,636 | 42,788 | 7 | Terrific Widmark Performance in Atmospheric Thriller | Jules Dassin takes to the grimy streets of London for this crime thriller about small-time American shyster Harry Fabian ( Richard Widmark ) and his attempts to join the ranks of the criminal elite . Harry is small fry , relegated to using his con man finesse to drive business to a local nightclub run by a man with who... |
574,474 | 4,532,636 | 293,662 | 7 | Pretty Fun | The Transporter is a not bad action flick that , true to the genre , is heavy on the action and not much else . Don't look here for a plot you can sink your teeth into . The focus is on outrageous and at times downright dazzling set pieces designed to show off the athleticism of star Jason Statham . He's a relaxed an... |
573,397 | 4,532,636 | 456,396 | 7 | Depressing Story Left Me Wanting More | Meet Sonia and Bruno , brand-new and very young parents to baby Jimmy , who have nowhere to live and no way to provide for their newborn son . Bruno is a petty thief , who uses the money he illegally makes to buy jackets and rent convertibles rather than supplying his wife and son with food and clothing . Sonia is bask... |
573,789 | 4,532,636 | 107,818 | 7 | One of the First Mainstream Attempts to Discuss AIDS | People really look down on " Philadelphia " now for being a heavy-handed liberal Hollywood attempt to deal with a " gay " issue . But I think it deserves a break . It is heavy handed to be sure , but this is one of the first big mainstream movies with popular mainstream actors I can think of to deal with a topic most o... |
574,353 | 4,532,636 | 94,663 | 7 | The Better of Two Gloomy Woody Allen Dramas from the Same Time Period | Woody Allen was in a bad mood in 1988 , for he made two of his most sombre films : " September " and " Another Woman . " " September " is dreadful , but " Another Woman " is quite good . Gena Rowlands plays a troubled woman who overhears the therapy sessions of an anonymous younger woman ( Mia Farrow ) through the vent... |
574,498 | 4,532,636 | 44,954 | 7 | Murder on the Chicago to L . A . Express | The novelty of this Richard Fleischer-directed crime thriller rests on the fact that nearly the entire film takes place on board a train . Fleischer , who was adept at slicking up pulpy B material and giving it style to spare , treats the cramped shooting spaces as an advantage rather than a liability - - he uses extre... |
573,890 | 4,532,636 | 86,960 | 7 | It's Like Shaft Meets 90210 | The 1980s , while virtually worthless in every other regard when it came to film-making - - gave us a host of classic adult comedies , and " Beverly Hills Cop " is one of them . The film made a star of Eddie Murphy , and paved the way for the action buddy comedy that has persisted to this day , though rarely as success... |
574,172 | 4,532,636 | 53,472 | 7 | A Godard Film I Don't Dislike | One of the least intolerable films Jean Luc Godard gave us , if that praise is faint enough for you . " Breathless " is easily one of the most accessible of Godard's films , and while it still features a great many of the French New Wave trappings that exist for the sole purpose of pulling you out of the world of the f... |
574,048 | 4,532,636 | 196,216 | 7 | Small Time Movie , But Not Bad | I'm not one to challenge the argument that Woody Allen's films in the past decade ( " Match Point " excepted ) have been well below the standards of his work in the 1970s and 80s . I don't believe , however , that all of his films since , say , " Mighty Aphrodite " in 1995 , have been worthless . There was quite a bit ... |
573,568 | 4,532,636 | 46,672 | 7 | Fine Kids ' Film for More Than Just Kids | For a long time , Disney made top-notch live-action films , and " 20 , 000 Leagues Under the Sea " stands as one of the best . I loved this film as a kid , and can remember even at the time being impressed that it didn't feel like it was necessarily dumbed down for a children's audience . Look at the stars here : Kirk ... |
573,977 | 4,532,636 | 67,116 | 7 | A Movie About Popeye - - - No , Not THAT Popeye | A movie that's most remembered for a complex and dazzling car chase scene through the streets of New York City , " The French Connection " wowed audiences and critics at the time and set the mold for the gritty police crime drama that still exists today in our movie theatres and on our television screens . The jittery ... |
574,062 | 4,532,636 | 100,157 | 7 | Kathy Bates Gives a Cock a Doody Performance | Stephen King's novel had a smashing premise that the film only partially succeeds in capitalizing on . It's clear that " Misery " is an author's ( or at least King's ) worst nightmare : a writer of disposable potboilers ( James Caan ) is in an accident and finds himself convalescing in the home of his self-proclaimed #... |
574,022 | 4,532,636 | 42,832 | 7 | Minor Work from a Cinema Great | Panic in the Streets is a pretty standard B-movie that is raised a notch above other standard B-movies by its direction . Elia Kazan could take just about any material and make it better than it would otherwise have been in the hands of many others , and this film is no exception . It's a high-concept film : a murder... |
573,978 | 4,532,636 | 67,093 | 7 | Strong Material , Beautiful Score and Wonderful Lead Performance Overcome Heavy Directorial Hand | Director Norman Jewison does all he can to pound the life right out of this screen adaptation of the phenomenally successful Broadway musical , but thanks to the strength of the original material , he doesn't succeed . There are many better screen musicals , but there are also many that are far worse . Suffice it to sa... |
574,471 | 4,532,636 | 37,913 | 7 | Crawford Keeps Her Eyebrows in Check | Mildred Pierce is a strange mix of women's picture and film noir . In typical noir fashion , the film begins with a murder and flashes back to the events that led up to it . It also has the standard issue noir look ; veteran director Michael Curtiz knew his way around a movie set , and gives his film a moody , shadow... |
573,681 | 4,532,636 | 45,012 | 7 | Another Sturdy Hepburn / Tracy Film | By the time " Pat and Mike " appeared in 1952 , the Tracy / Hepburn formula had begun to feel somewhat mechanical , but there's still some pizazz to this film that makes it worth watching . Katharine Hepburn , particularly , needed films like this . She made one film after another in which she played a repressed spinst... |
574,153 | 4,532,636 | 73,640 | 7 | Rudolph Saves the New Year , Too | This was included on the same DVD as " The Year Without a Santa Claus , " and I must say that I don't remember this one at all from my childhood . It picks up where the original " Rudolph " left off . Rudolph has successfully saved Christmas , so he's charged with saving the New Year as well , sent off into the night b... |
573,455 | 4,532,636 | 29,604 | 7 | A Melodrama as Only 1930s Hollywood Could Present It | The same things that make " America's Next Top Model " entertaining make " Stage Door " a blast . " Stage Door " is even better , because we don't have to put up with Tyra Banks or her panel of hissy fashion " experts , " but we still get the house full of catty , superstar wannabes who throw insults at one another fas... |
573,798 | 4,532,636 | 88,939 | 7 | God Help Us All When Spielberg Feels Guilty About Something | Well zip-a-dee-doo-dah , I kept expecting Uncle Remus to come bounding out of the bushes while watching Steven Spielberg's screen adaptation of the Alice Walker novel . In retrospect , Spielberg shouldn't have been let near this story with a ten-foot pole . His maudlin , well-intentioned approach to liberal message mov... |
573,348 | 4,532,636 | 53,291 | 7 | Good , But Not One of the Greatest Comedies of All Time | My wife loves this movie , mostly on the strength of Jack Lemmon's wild performance , but I have to admit that I've remained resistant to its charms . I don't DISLIKE it , but I always have trouble understanding how it pops up again and again on various lists as one of the funniest comedies ever produced . Of course , ... |
573,445 | 4,532,636 | 82,484 | 7 | The Dawn of Man | A strange and compelling film about prehistoric man , filmed nearly entirely without dialogue . It's so lacking in any of the traditional elements that would normally make a film a commercial success that you have to admire its chutzpah if you admire nothing else about it . Fortunately , it's also excellently made , an... |
574,412 | 4,532,636 | 978,759 | 7 | Solid Film Marred by an Ending That Felt False | The illegal immigrant dispute between the U . S . and Mexico has been such a hot-button topic lately that I never think about illegal immigration being a problem between the U . S . and Canada . " Frozen River " uses that very issue as a backdrop for its story about a desperate single mother ( Melissa Leo ) in upstate ... |
573,560 | 4,532,636 | 48,641 | 7 | Bergman Cracks a Smile | Ingmar Bergman lightens up considerably to deliver this romantic comedy of manners set in a magisterial country estate . The film contains all of the elements you would expect from a bedroom farce : young foolish lovers ; older , wiser ones ; arch rivals ; a duel . It's by far Bergman's most accessible film and it make... |
573,842 | 4,532,636 | 486,655 | 7 | Not " The Princess Bride , " But Then Few Fantasy Films Are | Fantasy adventure is a genre I very much enjoy , and it's a genre too neglected by Hollywood . " Stardust " is a fun and enjoyable addition to it , even if it won't go down as the cult classic it so obviously wants to be . The film's biggest flaw is that there's simply too much going on , too many plot strands , and th... |
573,952 | 4,532,636 | 49,408 | 7 | A Worthy If Not Ideal Screen Adaptation | Director Walter Lang does his best to ruin what may be Rodgers & Hammerstein's strongest stage musical , but he's no match for the stellar material . He directs with a stodgy , anonymous style - - why actually move your camera around a set when you can root it to the floor as if it's a potted plant ? With the exception... |
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