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365,449 | 4,888,011 | 156,934 | 5 | random lungs | For years it had seemed - to me , at least - that Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford might have to collaborate on a movie . It resulted that they collaborated on the somewhat weird " Random Hearts " . In the movie , Sgt . Dutch Van Den Broeck's ( Ford ) wife and Kay Chandler's ( Kristin Scott Thomas ) husband are having an affair and get killed in a plane crash . From there , Ford and Thomas hook up to try and figure out what was going on . Maybe it's just that I don't find anything particularly significant about this sort of idea , or maybe I find it a little jarring to cast men with women half their age , but this is not a movie that I would really recommend . Not a bad movie - " bad " is the word that I apply to junk like " Baryshnya-Krestyanka " and " Everone Says I Love You " ; " Plan 9 from Outer Space " is so bad that it's good - but I think that the movie didn't go anywhere . Pollack ( who has a supporting role ) , Ford and Thomas have all done much better than this . Also starring Charles S . Dutton , Bonnie Hunt , Dennis Haysbert , Richard Jenkins ( Nate Sr . on " Six Feet Under " ) , Paul Guilfoyle , Susanna Thompson , Peter Coyote , Kate Mara , Dylan Baker , Lynne Thigpen , Reiko Aylesworth , Edie Falco , and even Alex Trebek in a brief appearance . |
364,699 | 4,888,011 | 139,699 | 5 | I don't know anything about football . And why do we call it football if we don't play it with our feet ? | While staying with a family in Queretaro , Mexico , in summer 1999 , I saw " Varsity Blues " in the local cinema . Since I'm totally numb to anything sports-related , I only half absorbed the movie ( I spent most of the time reading the subtitles ) . Teenage boys are likely to only take interest in the whipped cream bikini scene . But I do know that in Texas , football is king ; my mom had unpleasant experiences with that growing up in Galena Park , Texas . Obviously , the problem with calling it football is that we don't play it with our feet ; that's why most of the world calls " football " what we incomprehensibly call " soccer " . All in all , I'll mainly remember James Van Der Beek and Ali Larter for co-starring in " Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back " . |
363,906 | 4,888,011 | 114,508 | 5 | Learn to accept it as a near porno flick , and it's quite fun | While " Species " has as its actual plot a group of scientists looking for an escaped alien specimen - did somebody say " Alien " ripoff ? - I derived that the whole movie was really an excuse to show off Natasha Henstridge's breasts . If in fact that was the film's purpose , then they did a pretty good job with it ( seriously , not many movies get sexier than this ) . If the flick was supposed to have any real purpose beyond that , then I don't know what they were thinking . Just accept that the movie probably got made with the aim of sexually arousing teenage boys , and it'll be perfectly easy to enjoy the flick . Personally , I wouldn't mind getting slinky with that alien babe ! Also starring Ben Kingsley , Michael Madsen , Marg Helgenberger and Forest Whitaker . I don't know whether or not they want to stress this film when discussing their careers . |
364,490 | 4,888,011 | 120,524 | 5 | I Dream of Jeannie . . . the horror version | After so many years of genies being funny , cute , and maybe even wacky ( thanks , Robin Williams ! ) , here's a malevolent one . The overall concept in " Wishmaster " - modern person unleashes ancient evil force - is pretty routine , but there are some really neat scenes . I think that we all have to agree that the coolest part is the party towards the end , especially with the statues . So , although Wes Craven produced this in between the first and second " Scream " , it didn't quite reach the standards set by those two . Still , it's a pretty fun romp , featuring a bevy of filmdom's horror stars ( among them Robert Englund , Tony Todd and Kane Hodder ) . You just might want to think twice about making a wish after seeing this . Just imagine what might have happened had Maj . Nelson released this genie instead of Jeannie . |
365,362 | 4,888,011 | 33,065 | 5 | vacations work better when you take a map | OK , pretty much all great artists have to start somewhere . Chuck Jones's first star was the cute-by-any-measure mouse Sniffles . I can see why Sniffles eventually disappeared to make way for other mice in the in Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoons ( namely the fastest one in Mexico ) . In " Sniffles Takes a Trip " , the little guy tries to take a relaxing vacation but ends up in the middle of the forest where everything disturbs him ; why do vacations always seem to end up like this ? My favorite scene is the POV shot looking at the duck ( well , was it a duck or goose or swan ? I couldn't tell ) . But either way , this cartoon was more of a place holder between better ones ( 1940 also saw the release of " You Ought to Be in Pictures " and " A Wild Hare " , featuring the first true Bugs Bunny ) . In the off chance that you want to watch it , you can find it on YouTube . |
364,764 | 4,888,011 | 50,567 | 5 | Even if we let there be Lyte , can there be another kind ? | Ah , we Americans patriotically remember when we were in elementary school learning about how the people in the thirteen original colonies gallantly fought the British and founded the great nation that we know today . And " Johnny Tremain " is supposed to represent this . Of course , given that it comes from Disney , this isn't really something to use as a historical reference . For example , they don't look at slavery or the colonists ' treatment of the Indians . Oh well , if it's meant as pure entertainment , it's pretty harmless . The highlight is the Boston Tea Party , but most of the movie is kinda hokey . The only cast member whom I recognize is Richard Beymer , who played Tony in " West Side Story " ( although I've heard of Sebastian Cabot ) . All in all , " Johnny Tremain " very much has the feeling of Disney . When George Washington , Benjamin Franklin , etc , were doing their stuff , they probably never envisioned George W . Bush , Tom DeLay , etc . |
363,082 | 4,888,011 | 444,682 | 5 | movies like this lead to low parodies | Usually , I like silly parodies in the vein of " Blazing Saddles " and " Airplane ! " . But some parodies just come out really low , such as " Scary Movie 2 " . However , it's worth noting that these low parodies often resulted from even lower movies . Stephen Hopkins's " The Reaping " , while not terrible , is a prime example . It's one of the many religious-themed horror flicks that neither consists of authentic horror nor interested me in religion . The plot - if that's what it is - goes like this . Katharine Winter ( Hilary Swank ) is a Louisiana State University professor whose work has involved giving scientific explanations for alleged miracles ever since she lost her faith after a personal tragedy in Sudan . When Katharine receives news that a small town has gotten struck by events resembling the plagues visited on Egypt in the story of Passover , she goes out to the town . Most of the town's inhabitants are about as gullible as movies usually portray such individuals . While I didn't predict who was doing what , I now realize that I should have ; these sorts of movies tend to have that happen . Now , I should identify that it's not an awful movie ( then again , after you've seen crap like " Baryshnya-Krestyanka " and " Everyone Says I Love You " , almost anything seems good ) . Katharine's scientific explanation of the plagues makes perfect sense . Sorry if I seem like I can't take a leap of faith , but I just think that there have to be scientific explanations for these various weird phenomena that have happened throughout history ; I find it hard to believe that a big , invisible man caused them all . But seriously , the fact that Hilary Swank filmed this a mere few months after winning an Oscar for " Million Dollar Baby " is just more proof of something : actors and actresses win Oscars and then get embarrassing roles ( think Kevin Spacey after " American Beauty " and Halle Berry after " Monster's Ball " ) . It's almost an incentive not to win an Oscar . I'm sure that Hilary Swank won't want to emphasize this movie , nor will a terribly wasted Stephen Rea . Only rent it if there's absolutely nothing else . |
363,831 | 4,888,011 | 33,170 | 5 | combining " The Birds " and Wagner's music of course doesn't equal quite what I predicted | During his first few years as director , Chuck Jones actually veered more away from the zany comedy that had come to characterize Warner Bros . animation ( although he did direct a few wacky cartoons , it seems like his work only turned to the totally crazy once he started directing Bugs Bunny ) . Two of his cartoons from this era - both stripped of their opening credits in the Blue Ribbon reissue - were so bereft of zaniness that it's a surprise that they even came from Termite Terrace : " Old Glory " and " Tom Thumb in Trouble " . The latter portrays a woodsman and his minuscule son Tom ( would so tiny a boy actually use the mature form instead of the diminutive Tommy ? ) living alone in a log cabin . When the dad goes out and Tom nearly drowns , a bird flies in and saves the tyke . And then the dad arrives home and assumes that the bird attacked little Tom ! Has the world run completely amok ? ! Here's what I mean by calling this cartoon a combination of Wagner's music and Alfred Hitchcock's " The Birds " . In the scene where Tom walks through the snow-laden forest in search of the bird , we hear " Ride of the Valkyries " ( which Chuck Jones later used in " What's Opera , Doc ? " when Elmer sings " Kill the wabbit ! Kill the wabbit ! Kill the wabbit ! " ) . The Hitchcock connection arises in the scene where the dad finds the bird with Tom . It's clear that the bird crashed through the window - you may recall the scene where Jessica Tandy's character finds the man with his eye pecked out - and it looks as though the avian has turned violent . OK , so I'm probably the only person who interpreted this cartoon like that . It's just that with the more saccharine cartoons , I like to maintain full sanity by coming up with weird interpretations . Overall , this one's okay in a pinch . |
364,501 | 4,888,011 | 28,323 | 5 | racist material can still function as a time capsule | While it's true that " Sunday Go To Meetin ' Time " contains very stereotypical portrayals of African-Americans , it appears that the people behind the cartoon were actually taking some interest in African-American culture . The cartoon has a man skipping church , but then getting knocked out and dreaming that Satan sentences him to eternal damnation for his misdeeds . Personally , I'd rather go out and entertain myself than spend all day in any religious institution . Maybe I'd go out and watch a movie ( in religious people's minds , it would easily get me sent to Hell if the movie starred someone like Elke Sommer ; if so , then Hell here I come ! ) . But I digress . This cartoon is worth seeing , just as long as you understand the offensive content . |
363,319 | 4,888,011 | 204,626 | 5 | You can always torture the squeamish with this . | For the most part , " The Watcher " is another serial killer movie : there's a psychopath killing people and a detective has to stop him . But the three-way relationships between the killer ( Keanu Reeves ) , the detective ( James Spader ) and his psychiatrist ( Marisa Tomei ) add an extra , more interesting dimension to it . I probably should remind you that this is NOT a movie for the squeamish . Maybe movies about serial killers never are , but the way that they play everything out creates another feeling altogether - then again , you can always torture a mealy-mouthed wimp with this movie . You may be uncertain about whom you can trust after watching this . So are YOU ready to go home alone ? |
363,640 | 4,888,011 | 120,338 | 5 | In Spanish class , I wrote a story portraying the famous movies of 1997 aboard the Titanic while it was sinking . | Okay , everyone knows what happens in " Titanic " , so I'll discuss a few other points . While the movie was in the theaters , one of my friends went to see it 13 times , just so that he could find goofs ; the one that he picked up on was when someone opens a door , turns his head , and you see that it's the wrong color . When I took a sailing class in summer , 2005 , the teacher explained why specifically the Titanic sank : it was traveling way too fast for something that size ( so they couldn't turn in time ) , and the metal on the ship's sides was rather shoddy ; that is to say , they endangered everyone's lives so as to save money for themselves ( well , that's one of many times when those at the top have put profits ahead of safety ) . And I have a question : considering how many people died on the Titanic , was it appropriate to use this event to further Leonardo DiCaprio's career ? As for that story that I wrote , it portrayed Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck ( from " In & Out " ) believing themselves to resemble Leo and Kate ; Al Pacino ( from " Donnie Brasco ) realizing that he was going to sleep with the fishes ; Jim Carrey ( from " Liar Liar " ) admitting : " I can't lie : I wasn't watching for icebergs while I was steering ! " ; Kim Basinger ( from " LA Confidential " ) wondering whether or not she would look like Veronica Lake at the bottom of the ocean ; and Jack Nicholson ( from " As Good as It Gets " ) still inside his cabin and saying " Don't knock on my door ! Even if the ship is sinking , don't knock on my door ! " . Oh , I forgot to say my opinion of the movie . When everyone at school asked me what I thought , I always said " Well , I . . . " That's what I'm going to say here . I consider " Titanic " right down the middle . I think that " In & Out " was the best movie of 1997 . End of story . |
363,738 | 4,888,011 | 59,245 | 5 | Life of Brian is my favorite biblical epic | Anyone who's read any of my reviews of most musicals and / or epics will most likely know that I only watch them so that I can trash-talk them a la " Mystery Science Theater 3000 " . " The Greatest Story Ever Told " would be perfect fodder for that show . Among my heckling remarks were : " Son , when you reign . . . " - " . . . you'll pour . " " All the tribes on the earth . . . " - " . . . she had to come to mine . " " Hosanna ! " - " Oh , Hosanna , don't you cry for me ! We got a new religion and it's gonna set us free ! " Sorry if I offend religious people , but having been raised without religion , I take none seriously ( Bill Maher's documentary " Religulous " pretty much displays my opinion of organized religion , although I think that Maher could have done better ) . As for the characters . First off , it makes no sense to cast white people like Max von Sydow and Claude Rains as biblical figures . The stories took place in the Middle East , so they should have all been at least swarthy ; Sidney Poitier , Jamie Farr and Michael Ansara ( Barbara Eden's then-husband ) were the only cast members who looked accurate . Apparently , when someone asked George Stevens why he cast so many top stars - among them Carroll Baker , Pat Boone , Angela Lansbury , Roddy McDowall , Dorothy McGuire and John Wayne - in small roles , Stevens asserted that in later years people wouldn't know who these actors / actresses are and would judge the whole movie on its merits . Well , I know who most of these people are / were . One of the things that I judge is that the movie comes across as a lead weight . And that Charlton Heston turns John the Baptist into a real wise guy , and that it's hard to watch Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and not think of Savalas's other roles . In my opinion , the important thing to understand about Jesus is that he was basically a revolutionary . Judea was a hierarchical society with the colonizing Romans collaborating with the king and the religious institution , and then along comes this carpenter who starts speaking for the masses . The fact that people wanted to free murderer Barrabas goes to show that in a frenzied-up society , a revolutionary is considered more dangerous than a murderer . I actually didn't learn the story of Jesus until my parents and I went to Paris when I was ten . Going to the museums and seeing the paintings depicting biblical scenes , my mom decided that she'd better explain to me what the story was . For the record , by the age of five , I could identify the people behind the Bugs Bunny cartoons ( Mel Blanc , Chuck Jones , Friz Freleng , etc ) . Long story short , I don't recommend this movie , unless it's for a film class . Also starring Michael Anderson , Joanna Dunham , Van Heflin , Martin Landau , David McCallum , Donald Pleasance and Shelley Winters . |
363,016 | 4,888,011 | 97,757 | 5 | Rethinking Columbus offered some good insight | In 1992 , when most of the country was celebrating the quincentenary of Columbus landing in the Americas , the educational organization Rethinking Schools published a study guide called " Rethinking Columbus " , looking at the real effects that his legacy had . One of the things that it mentioned was portrayals of certain groups in popular media , and it mentioned Disney movies , including " The Little Mermaid " . The three women in the movie are Ariel , Ursula and the maid . One exists only to be beautiful , one exists only to be evil , and the other exists only to get chores done . In short , not good role models for little girls . I guess that as long as we understand that , the movie is probably OK . I actually think that it sounds funny that religious wackos have found what they claim are sexual perversions in the movie . What's really interesting is when one sees the cast : Rene Auberjonois , Nancy Cartwright , Gerrit Graham , Buddy Hackett , Mark Hamill , Kenneth Mars and Edie McClurg . To rephrase that : the " MASH " priest , Bart Simpson , a cult flick star , Benji from " It's a Mad , Mad , Mad , Mad World " , Luke Skywalker , the " Young Frankenstein " cop , and the woman who got cursed at by Steve Martin in " Planes , Trains and Automobiles " . Whoa . |
365,582 | 4,888,011 | 89,686 | 5 | Remember what they said in " Scream " ? | In " Scream " they said that the original " Nightmare on Elm Street " was neat but the sequels sucked . Of course , it's practically a given that sequels will suck . Still , Robert Englund in his most famous role is always good for a laugh . " A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 : Freddy's Revenge " features pretty much the same things as the original , except that it's now getting played more for laughs . I can't help but wonder why they made so many sequels , right up to " Freddy vs . Jason " . Oh well , they're all cool for what they are , but the first one was definitely the best . Robert Englund may be the coolest horror actor alive today , and Wes Craven may be the coolest horror director alive today . |
364,248 | 4,888,011 | 242,998 | 5 | ( caveman's ) valentine | Mostly , this is your average horror flick : a person abused as a kid takes revenge on the tormentors . . . or is it the same person ? What I thought was really interesting about " Valentine " was that its release preceded by about a month the release of another valentine-titled suspense movie : " The Caveman's Valentine " starring Samuel L . Jackson . While the two movies really have no relation , I just found it interesting that two fairly similar films with similar titles came out around the same time . A similarly-titled , similarly-themed movie was 1981's " My Bloody Valentine " . So , there's nothing special about this one , although I liked the scene of the woman walking around wearing nothing but a towel ( every horror movie must include something like that , apparently ) . Starring Denise Richards , Marley Shelton ( most recently of " Grindhouse " ) and Katherine Heigl . |
364,852 | 4,888,011 | 120,716 | 5 | no comparisons with " Life is Beautiful " , please | First , I want to say that Robin Williams is one of my favorite actors , and one of the funniest people alive today . Which makes it all the more disappointing that he doesn't get to do anything in " Jakob the Liar " . A lot of people compared this movie to " Life is Beautiful " ; if anything , it just ripped that one off . This story of a Jewish man in Nazi-occupied Poland trying to give everyone hope just can't create a believable presence . It's not terrible , just nothing creative . And I'm probably not the only person who thinks that Williams's career hit an all time low in 1999 , as he starred in this and the apparently dreadful " Bicentennial Man " . Fortunately , he's made a comeback since then ( I expect a cool performance from him in " Night at the Museum " ) . Also starring Alan Arkin , Bob Balaban , Michael Jeter , Armin Mueller-Stahl and Liev Schreiber ; they probably and Williams want to downplay this movie when describing their careers . |
365,581 | 4,888,011 | 403,217 | 5 | What exactly do we know about Kurt Cobain ? | Gus Van Sant went to incomprehensible extremes with the go-nowhere " Gerry " and rebounded with " Elephant " . I couldn't tell whether or not he was trying to do anything with " Last Days " . Portraying Kurt Cobain-esquire drugged-out singer Blake ( Michael Pitt ) mindlessly wondering around , the movie almost seems like it's trying to be a Sergei Paradjanov tribute , but I can't verify anything for certain . It almost seems like someone just turned a camera on " record " and filmed whatever happens . Certainly Blake apparently leads an empty life , but what's it all supposed to mean ? Oh well . I guess that someone could always use " Last Days " in a film class , if absolutely nothing else . The only cast members whose names I recognized were Lukas Haas ( you may remember him as the Amish boy in " Witness " and as Richie in " Mars Attacks ! " ) and Asia Argento ( Italian horror director Dario Argento's daughter who starred in " XxX " ) . That's about all that I think that I can say here . |
364,302 | 4,888,011 | 50,335 | 5 | Nobody's getting me into the army | In this semi-sequel to " From A to Z-z-z-z-z " , daydreamer Ralph Phillips dreams - at night , that is - of being various things , until a figure named Willie N . List appears and shows him the benefits of joining the army ( rather than waiting to get drafted ) . I assume that in 1957 , an army life seemed more honorable than it does nowadays . Since " Drafty , Isn't It ? " came out , we've had the Vietnam War and the Iraq War . So while Chuck Jones probably had good intentions in making this cartoon , the tragic reality has proved to be quite different from what it shows . So , this short is pretty funny if you just accept it as a silly cartoon ( it turns out that Wile E . Coyote isn't the only one who receives stuff from the ACME Corporation ) . But I , for one , would never want to join the army . Even if you survive the next military escapade - even if you don't lose any limbs - there's the risk of being homeless after the service . So it's best not to obey this cartoon . |
365,304 | 4,888,011 | 357,507 | 5 | Boogey nights | I guess that the good thing about " Boogeyman " is that it never takes itself too seriously . It's a pretty much silly movie about a guy traumatized by a childhood incident and wondering whether or not the boogeyman still exists , and it doesn't pretend to be anything else . Still , the idea itself was fairly interesting . Although it seems that they could have explained things a little further . If they were going to make it as they made it , they might as well have thrown in some sex to spice it up . The boogeyman himself seemed a little silly . But still , I do think that " Boogeyman " is worth seeing , as long as you're willing to suspend reality . |
364,344 | 4,888,011 | 120,753 | 5 | hard to tell whether or not it has Wim Wenders written all over it | Maybe I've been too cruel to Wim Wenders ever since I saw " Until the End of the World " ( which is a movie that I wholeheartedly recommend ) ; ever since that movie , I expect top-notch work from him . Which isn't to say that " The Million Dollar Hotel " is a bad movie . The lack of health insurance is certainly an important topic to look at . It's just that the movie's a little too far out to follow clearly . Whodunits always seem to be an inconsistent genre , and this one comes across as more confusing than anything . Maybe Wim Wenders and Mel Gibson just aren't the right people to work together . Anyway , it's worth seeing , but don't make it your first choice . Also starring Jeremy Davies , Milla Jovovich , Jimmy Smits , Peter Stormare , Bud Cort , Amanda Plummer , Gloria Stuart , Donal Logue and Harris Yulin . |
364,115 | 4,888,011 | 120,669 | 5 | Well , they did it . | Hunter S . Thompson's recent suicide brings " Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas " to mind again . Many people considered it unfilmable , so Terry Gilliam decided to make a movie . The result ? Well , it's not a bad movie , but it's almost too weird too understand . Reporter Raoul Duke ( Johnny Depp ) and lawyer Dr . Gonzo ( Benicio Del Toro ) go to Las Vegas - aka the domain of Frank Sinatra , Henry Kissinger and Debbie Reynolds - to cover a convention . The only thing is , they're doing polypharmacy ( many drugs at once ) and they get SO-O-O-O-O-O-O MESSED UP ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! You can't even begin to imagine what they get like ; you have to see the movie to understand , although squeamish people would do best to avoid this movie . My favorite scene was the whole sequence about the " dope fiend " . This is gonzo journalism at it's best . . . and weirdest . |
363,048 | 4,888,011 | 128,278 | 5 | they should have just stuck with " Ishmael " | I have read Daniel Quinn's very interesting novel " Ishmael " ( in which a gorilla explains to a human the problems that humans have created in the world ) , and I would like to assert that " Instinct " didn't do the fullest job adapting it . Anthony Hopkins , Cuba Gooding Jr , Donald Sutherland and George Dzundza all turn in fine performances , but due to excessive moralizing , the movie comes out kinda silly . I really recommend just reading " Ishmael " and only seeing this movie if there's absolutely nothing else to see . So , in conclusion , I will play off of a movie title to give my summation : this " Instinct " is not basic . |
362,926 | 4,888,011 | 120,696 | 5 | Is a hard rain gonna fall ? Maybe , but this one's not pathetically awful . | First off , I should identify that there's nothing special about " Hard Rain " . It's an action movie in which a bunch of people shout out their lines at various intervals . However , unlike so many action movies , this one isn't idiotic . Granted , the whole thing about a small Indiana town flooding was obviously an excuse for a bunch of action . But " Hard Rain " involves intrigue and questions about who is intertwined with whom . Morgan Freeman , Christian Slater , Randy Quaid , Minnie Driver , and the other cast members do as well as they can , given the material . Maybe nowadays it seems inappropriate to use floods for entertainment , given the tsunami last year and Hurricane Katrina this year , but there's nothing particularly bad about this movie . |
363,034 | 4,888,011 | 50,177 | 5 | Your mission , Mr . Graves , should you choose to accept it , is to start out in giant bug movies | Typical giant bug movie . Nuclear fallout turns regular grasshoppers into truck-sized killing machines . Scientist Ed Wainwright ( Peter Graves ) tries to figure out how to stop the over-sized insects ( the solution may or may not be nuking Chicago ) , while reporter Audrey Ames ( Peggie Castle ) investigates the whole thing and falls for Ed . As expected , the whole thing is quite laughable ( somehow , Illinois has California-style hills ) , although Audrey is actually pretty hot . If you really want to watch this movie , then watch the " MST3K " version . Mike , Servo and Crow really have some fun with this one , as you might imagine . |
365,621 | 4,888,011 | 111,003 | 5 | a puppet of better movies | OK , how many movies have there been about aliens coming to earth and possessing people ? " The Puppet Masters " doesn't seem like much that we haven't seen before ; specifically , it looks like a remake of " Invasion of the Body Snatchers " . Still , Donald Sutherland makes the most of his role as a really creepy weirdo . It's just that the movie as a whole doesn't offer anything new . Sutherland , plus Eric Thal , Julie Warner , Keith David , Will Patton , Richard Belzer and Yaphet Kotto all pass in a middling movie . In the thick of everything , you gotta admit that those slugs were pretty nasty-looking . |
363,687 | 4,888,011 | 181,151 | 5 | strange to think that Mike Nichols directed this | Knowing that Mike Nichols directed greats like " The Graduate " , " Catch-22 " , " Carnal Knowledge " and " Silkwood " , it's a real shock that he directed something as silly as " What Planet Are You From ? " . The movie has space alien Garry Shandling coming to Earth to impregnate a woman after the men on his planet lose the ability to reproduce , and a bunch of goofy things happen . How many times have we seen this sort of story ? It's not a bad movie , but not any kind of masterpiece . A way to pass time at best . Maybe we're too cruel to Mike Nichols , expecting some great every time . An OK movie . Also starring Annette Bening , John Goodman , Ben Kingsley , Greg Kinnear , Richard Jenkins ( aka Nate Sr . on " Six Feet Under " ) , Linda Fiorentino and Caroline Aaron . |
365,044 | 4,888,011 | 102,511 | 5 | So was " Naked Lunch " impossible to film ? | Most of you probably know that " Naked Lunch " is not about unclothed people eating a midday meal . It's an understatement to say that the movie is about drug addiction . Based on William S . Burroughs ' autobiographical novel , exterminator Bill Lee ( Peter Weller ) gets addicted to the substance that he uses to kill bugs . After accidentally killing his wife , Bill ventures to Tangiers , Morocco , where he gets involved with a group of people in the international zone ( or " Interzone " ) . In the process , of course , there are many over-sized bugs with whom he carries on conversations . The movie gets progressively weirder and weirder . So , I guess it was possible to film " Naked Lunch " , but still , why ? Sure , it's about drug addiction , but like " Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas " , it's almost too weird to even follow the point . |
365,783 | 4,888,011 | 119,942 | 5 | it's all in the timing | There is often debate about whether or not a person should see a movie without having read the novel first . That said , I will admit that I never read the novel " Primary Colors " ; I only saw the movie . It was of course loosely based on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and the various vicissitudes therein . John Travolta plays the Clinton-like Gov . Jack Stanton . Then arises the problem . When I took an ethics class , one of the issues that we discussed was " what if so-and-so happens ? " . Well , guess what ? " So-and-so " happened right before this movie came out . I'm talking of course about the whole Lewinsky thing . Since " Primary Colors " focuses a little bit on Stanton's possible marital infidelity , that might have doomed it , as we were already tired of hearing about it on the news ( " Wag the Dog " did a neat job looking at these sorts of things ) . And if we were going to talk about it , people were more interested in the apparent stain on the dress . All in all , stories of politicians ' sexual mishaps just don't make for interesting movies ; Mike Nichols should know better than to do this . The best scene in the movie is when Libby Holden ( Kathy Bates ) threatens to deprive a man of his manhood ( you know what I'm talking about ) . Also starring Emma Thompson , Billy Bob Thornton , Adrian Lester , Maura Tierney , Larry Hagman and Diane Ladd . And one more thing about the whole Lewinsky thing . It should only show what the whole thing involved , that the drive to impeach Clinton was led by the now-discredited Tom DeLay . Moreover , they had about $52 million to spend investigating a stain on a dress - by comparison , the commission investigating the September 11 attacks only had $13 million . Like I said , it just goes to show what all we're dealing with . |
365,533 | 4,888,011 | 80,802 | 5 | these children ain't nice | Another movie about a seemingly cute child with a not-so-cute side ; Portland's video / DVD store Movie Madness has in the horror section a whole shelf devoted to Killer Kids . In this case , a typical English family one day picks up a woman who gives birth in their house and then disappears without a trace , leaving her infant daughter with them . Sure enough , their children start getting killed . Basically a rehash of " The Bad Seed " , " Rosemary's Baby " and " The Omen " . Still , " The Godsend " has a neat side , as the vicious little girl makes some faces that no one would ever associate with a little girl ; she did look kind of scary . But in the grand scheme of things , there's nothing new or important about this movie . Not to mention that it ends rather abruptly . Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus produced much better movies over the years . This is the sort of flick that you rent if there's absolutely nothing else available . |
364,053 | 4,888,011 | 80,731 | 5 | Fu fighter | Although the thought of a white person playing an Asian sort of makes us cringe , I wouldn't call Peter Sellers's final film ( also David Tomlinson's final film ) awful . Granted , this was probably less than they would have wanted to end with . But Sellers brings a certain charm to the double role of the 168-year-old titular character , trying to carry out a heist in 1930s England , and a British police officer hired to look for him . Admittedly , " The Fiendish Plot of Dr . Fu Manchu " isn't any kind of masterpiece . It's kind of choppy and drags at times . But there are some funny scenes , and Sid Caesar's character has a name that makes you think " Uh-oh " . I guess that at most , it's a way to pass time . Pretty much all the cast members have done much better than this . But it does elicit a few laughs . Also starring Helen Mirren , and even Burt Kwouk ( better known as Cato in the " Pink Panther " movies ) in a small role . |
362,761 | 4,888,011 | 33,723 | 5 | Abbott and Costello needed the Ghostbusters | I prefer it when comedies don't have people occasionally break out into song ( leave that to Gene Kelly , will ya ! ) . But once the unnecessary songs in " Hold That Ghost " are over , the movie gets going . Bud and Lou play gas station attendants Chuck Murray and Ferdinand " Ferdie " Jones , who inherit a murdered gangster's fortune . The fortune is located in what appears to be a haunted house . Since Ferdie gets freaked out by every little thing , you can probably guess what sorts of things happen in the house . The more Lou irks everyone , the more you want him to do so . I really liked the room switching scene . Maybe " Hold That Ghost " was old-school , but it was good for a few laughs . |
363,272 | 4,888,011 | 80,761 | 5 | Starring Bing Crosby's son ! | There have now been nine " Friday the 13th " sequels - plus " Freddy vs . Jason " - so the original one seems pretty sedate . Since you most likely know the plot , I'll just talk about a few aspects . Kevin Bacon appears in an early role ( and watch what happens to him ) . Bing Crosby's son Harry plays one of the counselors . And of course , there's Jason . . . but there's a surprise there ( they identified it in " Scream " ) . I still like to think about the fact that Bing Crosby's son starred in this . Just imagine what America's crooner would have thought if he'd known that his son would star in a slasher movie ( actually , I've heard a lot of bad things about Bing Crosby , so I wish that that creep could have known ) . All in all , you can respect this movie for what it is . |
365,244 | 4,888,011 | 102,558 | 5 | actors directing do occasionally seem to have trouble | I'm not sure whether to describe " Nothing But Trouble " as funny or gross . Portraying yuppie motorist Chevy Chase and hubby Demi Moore getting stopped for speeding and getting taken to the weirdest courtroom ever conceived of , director Dan Aykroyd really makes it look like he has a messed-up mind . Playing the nasty judge , Aykroyd looks like the older version of Jack Crabbe in " Little Big Man " . . . as painted by Salvador Dali . John Candy , as the cop , is really the most interesting person in the movie , how he calmly says " You're under arrest . " As for the issue of gross or funny , there are some scenes that probably will make you at least giggle , but considering that so many scenes literally resemble vomit , I wonder why Dan Aykroyd chose this as his directorial debut . I would say that they went a little overboard with the Bonestripper . No , it's not a terrible movie ( it easily beats any Jean-Claude Van Damme movie for quality ) . Some of the gadgets in the house were actually pretty neat . But really folks , the cast members have all done much better than this . |
364,538 | 4,888,011 | 80,663 | 5 | Hopefully , it ends here . | Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 Century isn't really terrible , but I don't understand why they thought that the original needed a sequel . Whereas the original was clever every step of the way - namely the conveniently alphabetical planets - there's just too much dialog here , something that director Chuck Jones didn't like . The main salvation is that Mel Blanc is still providing the voices ( without him , the current stuff is basically worth nothing ) . But overall , this cartoon doesn't add anything new . The near consensus that sequels suck should also apply to cartoons . Daffy , Porky and Marvin didn't deserve to get used like this . |
363,130 | 4,888,011 | 33,324 | 5 | racist yes ( but still worth seeing ) | Obviously , it's hard to laugh at " All This and Rabbit Stew " nowadays , given the blatantly racist caricature . The cartoon features Bugs Bunny teasing an African-American hunter . I have to admit that some scenes are quite funny - that whole sequence with the bullets was a real hoot - but how can we judge the rest ? As long as we understand what the cartoon portrays , it's possible to . . . well , I don't know whether I can say enjoy it . As the cartoon is almost certain to offend African-Americans , I don't know what more I can say . I do recommend seeing it just to understand stereotypical characterizations . |
365,115 | 4,888,011 | 167,423 | 6 | It's hard to tell whether or not " Diamonds " is forever . | Kirk Douglas , in a role probably reflecting on what happened to him in real life , plays a stroke-afflicted ex-boxer about to go on a journey of self-discovery with his son ( Dan Aykroyd ) . It's good to see that even after his stroke , Douglas hasn't lost any of his acting skills , but the movie doesn't really seem like much that we haven't seen before . Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall also did quite well in the movie , but I personally felt that Jenny McCarthy was sort of unnecessary . Still , it is worth seeing , if only for consideration of what we have to look forward to in our older years . So are you or have you ever been . . . ? |
364,850 | 4,888,011 | 52,603 | 6 | not all classical music comes out the same in cartoons | After the Termite Terrace crowd had used classical music to great effect in " A Corny Concerto " , " Rhapsody Rabbit " , " Back Alley Oproar " , " Long-Haired Hare " , " Rabbit of Seville " and " What's Opera , Doc ? " , it came out a little flat in " Baton Bunny " . This short has Bugs Bunny conducting an orchestra while his suit keeps going awry and a fly keeps getting in his way . The cartoon's not terrible , but it seems like they should have had accomplished more ; then again , maybe they'd done everything that they could with classical music by this point . OK in a pinch . Available on Disc 3 of the Golden Collection , where it's placed among far better cartoons . So who exactly is this Suppe guy ? |
365,122 | 4,888,011 | 95,684 | 6 | Maybe you can only sink your teeth into this once , but it's still OK . | Oh not another vampire comedy ! Actually , this one isn't half bad . Robert Sean Leonard plays a Houston high school student who one night has a fling with a sexy babe . The only thing is , this sexy babe just happens to be a creature of the night , and she turns him into one . At first , he refuses to accept his new status as a vampire , but a kindly old man ( Rene Auberjonois ) helps him . But there remains the question of how to deal with two vampire hunters . " My Best Friend Is a Vampire " isn't really anything special , but it's good for a few laughs . And the idea of a vampire in Houston . . . well , we know that there are certain vampiric people from there ! |
363,499 | 4,888,011 | 87,980 | 6 | curtain razor | Taking a break from his goof-ball roles , Bill Murray starred in this serious movie about a man's search for meaning . " The Razor's Edge " is an interesting movie alright , but I guess that it's one of those situations where they throw so much philosophical stuff at you that it's hard to digest . Is Bill Murray the right choice for the role , or is he totally miscast ? Well , in recent years , he's taken a number of serious roles , so there's nothing wrong with him taking one here ; still , considering that this was the same year as " Ghost Busters " , you almost expect him to blurt out something silly . No matter , he does a very good job in the role . Worth seeing , if only once . Also starring Theresa Russell , Catherine Hicks and Denholm Elliott . |
365,692 | 4,888,011 | 105,001 | 6 | Would you see it in a box ( ing ) ? | OK , so we all agree that Robert DeNiro and Jessica Lange are among the greatest stars of their generations . Well , even they can play mildly confusing roles . " Night and the City " is an example . DeNiro plays a lawyer who seeks to get into boxing . . . but what might this lead to ? This is one of those movies whose plot might become a blur after you see it . I actually thought that the movie's most interesting aspect was the contrast between Jessica Lange and Jack Warden , and maybe I'm the only one who even saw that . I mean , he's got the look of an acerbic old man , and she still has an aura of her " King Kong " role . But otherwise , I didn't see too much else . I guess that the movie's worth seeing , if only once . Also starring Cliff Gorman , Alan King and Eli Wallach . |
364,450 | 4,888,011 | 87,909 | 6 | this movie shouldn't " bug " anyone | I have to admit that " Phenomena / Creepers " is the only Dario Argento movie that I've ever seen , but if this is any example , then his other movies must be pretty cool . Jennifer Corvino ( Jennifer Connelly ) is a student at a Swiss school where some bizarre murders have been happening . Jennifer may be the only person who can solve the murders . You see , she can communicate with insects telepathically . And the answers may lie closer than anyone suspects . I thought that the movie got a little silly towards the end , but it was mostly good . Jennifer Connelly is hot as always , and Donald Pleasance provides good support as Prof . John McGregor . But the real stars are the bugs . You want to fear them , but feel more tempted to root for them . And another aspect of " Phenomena / Creepers " is that it took place in Switzerland . Usually we think of that country as possibly the most peaceful , habitable place on Earth . This movie forces us to reconsider that stereotype . |
365,149 | 4,888,011 | 52,611 | 6 | and other gigantic things | There were so many movies about radioactive fallout turning ordinary animals into skulking monsters that it sometimes gets hard to remember which is which . " Behemoth , the Sea Monster " is passable . True , it's hokey ( particularly the early scene where the guy says what killed him ) and nothing that we haven't seen before , but it's pretty fun to watch . Personally , I'd like to see a movie where a human gets turned into a giant and goes to the ocean floor , thereby wreaking havoc on everything ( which would be more realistic ) . So anyway , this flick's mostly a way to pass time . The big guy is a pretty neat monster . |
364,173 | 4,888,011 | 52,646 | 6 | Was the monster that guy in the Diane Arbus photo ? | We might call " The Brain That Wouldn't Die " a B-movie , but it actually wasn't too bad . Granted , the concept was pretty outlandish , but the movie is worth seeing ( if only for sci-fi fetishists ) . The plot of course has Dr . Bill Cortner ( Herb Evers ) keeping lover Jan Compton's ( Virginia Leith ) decapitated head alive . The head befriends a monster ( Eddie Carmel ) in the closet . Sound far-fetched ? It is , but the movie's pretty cool . And I remember that Diane Arbus titled one of her photos " Jewish Giant Visiting His Parents in Brooklyn " , and I think that it was Eddie Carmel in that photo . The things that we see in life . . . |
364,585 | 4,888,011 | 61,401 | 6 | Just how many times can one do this ? | This time , Jerry Lewis plays reporter Gerald Clamson , who just happens to be a dead ringer for Sid Valentine , wanted by a crime syndicate . The only thing is , Valentine is supposed to be dead , so when the thugs see Clamson , you can imagine what sorts of things they do ! Mistaken identity seems to be a frequent source of comedy ( or drama ; see " North by Northwest " ) . So even though " The Big Mouth " is nothing special , it's good for a few laughs . Most of the laughs come from what happens with the thugs when they see Clamson . But one also gets the feeling that Lewis was sort of losing his ability to come up with anything new after this . And now that we know what sort of a person he is in real life , that weakens it . But overall , this one's pretty funny . |
365,372 | 4,888,011 | 209,958 | 6 | how to " cell " an idea | Sort of expanding on " The Silence of the Lambs " , " The Cell " portrays a woman ( Jennifer Lopez ) entering a comatose killer's ( Vincent D'Onofrio ) mind so that he can help her find his latest victim . I guess that this movie is really all about the visuals as she drifts through his subconscious . If the movie has any problem , it's the casting of Jennifer Lopez . She actually does a good job here , but given that she's only starred in idiotic movies since , it's almost hard to take her seriously ( and at times , it seems like they're just trying to show off her underwear ) . Fortunately , D'Onofrio makes a really creepy killer , and Vince Vaughn is also passable as Lopez's cohort . All in all , I wouldn't recommend this movie above all others . It's more of a way to pass time . Still , it is a pretty original idea with some impressive scenes . Also starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste . |
364,204 | 4,888,011 | 105,428 | 6 | now this one was just ridiculous | Sometimes , I wonder why Stephen King allows Hollywood to make certain movies from his books . For instance , " Sleepwalkers " features a scene where a woman stabs a man to death with an ear of corn ! I admit that I haven't read King's novel so I don't know whether or not it included that scene , but was that really supposed to look anything other than completely silly ? ! Not to mention some fairly stupid lines ( Cop kebab ! ) . Other than that , the movie's pretty fun . While some may wonder how a potentially great actress like Alice Krige ended up in something so absurd , I actually found her role quite fascinating ( I consider " Chariots of Fire " a perfidious movie , so I refuse to recognize her role from that one ) . Also starring Cindy Pickett , Lyman Ward and Ron Perlman , plus small appearances by Stephen King , Mark Hamill , Joe Dante , John Landis and Clive Barker . |
365,397 | 4,888,011 | 70,334 | 6 | Hello to " The Long Goodbye " | Elliott Gould probably wouldn't usually seem like the choice to play a detective made famous by Humphrey Bogart , but he does a reasonable job with the role . Phillip Marlowe ( Gould ) tries to help friend Roger Wade ( Sterling Hayden ) accused of murdering his wife . Needless to say , things aren't as they seem . The obvious change is that this version of a Raymond Chandler story is updated to the 1970s , a far cry from the noir-ish world of the 1940s . And , as always , director Robert Altman lets the actors make their own characters . Maybe this wasn't Altman's best movie ever , but he does a respectable job with it . Watch for a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger in a small role . |
362,836 | 4,888,011 | 95,253 | 6 | Aykroyd and Candy : a great combo | The Great Outdoors is what anyone would expect of a John Candy movie : completely goofy , but funny nonetheless . He plays Chet Ripley , taking his family on vacation in the wilderness . Unfortunately , Chet's unpleasant brother-in-law Roman Craig ( Dan Aykroyd ) is also there , and he just has to make everything miserable for Chet . In some ways , this movie seems to be rehashing " Summer Rental " , but with a different tone . My favorite parts were the raccoons , the bear , and The Old ' 96er ( I don't recommend that scene for squeamish people ) . All in all , it just goes to show what the world lost when John Candy died . He was really great . P . S . : Annette Bening , in her debut , plays Roman's wife Kate . |
363,206 | 4,888,011 | 43,495 | 6 | gambling is the opposite today | Early to Bet starts off somewhat lame - as a warning not to gamble - before they start showing the usual crazy stuff ( the cat's increasingly nasty punishments ) and have a pretty humorous ending . This is of course a product of the days when people considered gambling a sin and moral failure . They probably had no idea that gambling would one day be a major part of the economy . So more than anything , this cartoon comes across as a period piece . Not as much as we usually expect from a Looney Tunes cartoon ( maybe there would have been more with the presence of Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck or one of those guys ) . |
363,529 | 4,888,011 | 87,507 | 6 | dangerously silly | Johnny Dangerously is one of those movies that exists for the sole purpose of being silly , much like " Airplane ! " . Michael Keaton plays Johnny Kelly , who once became a gangster under the name Johnny Dangerously , to pay his mother's ( Maureen Stapleton ) bills . His nemesis is Danny Vermin ( Joe Piscopo ) . After a series of mix-ups , Johnny's brother Tommy ( Griffin Dunne ) becomes a marked man . That's the plot , but you don't even need to pay attention to the plot . The whole movie is an excuse for a bunch of goofy occurrences , such as when the year is shown in the opening scene , and a car runs over the numbers , or when someone lights a cigarette and Johnny turns to the camera and reminds the children in the audience never to start smoking . My favorite character was Roman Moronie , just because of how he tried to curse and ended up saying things like " fargin ' iceholes " . Oh , and Alan Hale appears in one of his non-Skipper roles . In my opinion , one of the neatest lines was , after Lil ( Marilu Henner ) hears Johnny's name , she says : " I've never met a man whose last name was an adverb . " |
365,738 | 4,888,011 | 113,228 | 6 | Who would have ever guessed that it's the same place ? | For the most part , " Grumpier Old Men " is pretty silly . Max Goldman ( Walter Matthau ) and John Gustafson ( Jack Lemmon ) are still at each other's throats when Italian immigrant Maria Ragetti ( Sophia Loren ) arrives in town and throws everything into flux . What actually struck me most about the movie was how different the town looked in this one from the original . Obviously , it was a different time of year , but maybe the different look was meant to show how everything might be changing in the town . Other than that , Ann-Margret returns as Ariel , and she's still as free-spirited and vivacious as she was in the original . Burgess Meredith - in his final role - is still the grandfather who can exercise absolute authority over the youngsters , although he now has the hots for Maria's mother ( Ann Morgan Guilbert , aka Millie on " The Dick Van Dyke Show " ) . Kevin Pollak and Daryl Hannah also reprise their roles from the original . . . ah , and there's that fish . All in all , a fairly interesting movie . Not any kind of masterpiece , but it showed that Lemmon and Matthau still had it . |
363,710 | 4,888,011 | 260,830 | 6 | Is this the same one that I saw ? | I've seen a few movies from Tintin books , including " The Crab with Golden Claws " . I'm assuming that this one that I'm reviewing is the same one that I saw when I was really young . Since only Tintin fans are even going to look up this movie , then I don't have to explain the story . But the one that I saw was in color , I read that this one was black and white , and that it came from Belgium ( although I guess that they could have dubbed it ) . Oh well . I guess that I can only assume that it's the same movie . And I liked it even though it didn't follow the book exactly , as none of the Tintin movies did . If nothing else , it's still nice entertainment for children , with some stuff about geopolitics . |
364,602 | 4,888,011 | 70,126 | 6 | How far can one go in ripping off Kubrick ? | When I picked up " Una gota de sangre para morir amando " ( called " Murder in a Blue World " in English ) , I think that the box loosely said something about it being a Spanish " Clockwork Orange " . It turns out that the movie is a total rip-off of " A Clockwork Orange " ( to the point where they even mention " ACO " in a scene right before a motorcycle gang attacks ) . The main plot has young nurse Sue Lyon luring men to their dooms . . . just for the hell of it , apparently . What makes this world so blue ? ! Aside from the plot , the other Kubrick connection is " Lolita " . There's of course the ex-nymphet Sue Lyon , but one scene even shows a person holding Vladimir Nabokov's novel ! For the most part , it wouldn't be fair to compare this movie to any of Kubrick's movies . It's an OK way to pass time . The only real downside is that Sue Lyon doesn't do any full frontal nude scenes ( in this sort of movie , she should have ) . Also starring Chris Mitchum ( Robert's son ) . |
364,311 | 4,888,011 | 43,265 | 6 | a queen of a movie | Okay , so I admit that " The African Queen " is pure escapism , but you gotta love it . Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer , a prim and proper missionary in German East Africa with her brother ( Robert Morley ) in 1914 . Suddenly , right after they receive news that war has broken out in Europe , the German army comes in and demolishes their settlement . After the brother dies , hard-drinking stubbly sailor Charlie Allnut ( Humphrey Bogart ) comes in and agrees to take Rose down the river . Along the way , they bicker about various things ( she's disgusted by his drinking , he finds her too pious ) , but they grow to respect each other . Bogart and Hepburn pretty much play their usual roles , and the movie also stars a few crocodiles ( most of the movie was filmed on location in Africa ) . The portrayal of the German army certainly seems to be an allusion to the Nazis . But overall , the movie is quite admirable , with Rose's and Charlie's personalities bouncing off of each other . It's like an early buddy comedy , even though it's serious . |
365,704 | 4,888,011 | 382,077 | 6 | keep the ending ( and for that matter , the whole plot ) hidden | Hide and Seek is one of those movies where you can only enjoy it if you know absolutely nothing about it ahead of time . I couldn't have predicted what would happen . David Callaway ( Robert DeNiro ) and his daughter Emily ( Dakota Fanning ) move to a small town after his wife Allison ( Amy Irving ) commits suicide . But when David and Emily move into their new house , strange things begin to happen , all of which apparently relate to Emily's imaginary friend Charlie . Okay , so the people - move - into - house - and - abnormal - occurrences - follow idea has been used more times than anyone can count , but the performances keep this movie afloat . DeNiro naturally does a good job , as do Famke Janssen and Elisabeth Shue . And Fanning , despite her " cute " reputation , actually looks pretty creepy . So come out , come out , wherever you are , and see what you think of " Hide and Seek " . |
365,187 | 4,888,011 | 78,736 | 6 | Agatha Christie meets " The Twilight Zone " | Until I saw " Agatha " , I had never even heard of the story of Agatha Christie disappearing - or hiding - in 1926 . The movie offers a possibility of what might have happened , portraying the author ( Vanessa Redgrave ) secretly checking into a health spa under a false name , while detective Wally Stanton ( Dustin Hoffman ) investigates . I will admit that this movie is nothing special . If anything , it's sort of just a way to pass time . But it is interesting not only learning about this part of history , but seeing this speculation of what might have happened ( the movie reminds us that this is only speculation ) . The only other cast member whom I recognized was Timothy Dalton as Agatha's husband Archibald . Not a masterpiece by any stretch , but worth seeing nevertheless . |
364,682 | 4,888,011 | 765,443 | 6 | David Cronenberg should know better than to use a cliché | I have always liked David Cronenberg as a director . " Scanners " , " The Fly " , " Naked Lunch " , " Crash " and " A History of Violence " are truly one of a kind . So although " Eastern Promises " has a good premise and pulls no punches , the movie has a problem : it has long since become a cliché to portray Russians as gangsters . I know that we had the Cold War , but seriously . I've twice been to Russia and stayed in people's homes there , so I find it hard to view the place negatively . In fact , I secretly had a crush on my St . Petersburg host sister Marina ( OK , I'll be totally candid : I still fantasize about her , and it arouses me to even think about her as I write about her ) . Why can't they just have American gangsters ? I mean , we've had the mafia for years . Otherwise , it's worth seeing , although squeamish people should avoid it . Starring Viggo Mortensen , Naomi Watts and Armin Mueller-Stahl . |
364,614 | 4,888,011 | 52,847 | 6 | time capsules forever | On the one hand , " Gidget " looks like an intelligence-challenged flick , as the cute teenage girl goes to the beach to possibly meet boys . But I think that there's more to it than just that . As far as I could tell , the movie also looked at her burgeoning sexuality and her uncertainty thereof . Plus , the girls wear pants ; wouldn't that have looked a little tomboyish in the ' 50s ? What I'm saying is that people need to watch this movie again . While it remains a 1950s time capsule , I got the sense that something - I don't know what exactly - hinted at the changes coming over the next decade . In case anybody chooses to call this movie stupid , I totally reject that . " Stupid " is the description that I would apply to Eddie Murphy's movies from the past few years , or any Steven Seagal movie . As for Sandra Dee herself , from what I've read about her it sounds as though she was a pretty intelligent person , having far more substance than her movie roles implied . Anyway , I recommend this movie . Also starring James Darren and Cliff Robertson . That means that Cliff Robertson is the only actor who has worked with Sandra Dee and Tobey Maguire ( in " Spiderman " ) . |
365,385 | 4,888,011 | 481,369 | 6 | I can find yet another loose connection to 23 . | OK , " The Number 23 " features Jim Carrey in another dark role . This time , he plays dog catcher Walter Sparrow , feeling sort of uncomfortable with his job . His wife Agatha ( Virginia Madsen ) gives him a book with the same title as the movie . It not only tells a story which seems eerily similar to Walter's life , but also identifies various things relating to 23 . As Walter reads further , he begins to sink into madness , worrying that the number might be more than a number . The movie has an interesting plot - I must admit , I never knew that all those things related to 23 - although it seems silly at times ( now that I think about it , the ending was a little predictable ) . I mean , anyone can find numeric patterns if s / he searches hard enough , and it could just as easily be a complete delusion . But more than anything , I like the sinister setting and Carrey's nearly deadpan expression throughout the movie . It does make you wonder whether or not 23 might hold the answer to anything in your own life . Worth seeing , if only once . Oh , and the other loose connection to 23 ? The movie was filmed in Cocoa Beach , Florida . Cocoa Beach was the setting for " I Dream of Jeannie " . " IDOJ " star Barbara Eden's birthday is August 23 . |
362,722 | 4,888,011 | 52,805 | 6 | marijuana flick | While the plot involves a man getting blasted off into space , running into a meteor shower , and getting turned into something resembling a golem carved out of rock and having a strong desire for blood , I notice something else here . There seem to be some references to marijuana . Aside from the fact that they talk about the astronaut being very " high " , he says that he'll bring back the " dope " . If only they knew what they were saying ! As for the movie itself , " First Man Into Space " was mostly like any ' 50s sci-fi flick . Although what the Italian woman said seems more relevant than ever : " Sometimes you have to understand that people are more important than science . " As it is , if I'd had a hubby like that babe , you couldn't have paid me to go into space ! All in all , nothing special , but worth seeing . |
364,959 | 4,888,011 | 60,490 | 6 | nothing particularly significant , but OK | In the somewhat confusing " Harper " , Paul Newman plays the title detective who gets hired to find a kidnapped man . As this was back in Newman's heyday , we might all think that we want to check this out as a historical reference at the very least . The truth is , " Harper " doesn't seem to be much else . It's not any kind of masterpiece the way that " Hud " or " Cool Hand Luke " were . It seems like a way to pass time more than anything , but just how many detective movies can there be ? An OK movie , I guess . Also starring Lauren Bacall , Julie Harris , Arthur Hill , Janet Leigh , Pamela Tiffin , Robert Wagner , Shelley Winters , Harold Gould and Strother Martin |
363,761 | 4,888,011 | 155,975 | 6 | But they don't answer the overarching question : why remake this movie ? | I still can't quite understand why Gus Van Sant followed up " Good Will Hunting " with a " Psycho " remake . Just because he could ? Granted , it was a worthy effort . But they don't really make use of the techniques that made the original so great ( such as shadows and facial expressions ) . And besides , everyone knows what happens . As for the cast , it's got Vince Vaughn as Norman , Anne Heche as Marion , Julianne Moore as Lila , Viggo Mortensen as Sam , William H . Macy as Arbogast , James LeGros as Charlie , Robert Forster as Dr . Simon , Philip Baker Hall as Sheriff Chambers , Chad Everett as Tom , Rance Howard as Mr . Lowery , and Rita Wilson as Caroline . As a joke , I'll translate that with respect to their famous personas : one of the Wedding Crashers , Ellen DeGeneres's ex , the world's most serious actress , Aragorn , Jerry Lundegaard , a character actor , the " Jackie Brown " guy , the old guy from Paul Thomas Anderson's movies , the ' 50s heartthrob , Opie's dad , and Tom Hanks's wife . All in all , nothing special , but worth seeing . |
364,677 | 4,888,011 | 43,008 | 6 | Beaky needs some SERIOUS counseling | Braindead avian Beaky Buzzard debuted in Bob Clampett's " Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid " in 1942 . Clampett brought him back in " The Bashful Buzzard " in 1945 . After a five year absence , Beaky reappeared in " The Lion's Busy " and " Strife with Father " , after which he never appeared in another theatrical short . This one portrays Beaky getting left at the doorstep of husband and wife owls Monte and Gwendlyn . They try to raise him to be a gentleman , but . . . well , let's just say that Beaky belongs with his own kind ! Long story short , never try to integrate a loopy oaf into decent society . Maybe Beaky should see a shrink . It's hard to say what I really think of Beaky Buzzard . He proved to be an interesting character in his few appearances . I don't know whether or not his shtick would have gotten tiresome had he starred in more cartoons . I guess that just his four roles created enough of a personality to last , even if he is only a second-tier character . This one's worth seeing , if only once . Included as an extra feature on the " Flame and the Arrow " DVD , so I wonder if it preceded that movie in the theater . |
362,808 | 4,888,011 | 60,661 | 6 | Benign | The 1994 big screen version of " The Flintstones " was undeniably atrocious , so if you want a decent " Flintstones " movie , then " The Man Called Flintstone " works ( if only marginally ) . The plot has secret agent Rock Slang , who just happens to be Fred Flinstone's doppelganger , getting injured and replaced with Fred . This not only complicates Fred's vacation plans , but makes him the target of spies Ali and Bobo ( fortunately for Fred , these guys are beyond incompetent ) . In the end , Fred's big mission is to stop master criminal Green Goose from destroying the world . Okay , so this movie won't challenge your mind or anything ( and I guess that it does go overboard at times ) , but at least it's not a travesty of the show ( I can't say the same for the 1994 movie ) . This one passes . |
365,134 | 4,888,011 | 60,244 | 6 | suddenly , RR gets kind of mean and senses danger | In the mid to late ' 60s , Warner Bros . animation was slowly but surely coming to a close . " Clippety Clobbered " is a prime example , as Wile E . Coyote receives in the mail a non-Acme product to help him catch Road Runner . Naturally , this one fails , as do his subsequent attempts . However , I notice something different about this cartoon . Whereas in most of the WEC-RR pairings , RR usually doesn't even seem to notice that WEC exists , here he does . In fact , RR plays some rather cruel tricks on WEC , and even runs away at the sight of WEC ( does he finally realize the potential danger ? ) . So , it's an OK cartoon , but the formula was pretty much spent by this point , so nothing looks particularly new . |
362,771 | 4,888,011 | 94,597 | 6 | Freddy Krueger behind the camera . | Robert Englund finally steps behind the camera , directing " 976-EVIL " , about a phone number that gives people satanic powers . As you may expect , it's not any kind of great movie ; but don't worry , it doesn't pretend to be . This movie is all about nice , fun entertainment , and it gives us just that ( plus at least one hot scene ) . In the lead role is Stephen Geoffreys , whom you may recognize as Evil Edward from " Fright Night " ; he sure gets some evil roles . Also starring are Sandy Dennis as the fundamentalist Christian aunt ( by " fundamentalist Christian " , I mean that watching the movie , she's so obnoxious that you just hope that something nasty happens to her ) and Robert Picardo ( who frequently appears in Joe Dante's movies ) . A pretty neat movie . |
363,746 | 4,888,011 | 60,397 | 6 | I can't breathe ! . . . nor can she act . . . but the movie's still pretty cool | Richard Fleischer's death yesterday brings to mind his movies , including this one . You have to forgive " Fantastic Voyage " for it's dated qualities and less-than-credible acting . I would imagine that it seemed really cool when it first came out , and I found it really cool when I first saw it . It's just that this story of some people traveling through an injured man's body - aside from being totally improbable - is clearly all about quantity and not quality . Still , it does have some neat scenes . Of course , when the antibodies attack Raquel Welch , you can tell that she doesn't really know how to act . Worth watching as a cultural reference . Joe Dante used the idea for " Innerspace " ( although he expanded on the idea ) , and a " Simpsons " comic book also used the idea once . Also starring Stephen Boyd , Edmond O'Brien , and Donald Pleasance . |
364,681 | 4,888,011 | 473,444 | 6 | Persian black fungus ? They really got it from present-day Iran ? | I have to admit that I haven't seen Zhang Yimou's early movies , only his works from the 21st century . And it seems that he tries to outdo himself each successive time : " Hero " , " House of Flying Daggers " , and now " Curse of the Golden Flower " ( " Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia " in Mandarin ) . The plot is a little hard to follow , and I suspect that the battle scene is supposed to be the one that sticks in people's minds . To me at least , this mirrors George Lucas's most recent movies : they try so hard to be as big as possible , that it's too grandiose to even take in . As I understand it , this movie is supposed to be a metaphor for China's conversion from western domination to communism ; do we really want to idealize the Cultural Revolution ( or some of the things that have happened since ) ? Otherwise , it's a visual treat . The palace interior looks psychedelic . Starring Chow Yun-Fat , Gong Li , Liu Ye and Jay Chou . So the black fungus really came from Persia . I knew that China traded with other cultures , but I never guessed that Persia gave them anything . |
365,615 | 4,888,011 | 131,369 | 6 | ed iting the world for " tv " | In a way , it was sort strange that less than a year after " The Truman Show " came out , there was another movie about a man's life getting broadcast on TV . Moreover , it seemed like whereas " TTS " was more of a biting satire , " Edtv " was going soft - maybe trying to be cute - with cameras following a video store clerk ( Matthew McConaughey ) . However , years of reality shows have shown just how disgusting TV can get . And these two movies predicted it . Although I do prefer the former , the latter actually seems to be portraying what we now know as reality shows . So , I will say that this movie doesn't do as good a job as " The Truman Show " , it does have some funny scenes . I actually thought that Ellen Degeneres and Rob Reiner were the two best cast members . OK seeing once ; Ron Howard has done better . Also starring Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Hurley , Jenna Elfman , Sally Kirkland , Martin Landau , Dennis Hopper and Clint Howard . |
363,067 | 4,888,011 | 129,280 | 6 | cute , but fun | I actually managed to see " The Out-of-Towners " in Mexico ( and the subtitles were occasionally out of place ) . Knowing that it stars Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn as a couple having various unpleasant adventures in New York City , we can safely assume that it mainly exists to be silly . And it doesn't disappoint . Still , it's good to see that Martin and Hawn haven't lost their comic abilities after all these years . In my opinion , though , John Cleese was actually the best character in the movie . So , just accept this movie as nice , goofy fun , and you won't be disappointed . Bad girls . Hah ! |
363,986 | 4,888,011 | 36,004 | 6 | silly comedy doesn't need singing | I would like these sorts of movies a lot better if they didn't have the musical scenes . I watch these movies strictly to laugh . Certainly plenty of scenes made me laugh ( namely the snowball scene ) . One can imagine being a fairly intelligent guy like Abbott's character always having to deal with a brainless sap like Costello's character and how annoying it would be . So , even though the singing drags the movie down , I recommend it overall . Pretty entertaining . Tied up for a while indeed . . . PS : Sheldon Leonard , who played Silky , later produced " The Danny Thomas Show " and " The Dick Van Dyke Show " . He also provided his voice to Robert McKimson's cartoons " Kiddin ' the Kitten " and " A Peck o ' Trouble " as a lazy cat who tries to make a kitten do his work . |
364,684 | 4,888,011 | 113,936 | 6 | Forrest Humps might be a neat idea for a movie | I should say that " Senior Trip " is mostly one of the silly comedies that they released in the 1990s ( of course , it was intended as such ) . I guess that on one level , it has an important lesson about paying attention to what happens in the government . In my opinion , the best parts were some of the briefer things : the guy chasing the bus , J . Edgar Hoover's grave , the porno movie in the hotel room , and the epilogues . Otherwise , this isn't the sort of movie that you'd go out of your way to watch . Although I have to admit , Matt Frewer ( who turns 50 today ) and Tommy Chong play great characters . The student was right : J . Edgar Hoover was a fascist . You may have heard the news that just recently came out that Hoover wanted to round up large numbers of Americans in 1950 . |
365,468 | 4,888,011 | 121,765 | 6 | I can see that Anakin was becoming Darth . | OK , we all know that this is where Anakin Skywalker ( Hayden Christensen ) has become an adult and is starting to develop Darth-like qualities . What more to say ? I still assert that Jar Jar Binks was the coolest character . I know , everyone's going to hate me for saying that , but I don't care ( why do people think that he sounds Jamaican ? ; I thought that he sounded Cajun ) . As for the rest of the characters , they're all doing what they can , but given the epic scale of the story , there's not much that they can do except say their lines . Unlike " The Phantom Menace " , I did have a better sense of the plot in " Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones " . Worth seeing , even if it is sort of a video game . |
364,171 | 4,888,011 | 381,707 | 6 | even if the movie's dumb , it's good to see Paris Hilton mocked | Basically a big excuse to mock the Paris Hilton crowd , " White Chicks " is pretty dumb , but never dull . Shawn and Marlon Wayans play FBI agents Kevin and Marcus Copeland , who pose as a pair of Paris Hilton-like heiresses . Any goofy thing that you can imagine , this movie most likely has it . I guess that some scenes were a little unnecessary , but I overall liked the movie ( especially since I have probably the lowest opinion of Paris Hilton of any person on Earth ) . The Wayans brothers pull no punches in this movie . Even if " White Chicks " is a litany of idiocy , it is truly and undeniably da bomb ! |
364,286 | 4,888,011 | 443,489 | 6 | some things made it worth seeing , but I am just not a fan of musicals | Before you read the rest of this review , you should know that I have never really liked musicals ( except for the Beatles ' movies and " West Side Story " ) . Therefore , if you really like musicals , you might as well just stop reading my review and find a review by a fan of musicals . But if you choose to learn what I think of " Dreamgirls " , then here's what I say . While the movie does a good job in looking at some of the things involving the music of the era - such as white people co-opting black music and sanitizing it - I just don't believe in telling true stories as musicals . It gets a little tiresome to have a song every couple of minutes , even if the songs express people's frustration . Granted , the movie is not a zero . Far from it . The cast members all do quite well . Probably best of all is Jennifer Hudson . Her character is the type with whom you don't want to mess ( and her Oscar win was the perfect spit in the face to " American Idol " ) . Beyonce Knowles , Jamie Foxx , Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover also do well , but this is really Jennifer Hudson's movie . Still , this is not one that I would recommend above most others . I just think that they should have told a more straight-forward story about the Supremes . John Lithgow also appears . |
365,276 | 4,888,011 | 86,618 | 6 | Peter Boyle , RIP | Peter Boyle's death yesterday brings to mind all his movies , including the rather silly " Yellowbeard " . The movie features Graham Chapman as the title character , an 18th-century pirate who gets released from jail to help the British government find his treasure . That's when he finds out that he has a son who has little desire to be a pirate . From there , much of the movie consists of sword fights , one-liners , and Cheech & Chong . Overall , I thought that it was a little bit lamer than it could have been , but I agree with a previous reviewer that it's just neat to see all these people together in a movie . The flick is little more than a way to pass time , but there's a few laughs along the way . Also starring John Cleese , Eric Idle , Marty Feldman ( in his final role ; the movie is dedicated to him ) , Peter Cook , Kenneth Mars , Spike Milligan , and David Bowie in a cameo . And remember : he has a big yellow beard . |
363,821 | 4,888,011 | 35,889 | 6 | no surprise that this isn't available | Flop Goes the Weasel is another one of the Warner Bros . cartoons not widely available due to its racially offensive content ( I saw it on YouTube ) . In this case , a hen - closely resembling a mammy - sees that her egg is about to hatch and runs off to get something for the chick , when a weasel steals the egg . The chick then mistakes the weasel for his mammy and wants to play hide and seek , thereby injuring the weasel in various and sundry ways . I actually hope that Warner Bros . eventually releases this one on DVD ( provided of course that they include a warning about the non-PC material ) . It is worth seeing as a historical and cultural reference , if absolutely nothing else . |
364,626 | 4,888,011 | 60,053 | 6 | I think I'm a clone now | When I was really young , part of what I always liked about the classic Looney Tunes cartoons was the beginning , when the Warner Bros . shield would zoom towards the audience through the concentric circles . For some reason , later on they made up a less creative intro , like the one seen in " A-Haunting We Will Go " . Oh well . I guess that it's not really fair to criticize the intro . I read that this cartoon was basically a clone of an earlier one with Bugs Bunny . This one has Daffy Duck's nephew scared of Witch Hazel , and so Daffy tries to prove that there's no such thing as witches . Meanwhile , Hazel turns Speedy Gonzalez into a witch , and Daffy meets him in that form . I could tell that some scenes were lifted out of " Duck Amuck " , so that weakened the cartoon somewhat . But otherwise , it's still good for a few laughs . Not bad , but not the best . |
365,667 | 4,888,011 | 35,899 | 6 | I guess that everyone had to meet someone sooner or later . | Okay , we know who Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man are , and we can safely assume that if they meet , then there's gonna be some real trouble . Yes , we pretty much know what's going to happen , but the movie does an acceptable job with the material . Lon Chaney continues his portrayal of the Wolf Man , while Bela Lugosi got the role of the monster this time . The plot basically has Larry Talbot trying to find a way to rid himself of the werewolf curse , finding the monster along the way , and . . . well , you can probably guess what happens from there . " Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man " is nothing special , but it passes . It's good for what it is . |
363,885 | 4,888,011 | 113,987 | 6 | not as good as it could have been , but Oliver Stone was not a crook for making it | America's 37th president was most famous for Watergate , but there were other aspects of his life . Oliver Stone's " Nixon " goes into some of these . It shows not only Tricky Dick's presidency ( in particular , his escalation of the Vietnam War ) , but also his early years in Orange County . However , it seems like they could have shown more . The movie focused heavily on Nixon's alcoholism . True , President Pinocchio ( as I like to call him ) was often drunk , but I don't know whether or not he was to the extent that they portray in the movie . Moreover , while Stone did a good job looking at Watergate , he probably could have focused more on Nixon's " dirty tricks " campaign to spy on protesters , or his assassinations of Black Panthers and American Indian Movement activists , or his overthrow of Chile's government . Overall , the movie is worth seeing . Naturally , Nixon's family denounced the movie when it came out , but we know the truth about Tricky Dick : he was a crook , and the movie shows it . |
365,263 | 4,888,011 | 120,866 | 6 | Blue in the face . | I will admit that I'd never heard of Shakespeare's play " Titus Andronicus " until the movie " Titus " came out - it was one of ol ' Bill's lesser known works . This may be one of the harder Shakespeare plays to understand , but it basically has Emperor Titus ( Anthony Hopkins ) returning from battle only to find doom back home . The opening scene of the boy playing with things was a little confusing itself ( I'm assuming that the original play didn't feature that ) . A particularly interesting thing was that the movie got released in Portland around the same time that " Gladiator " came out , so there were two Rome-related flicks in theaters . Fairly interesting . |
362,922 | 4,888,011 | 95,107 | 6 | Keep it going when possible . | There was never anything particularly special about the Ernest movies : mostly they were excuses to have a series of nonsensical gags . But still , they were fun to watch . And believe you me , this one sure is . " Ernest Saves Christmas " has lovable hick Ernest P . Worrell ( Jim Varney ) trying to help Santa Claus find a new person to deliver toys . Yep , you read that right . Like I said , most of the movie is a bunch of silly gags ( particularly when Ernest is in Santa's sleigh ) , but they do it with heart . If it's sappy at times , the really funny parts make up for that ( you'll recognize them when you see the movie ) . Knowwhaddamean ? |
363,795 | 4,888,011 | 421,054 | 6 | these days , we make up words at an exponential rate | OK , so it was inevitable that after Keira Knightley made a splash in " Bend It Like Beckham " , she would go on to star in a series of Hollywood movies . The " Pirates of the Caribbean " trilogy is the most obvious , but there was also Tony Scott's somewhat jarring " Domino " , about Laurence Harvey's daughter who became a bounty hunter . While it presents some interesting commentary on the status quo in our society - a producer ( Christopher Walken ) decides to turn Domino's workaday job into a reality show - they film the whole thing like a music video , so it's a little hard to take seriously . However , there was one scene that I really liked : the Jerry Springer sequence . The thought of a mixed race woman proposing new words to describe mixed race people - such as " blacktino " and " chinegro " - shows the rate at which we make up new words these days . Just two years ago , Stephen Colbert added " truthiness " ( truth according to gut instinct ) to our lexicon , and just tonight on " Countdown " , Keith Olbermann said " loophole-ologists " . Anyway , " Domino " is a fairly interesting movie , but I wouldn't recommend it above most others . Also starring Mickey Rourke . |
363,210 | 4,888,011 | 59,794 | 6 | Do we debate on whether it's believable or achievable ? | OK , so we in the 21st century don't judge Sandra Dee's movies too kindly , as she usually played some nubile woman existing only to be cute , and we don't consider it particularly PC . The truth is , most of the teen flicks of the past 25 years haven't been much different , and I for one find " That Funny Feeling " more interesting than many of the teen flicks from my lifetime . True , much of the movie is pretty predictable , with Dee as a working class maid pretending to live in a young businessman's ( Bobby Darin ) apartment , while he goes along with it ; I actually didn't spend much of the movie laughing . But the movie definitely has its moments , namely the telephone booth and the party ( some people might even include the shot of Sandra Dee in the bathtub . . . meow meow ) . Obviously , given that during the ' 60s , we started seeing movies like " Dr . Strangelove " and " The Graduate " , this one might seem worthless at best . But , I will say that it does have a certain charm to it . It's not a masterpiece by any stretch , but doesn't pretend to be . Just nice , silly fun . And Sandra Dee is actually kinda hot . Also starring Donald O'Connor , Nina Talbot , Larry Storch , Leo G . Carroll , Robert Strauss , Kathleen Freeman and Arte Johnson . I bet that somewhere beyond that great sea in the sky , Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin can take comfort knowing that we still remember them , even if it is for something as silly as this . |
365,760 | 4,888,011 | 59,800 | 6 | Here they were starting to get gimmicky . | After " Dr . No " , " From Russia with Love " and " Goldfinger " were more oriented towards their plots , " Thunderball " was more gimmicky and focused more on gadgetry . That's not to say that it wasn't enjoyable . Here , SPECTRE steals some nukes , and James Bond ( Sean Connery ) has to stop them . Of course , part of the plot is that Bond is surrounded by hot babes - many of whom he beds . Still , one gets the feeling that at this point , Sean Connery may have been feeling disenchanted with the role ( he did in fact quit the role after a few more movies ) . Personally , I think that they should have stopped making the movies after he left ; none of the other actors have equalled his quality . |
363,030 | 4,888,011 | 51,755 | 6 | here's something interesting | Every once in a while , a movie comes along that makes us wonder about certain things that don't happen ; we wonder about how things would be if they COULD happen . " I Bury the Living " is one such movie . Robert Kraft ( Richard Boone ) becomes head of the Immortal Hills cemetery . Strangely , he has an ability that no previous owner has had : by sticking a black pin on the reserved plots on the map , he can kill the person who has reserved the plot . Naturally , no one believes that he really can do this , but then he goes too far in sticking the pins , and other people want him to stick the pins on the map , leading to disastrous consequences . This isn't just a horror movie . They use a camera trick to blur Kraft's vision in some scenes to show his descent into terror and madness . Not until " Heavenly Creatures " would a movie show a person's mental state so accurately . As it was , Herbert Anderson ( better known as Dennis the Menace's father on TV ) played a cop , so this movie had Paladin as the main character , and Henry Mitchell as a cop . It was also directed by the executive producer of " Honey , I Shrunk the Kids " and Gerald Fried did the music ( he later composed the " Gilligan's Island " music ) . Whoa . |
363,276 | 4,888,011 | 86,190 | 6 | At this point , it was starting to get gimmicky . | Star Wars was without a doubt a masterpiece , " The Empire Strikes Back " was still good but one has to wonder why they continued the story , and " Return of the Jedi " was sort of gimmicky . Granted , it's good that they wanted to show how everything would turn out , but it almost seemed more like a video game . The Ewoks were funny , but not much else . And why did they dress Carrie Fisher like they did early in the movie ? Oh well . Life goes on . Now that we've had episodes 1-3 , we see where this all originated . Or to put it in Yoda talk : where this all originated we seen have . Worth seeing , but don't interpret it as a masterpiece . |
363,945 | 4,888,011 | 36,546 | 6 | it sucks to be Porky | One thing that I always say about " Mister Ed " , " Bewitched " and " I Dream of Jeannie " , is that it sucks to be Wilbur , Darrin and Maj . Nelson , respectively . I say that because these things that they have to experience at the hands of Ed , Samantha and Jeannie , have got to be mind-numbing . In that respect , it sucks to be Porky Pig in " Yankee Doodle Daffy " . In this cartoon , Porky is a talent scout to whom Daffy tries to show the skills of his nephew , Sleepy McGoof . Most of the cartoon has Daffy putting on a series of wacky skits , while Sleepy sits there sucking on a lollipops . No matter what Porky does , he can't seem to get away from them . This one was a little bit more routine than some of the other Looney Tunes cartoons , but it's still worth seeing . |
364,240 | 4,888,011 | 266,221 | 6 | Why " Shakespeare in Love " ? | I still can't understand why they gave " Shakespeare in Love " Best Picture . I was rooting for " Life is Beautiful " . Even " Saving Private Ryan " and the conspicuously snubbed " Truman Show " were better . But at least they gave Roberto Benigni the two Oscars that he really deserved ; does anyone deny that his acceptance speech was the ceremony's highlight ? I know that some people deride Whoopi Goldberg as a host , but I really like her ( especially with that " 20th century fox " remark ) . Probably the funniest comment of the night was Robin Williams's " Guns and Moses : The Charlton Heston Story . But you can't say Moses ; you have to say The Artist Formerly Known as the Prince of Egypt ! " As for Elia Kazan , I say that honoring him for his movies would be like honoring Pol Pot for stamping out corruption . At least the cameras showed people not applauding ( among them Nick Nolte ) . Overall , a worthy ceremony . |
363,905 | 4,888,011 | 94,849 | 6 | the rabbit-proof fence didn't work | In summer , 2003 , I took a class about Australian cinema . We watched films like " Walkabout " , " Gallipoli " and " Rabbit-Proof Fence " ; it might have thrown a wrench in the works had we watched " Celia " . At the video / DVD store , I found it under the horror section , but it's only a horror flick in the loosest terms . The movie deals with a nine-year-old girl ( Rebecca Smart ) in 1950s Australia whose amorality and alienation from society drive her to complete madness ; I think that that was the plot . Certainly it's ugly what Celia does , but seeing what the adults around her are like , I felt that I had no choice except to root for Celia . The historical context involves the Cold War and the government's efforts to stop the rabbit infestation . As people tell Celia not to fraternize with children of communists , she grows more and more disenchanted with the world around her - after all , friends are supposed to be friends no matter what the parents ' political activity . But when a cop takes away her pet rabbit , she really gets nasty ( it also shows that the rabbit-proof fence that lent its name to the 2002 movie clearly didn't work in holding back the leporid plague ) . So how to interpret this movie ? It looks at face value like one of the many instances of a seemingly cute girl having a not so cute side ( think " The Bad Seed " ) . One might say that the rabbits play a role similar to the ones in " Night of the Lepus " and " Donnie Darko " , even though Celia's rabbit doesn't do anything . I guess that it's worth seeing , if only once . |
362,655 | 4,888,011 | 36,452 | 6 | The ending seemed a little inappropriate , but it was mostly OK . | Bugs Bunny was still in his relative infancy when they made " Tortoise Wins by a Hare " . It portrays Bugs Bunny angry that Cecil Turtle always wins and challenging him to a race . But this time , Bugs has a dirty trick up his sleeve : he finds out Cecil's secret - his " air flow chassis " shell - and makes himself one . However , this works against him , as the raceway is lined with rabbit thugs who mistake Bugs for Cecil , and keep impeding his performance . The ending seemed like a weird one for a cartoon : when the rabbit thugs realize their mistake , they all blow their brains out . I've always wondered why cartoons would show those sorts of things . But no matter ; this cartoon is mostly acceptable for everyone . |
364,710 | 4,888,011 | 429,487 | 6 | What Uruguay was thinking . | A day or two after " The 77th Annual Academy Awards " , I read an article in The Wall Street Journal about how Uruguay's new populist president Tabare Vazquez had just been sworn in . But it said that the thing on the minds of most Uruguayans was not their new president , but what happened at the Oscars : Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler didn't get to perform his nominated song " Al otro lado del rio " , so he sang a few lines when he won . Aside from that , I wonder just what Martin Scorsese has to do to win an Oscar . I mean , " Million Dollar Baby " was good , but Clint Eastwood had already won an Oscar . As for the whole thing about cutting people off before they have a chance to finish their speeches , what are you gonna do ? And I do think that Chris Rock was a pretty good host ( but I liked Jon Stewart even better the next year ) . All in all , passable . |
363,923 | 4,888,011 | 120,533 | 6 | at least he's making fun of rich New Yorkers | In the late ' 90s , we began to find Woody Allen's work stale because he was focusing on neurotic rich New Yorkers and the various goings-on in their lives . Personally , most people could give a rip about that stuff . " Deconstructing Harry " was better since it showed these people as more vicious , and " Celebrity " goes so far as to make fun of them . Kenneth Branagh plays Allen-esquire magazine writer Lee Simon , who has to be surrounded by various and sundry celebrities . Leonardo DiCaprio has the best role , basically playing a parody of himself . Probably the best line is when they see Andre Gregory's character , and they say that he's one of those directors who's gotten into . . . well , I'll let you find out for yourself . But this one is worth seeing , unlike " Everyone Says I Love You " . |
363,376 | 4,888,011 | 80,365 | 6 | not a masterpiece , but worth seeing | Julian ( Richard Gere ) is an LA male prostitute who bounces around the city with his various clients . The sultry Michelle ( Lauren Hutton ) eventually redeems his existence , but a little too late , as Julian is charged with murder and can't give a credible alibi . I guess that there's nothing particularly important about " American Gigolo " , although it does look at the decadence that would become the cornerstone of the 1980's . Probably the main reason to see this movie would be to see Richard Gere right as he was becoming famous ( to be certain , this movie made him a star ) . Also , it's interesting to hear him speak Swedish in one scene . Not a masterpiece , but still worth seeing . |
363,936 | 4,888,011 | 110,687 | 6 | I actually didn't find it so bad . | When " North " came out , it got a scathing review in Portland's newspaper The Oregonian ( I found this out several years later , as I didn't know about the movie's release at the time ) , and Siskel & Ebert named it the worst movie of 1994 ( I knew about this at the time ) . Even the previous reviewer on IMDb . com called it the worst movie ever . When I saw it a few months after Siskel & Ebert named it the worst flick of 1994 , I couldn't understand why people blasted it so . Granted , it wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch - we expect really good movies from a director like Rob Reiner - but it was interesting if absolutely nothing else . Featuring the title character ( Elijah Wood ) getting a divorce from his parents and traveling the world looking for new ones , I guess that it was little more than a way to pass time . Perhaps " North " had little more to show for itself than a giant cast : Bruce Willis , Jason Alexander , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Dan Aykroyd , Graham Greene , Kathy Bates , Alan Arkin , and even a very young Scarlett Johansson . But when you get right down to it , a giant cast isn't any kind of crime . Like I said , I found the movie interesting if nothing else . And to the reviewer who called this the worst movie ever , I say this : you don't know the worst movie ever until you've seen the dreadfully boring " Baryshnya-Krestyanka " , which I saw while in St . Petersburg , Russia , last semester . If in fact it's based on an Alexander Pushkin novel , then Pushkin must spin in his grave every time someone watches that movie . The only way that I kept sane while watching it was by throwing out comments like on " Mystery Science Theater 3000 " ( and then when I wrote a review to turn in , I dedicated the review to Bob Denver , who had died a few weeks earlier ) . My point is , even that last reviewer would have to agree that " North " looks like " Citizen Kane " compared to " Baryshnya-Krestyanka " . So that's my take on everything . |
364,628 | 4,888,011 | 110,622 | 6 | good thing that they ended here | And not just because of the whole imbroglio involving O . J . Simpson . One gets the feeling that they were running out of ideas here . In " Naked Gun 33 : The Final Insult " , Frank Drebin ( Leslie Nielsen ) has to stop a terrorist ( Fred Ward ) from setting off a bomb at the Academy Awards . Needless to say , the whole thing is an excuse for a series of gags . Still , the whole thing just seems lower than the previous two installments . No matter , Leslie Nielsen is always good for a few laughs . Probably the best scene in the movie is when he's supposed to have sex with Priscilla Presley . That would truly be an embarrassment ! I guess that it's good in that respect . But like I said , it's a good thing that they ended the series here . Also starring George Kennedy , Kathleen Freeman , and a whole slew of guest appearances by many people as themselves , including " Weird Al " Yankovic ( happy birthday , Al ! ) . |
363,400 | 4,888,011 | 89,918 | 6 | still , it's not quite his best | While I like pretty much all of Richard Pryor's work , I suspect that " Richard Pryor : Live and Smokin ' " probably embarrassed him a little bit . The humor is very dated , and Pryor looks somewhat uncomfortable here . But even so , he certainly tells some funny stuff . I think that my favorite of his material here is the stuff about the Nixons ( this was filmed in 1971 ) ; I get the feeling that Pryor's assertion about their sex life was an accurate one . So anyway , hard-core Pryor fans won't want to miss this one , but others might not feel so enthused . OK in a pinch . |
363,012 | 4,888,011 | 97,613 | 6 | Happy 60th , Susan ! | Since today is ( well yesterday was ) Susan Sarandon's 60th birthday , I saw fit to review one of her lesser known movies ( actually , it's Kevin Kline's movie ) . " January Man " is not a movie that I really know how to describe . Kevin Kline plays Nick Starkey , an ex-cop who gets drug back into the force to help find a serial killer . It's certainly a common plot . This one toes the line between thriller and love story ; I guess that neither is supposed to dominate . I would say that the movie's main strength lies in the various kinds of characters portrayed . Aside from Kline's ex-cop and Sarandon as his wife , there's the new love interest ( Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ) , Nick's brother ( Harvey Keitel ) , the tough captain ( Danny Aiello ) , and the old-order mayor ( Rod Steiger ) ; Alan Rickman also stars . So , did I think that this was a good movie ? I don't know what it really was . An interesting group of people with an anticlimactic ending , more than anything . I suppose that the movie's worth seeing , if only once . |
365,866 | 4,888,011 | 50,530 | 6 | So Little Joe Cartwright was a teenage werewolf . . . | Those rock ' n ' roll-loving teens in the ' 50s sure must have loved this movie . It tied old-style horror flicks with the modern youth culture . High school student Tony Rivers ( Michael Landon ) has a chip on his shoulder and seeks help from a psychiatrist . The only problem is , the therapy turns him into . . . well , the title explains it . " I Was a Teenage Werewolf " seems a little dated nowadays , but it's still a good way to pass the time . But I just have one question : why did the bell ringing turn him into a wolf in that one scene ? If he'd just gotten sexually aroused ( I sure did ) , it would have made a little more sense . Oh well , it's still worth seeing , if only as a cultural reference . |
364,831 | 4,888,011 | 59,252 | 6 | to make your brain swim | No doubt the fact that there were two movies about Jean Harlow in 1965 might surprise some people ; to add to that , apparently neither Carroll Baker nor Carol Lynley was the right woman to play her ( I have to admit that I've never seen any of Jean Harlow's movies - unless you count her appearance in " City Lights " - so I can't comment one way or the other ) . Either way , this " Harlow " seems to go in two directions . On the one hand , it shows how the Hollywood dream looked : the opening scene shows what many people coming to Tinseltown expected , and then Jean Harlow gets to live that dream . . . at least superficially . On the other hand , the portrayals of Harlow's public life and private life make it nearly impossible to determine which is to be best remembered . Here , her frustration with her mother ( Angela Lansbury ) and anger at her stepfather ( Raf Vallone ) get played to almost comic effect . Is every movie star doomed to have something in his / her personal life that has to get sensationalized in a biopic ? So , I would say that this movie takes the same approach to its subject that " Mommie Dearest " did : trashy , but something about the movie gives it an almost desirable feeling . Did I like the movie or hate it ? Well , it has its visuals ( I would call Carroll Baker a visual in and of herself ) , and it sure beats any Steven Seagal movie for smarts . In a way , that's about it . Since I don't really know much about Jean Harlow , I just have to accept what " Harlow " says . It's not outright worthless , but don't make it your first choice . Also starring Red Buttons , Martin Balsam and Leslie Nielsen . |
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