Absolute Power
I love Clint Eastwood movies. I don't know what it is; he is just a great actor. This might not have been his best flick, but I really enjoyed it. The action kept me on the edge of my seat, but it seemed to drag a bit. Perfect for a Thursday night dinner and movie.
IMDb | Other Reviews Jon Errickson
I, too, am a Clint Eastwood fan. His fingerprints are all over this movie, and why not? He co-produces, directs and stars in this story of an aging burglar who inadvertently witnesses a murder while "on the job." He can't simply run with his ill-gotten millions while the craven killer publicly sympathizes with the husband of the murder victim. A borderline weekend night feature, but a definite one to watch ...
Parker Hodges
Addicted To Love
Matthew Broderick and Meg Ryan are addicted to love, but unfortunately love has given them the boot. Griffin Dunne directed this "After Hours"-style warped revenge comedy. Broderick's grade-school sweetie, played by Kelly Preston, dumps him for a French restaurateur, so he moves into a loft across the street and spies on them by fixing up his telescope as a sort-of projector. Ryan -- the French guy's ex -- is intent on twisted revenge, and bugs the lover's apartment. Together they hatch some devious plots to break up the cooing twosome. With Ryan and Broderick you expect cutesy shenanigans -- but instead, you get acid-tongued spite, with sharp-as-a-knife humor. At times the movie stoops to slapstick, but usually the next twist in the story will slap you across the face. If you like your movies unpredictable, with sharp writing, you'll be addicted to "Addicted to Love." The movie is rated PG-13.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra A. Scott
Afterglow
This is one of those "small" films that really pulls you into what is going on with the four main characters, including Julie Christie, nominated for best actress for this film. It's the story of two couples, one older with a wife whose troubles have stopped her from having sex with her husband, a handyman who's free to roam. You learn about their history later on in the movie. Then there's the young couple: He's a rising executive worried only about business; she is trapped in her gorgeous Montreal apartment with few friends and a husband who looks at her like she's a pawn for his rise to the top. They all get together in a strange, roundabout way. Great, great story that draws you in, showing you that personal problems have all been dealt with before. A dramatic feature excellent for a "date night" at home ...
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
Air Bud
"Air Bud" is a howlingly fun flick. Yes, it's predictable, and has all your typical plot points -- like a lonely boy whose dad has died and a lonely pooch who escapes from his abusive master. But what "Air Bud" has that other films lack is restraint and warmth. The kid is not a precocious brat, the dog is not super-dog, and Mom isn't clueless like parents are usually portrayed. Buddy is the performing dog of a nasty clown played by Michael Jeter. On the way to the pound he escapes and hooks up with a boy named Josh. Together they find friendship and play a pretty mean game of basketball. Bill Cobb brings a quiet dignity to the school custodian who conveniently was once a star of the New York Knicks. "Air Bud" is a film that only a family could love. It's rated G.
IMDb Other Reviews Debra Scott
Alien: Resurrection
Ripley's back from the dead and fighting more of the most Freudian bugs in the universe in a flick that, while nowhere near the quality of the first two installments, is still a pretty fun ride. Despite some inconsistencies in tone, Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's ("Delicatessen") tremendous visual flair more than compensates for some narrative shortcomings. (Significantly, the two best sequences in the film -- a kickass underwater chase and Ripley's encounter with some eerily resonant failed experiments -- are both virtually dialogue free.) Include some fabulous set design and lighting (by the great Darius Khondji, who also did "Seven"), and a subtle variation by Sigourney Weaver of her usual persona, and the result is a far more entertaining movie than the misbegotten "Alien 3." Bring on part 5.
IMDb | Other Reviews Andrew Wright
All About Eve
It's not hard to see why this was ranked in the top quarter of that "100 Best American Films" list after watching this 1950s classic with Bette Davis. She plays -- to the hilt -- an aging Broadway star who takes a breathless fan under her wing ... to her detriment. It's a case study of middle age, of women -- the strong characters for once -- relating to women and of how "what goes around comes around." It packs all that into a great storyline with top-notch acting, particularly by Davis and Ann Baxter as her wide-eyed, youthful admirer who's ahead of Davis at every turn. This would be a great date pick for a weekend feature.
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
All Of Me (1984)
This is one of the best pairing of two legendary comic powerhouses ever to hit the big screen. Every time this comes on TV, I laugh out loud at Steve Martin as a harried lawyer whose body is inadvertently inhabited by the spirit of a dying heiress (Lily Tomlin). To have Martin limp around because Tomlin's spirit is controlling the left side of his body is classic slapstick. To have a previously disabled Tomlin re-experience life in Martin's healthy body is enchanting. Both actors are at their best in these roles. Side characters Richard Libertini and Jason Bernard, who play a clueless new-age swami and a wisecracking blind sax player, flesh out the comedy and likeablility of the film.
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
American Beauty
"Look Closer," urged the ads to this multi-Oscar winner and critical darling, but on reflection, that might be a bit of a mistake. Despite its smattering of clever lines and superlative performances (Kevin Spacey is as fantastic as you've heard, but Annette Bening is even more so), there's little in this peek behind Suburbia's window shades that hasn't been done before -- most notably by Billy Wilder's masterful "The Apartment." Unfortunately, once shorn of its Texas-Governor-sized sense of entitlement, what remains is all stunning surface with a slightly rotten core. Still, you gotta love that plastic bag.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Andrew Wright
American Pie
After hearing all the controversy that this movie stirred up about being too sexual for teens, and seeing it for myself, I really don't see what the big fuss was about. Aside from a few raunchy scenes, this is just another funny coming-of-age flick. There may be a few things never before portrayed on film -- Internet sex, masturbating with baked goods -- but none of the material is anything new to the average teen. The story is about four guy friends who make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night. In the end, the guys find out that relationships are more important than sex, and the girls (whose characters are just as fully developed as the guys) realize it's OK to think about sex once in a while. A very funny, fairly realistic, movie.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Denise Felder
American Psycho
Looking for a good sleeping pill? "American Psycho" might just fit the bill. It's not that there isn't any action, it's just that it is boring action. "American Psycho" uses the '80s ideal of greed as an excuse for the murderous spree of yuppie financier Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale. The one thing that makes his carnage unique is Bateman's habit of critiquing vanilla-pop music as he goes about his heinous activities. "American Psycho" does have some virtues. The set design is wonderfully sleek and cold, reflecting Bateman's carefully constructed mask. Bales looks great in the title role and pulls off an American accent with ease, but at times that accent is annoyingly robotic. If nasty rich guys and blood and guts are interesting to you, you may enjoy "American Psycho." But I like a little more soul with my mayhem.
Full Review | IMDb | Other Reviews Debra Scott
Amistad
This movie quietly shows why Steven Spielberg is a wonder. In the hands of nearly every other director, this would have become a heavy-handed moral tale of the heinous crime that was slavery. But Spielberg drives home the point with a deft touch, using what is essentially a courtroom drama bracketed around personal stories to show you how horrible it was. The acting is top-notch, the story wonderfully written and the pace perfect. Yes, Anthony Hopkins' character argues against slavery to the Supreme Court, but it's all couched around the incident on a boat, not about slavery in general. Well worth a weekend feature watch.
IMDb | Other Reviews Parker Hodges
Brilliant. Spielberg's best movie since "Schindler's List." Powerful performances from all the actors, and thought-provoking writing. Anthony Hopkins' soliloquy at the end is so effective, you'll understand why he deserves the title "Sir." It's an important story that deserves to be told, and deserves to be watched.
Erik Nelson
A fine effort, entertaining, and it's nice to get some history in one's daily cultural diet. But it suffers from the same fault of other well-intentioned, naive films like "Mississippi Burning," in that its main purpose appears to be to allay white guilt by making its focus the nice white folks who rescue the helpless minorities. A much more interesting story would have focused on the courageous slave ringleader Cinque, played by Djimon Honsou, overthrowing the slave ship. Instead, in typical fashion for the liberal film with an agenda, Cinque is flat, becoming the boringly perfect Exemplar of Good, the representation of a simpler tribal utopia that exists only in the fantasies of well-meaning folks like Spielberg. It is nice that black characters are no longer always villains; perhaps sometime soon they will get to be human.
Ed Dykhuizen
Analyze This
I've never been a big Billy Crystal fan, but this movie is probably as close as I'll get to liking him. The screenplay is very funny, and most of the jokes hit their mark. Crystal plays a shrink who unwittingly becomes the therapist for big-time crime boss Robert DeNiro. Given his prior roles, you might expect DeNiro to play the straight man. Not so. DeNiro's character rattles off just as many one-liners as Crystal gets, adding a surprising comedic give-and-take between the two. The result is one very amusing film. But then again, that's what I'd expect from director Harold Ramis, a comedy veteran with "Caddyshack," "Vacation," "Meatballs," "Stripes" and "Animal House" to his credit. One downside: Lisa Kudrow, as Crystal's wife-to-be, has no place among these big-screen notables. Her attempt to break her typecast role on "Friends" fails miserably.
IMDb | Other Reviews
Erik Nelson
If you get as far as renting this movie, whatever you do, don't do what the movie title says, because there is nothing worth studying in detail. If you're used to seeing Robert DeNiro play the tough-guy roles like I am, then his character as a lead mobster with psychological problems will come across as almost disturbing. He spends most of his time in the movie sobbing -- loudly. Billy Crystal plays a psychiatrist who can't hold his ground with his patient, DeNiro. When Crystal finally does show some bravado, I wanted him to just shut up and sit back down. The psychiatrist's fiancee, played by Lisa Kudrow, gets kudos for still wanting to marry him after all the problems they encounter. The only highlights in the movie are the great suits that all the mobster characters wear and Tony Bennett's cameo.
Garmen Shiu
Antz
If I were a kid looking at this movie, I'd be disappointed and confused by all the adult humor. But I'm not a kid, so I liked this movie. Basically, this is a Woody Allen movie with amazing computer animation. Not your typical Saturday afternoon flick ...
IMDb | Other Reviews Denise Felder
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