Reviews

This is a western for people who have never seen a good western. It is a quickie and has lots of blatant rip-offs of truly great films. Granted, Val Kilmer is very good and quite amusing, but the rest of the cast is either flat or over the top (and I think Quaid's Holliday in Kasdan's "Wyatt Earp" is as good if not better, and actually I prefer Jason Robards in "Hour of the Gun" to both of them). If you yahooed at the screen when you saw "Young Guns" you'll probably like this retarted MTV-style retelling of this classic tale. Kids, please go out and rent "Unforgiven", "The Wild Bunch", "Once Upon A Time in the West", "Little Big Man", or even "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Heck, even Kasdan's "Silverado" is a much better western than this piece of cr@p. Resist the dark-side, children. Come into the light and rent a GOOD western, okay?

Not many people have seen this one, and it doesn't show up on TV very often, but "The Sugarland Express" is a very good film. It is Spielberg's first major studio picture (after the made-for-TV "Duel"), and while it certainly isn't as dynaminc as his second film, the flawless "Jaws", it IS a very fine movie. Goldie Hawn is actually quite good. This was before she adopted the "Private Benjamin" approach to all of her performances. She is really acting here and very convincing as the not-too bright Texas girl naively trying to keep her family together. William Atherton is also very good as her husband. If you only know him as the prick from such 80s movies as "Ghostbusters", "Die Hard", and "Real Genius" check this out to see his true range.

"The Sugarland Express" is actually quite similar to the Eastwood-directed "A Perfect World" (another fine underrated film). Spielberg is already adept at filmmaking in his first feature. It has a sharper edge than the stuff he is most well-known for early in his career ("E.T.", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and such). And it was based on a true story to boot. If you can find a letterboxed copy you're in for a treat. The camera really makes Texas look otherworldly and a poetic backdrop for this sad tale.

This isn't quite as funny as the first film, but that's only because the drama and action kick into high gear here. Oliver Reed and Faye Dunaway play their story out quite remarkably, and the transformation Michael York goes through from head-strong foolishly brave farm boy with a broken sword to the battle weary Musketeer who is strong enough to stand up to Richelieu and beat him at his own game is really a delight to watch. Two really superior films.

*note: don't bother with 1989s "The Return of the Musketeers". Lester brings most of the wonderful cast back, but this time Dumas' story ("Twenty Years After") just isn't as fun, and unfortunately Lester is only given 100 minutes to tell it this time, where he falls into the same cram-it-all-in traps as other filmmakers adapting "The Three Musketeers". It's fine as a curio, as it is fun to see this cast play these characters again, and they do have a couple of nice moments, but it just isn't up to the standards they themselves set.

Richard Lester did what no one before or since has been able to do: tell Dumas' story as magnificently as it deserves to be told. This tale gets told again and again in Hollywood, but leave it to a European to do it right. The cinematography, sets, and costumes are all fantastic, but they aren't all clean and impossibly perfect like the 1948 Gene Kelly or 1993 Kiefer Sutherland versions. Lester infuses this familiar story with an energy and tone that made his work with the Beatles successful. Yes, "The Three Musketeers" is an intriguing adventure, but the humor in their friendship, that's what draws me in again and again. And what an amazing cast he had to work with: all the Musketeers are perfect, especially big Oliver Reed, who can be silly, witty, and scary all in the same scene. The supporting cast is full of great actors, including Charlton Heston (having fun at being evil here), Christopher Lee (gets to mix deadpan humor in with his menace), Raquel Welch (cast as beautiful but clumsy, really enabling her to be a character and not just a live mannequin), Spike Milligan (doing what he does best), and most wonderfully Faye Dunaway (seductively evil: my favorite kind!). And, of course, holding it all together as D'Artagnan is Michael York, who never found a greater role.

Besides handling the shifts in tone well, Richard Lester also had the great rare luxury of breaking Dumas' large novel into two seperate movies which he filmed simultaneously. This really allows for greater character development and a truly epic scale. All of the other film versions try to cram all of that plot into 120 minutes. Not only is it impossible (in the 1993 version they simply change it completely using only the basic idea of Dumas' book), but it makes this huge complicated story with many threads seem contrived and ridiculous (the 1948 version has such dramatic and sudden shifts of tone - from wacky comedy, to romance, to heavy drama - that it can confuse and lose the audience).

This is great moviemaking.

Really great, really nasty, really mean movie (but why should a movie about criminals and naked obsession be anything but mean and nasty?). This is my favorite "the cup is half empty" type of movie (actually, according to this movie the cup is completely empty, and if you want a taste you better kick your way to the front of the line and shoot the water bearer in the back of the head). The bad guys are bad and the good guys are even worse. William Peterson is just dead-on here as a charming psychopath who happens to be a Treasury agent. Willem Dafoe is equally good as the creepy artistic psychopath who happens to be a counterfitter. John Pankow (years before he was wacky cousin Ira on "Mad About You") is also very good as the innocent partner who learns from the wrong guy how to be a cop (but learns very well). And John Turturro gets to have fun in a small role that was a precursor to his Bernie Bernbuam in "Miller's Crossing".

Friedkin puts these characters in the middle of a very freaky, very stylized Los Angeles. And, because he's William Friedkin and he basically invented the modern car chase in "The French Connection", he goes and out-does himself with an AMAZING chase on the highway. To fully appreciate how amazing it is, watch an old "CHiPs" re-run - see how there are only three cars on the whole interstate and they're all going 15mph - then watch as a car is hurdled head-on through six lanes of bumper to bumper speeding traffic, mostly done in long shots so you always see sixty vehiles at a time! Great stuff (John Frankenhimer recently tried to duplicate this effect in "Ronin", but the Paris by-ways are nothing compared to the L.A. freeway). Come for the frantic car chase, stay for the relentlessly bleak attitude, Dude.

Steve Martin at his funniest and most clever. This is a very effective, very funny fable that says quite a bit about the magical power of love...at least as it relates to the movies. Every critical response I remember reading about this movie focused way too much on the Los Angeles aspects of the film. Yes, L.A. is in the title and it is important to the narrative, but really all of the L.A. stuff is only there for detail and background. The STORY is a very charming magical romance that shows how being in love can feel truly magical. Steve Martin gives his finest performance since "Roxanne", and the supporting cast truly supports, especially Richard E. Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. There are parts of this movie that are just perfect, my favorite being the museum roller-skating sequence. Very funny and very sweet without being sappy. Two very rare things in "romantic comedies" these days.

This is a beautifully told but very ugly story that will stay with you for days (and nights) afterwards. The cinematography in this movie is striking. It is a tribute to and a step beyond the greatest B&W film noir of the past. It ranks up there with "BladeRunner" and "SE7EN" as modern standards of light and shadow as character. New Orleans has never looked more elegantly seedy. This marvellous photography is used by Alan Parker to create a very ominous and nasty atmosphere, which is perfect for this clever detective tale gone gothic horror. The tone of this film is palpabele. Mickey Rourke is excellent here, easily the most complete and interesting performance of his career, and DeNiro looks like he's having fun as Mr. Cyphre. Unlike recent films such as "Fallen" and especially "The Devil's Advocate" there are no cop-out endings that ring unfair or false, just the inevitable conclusion to the story of a doomed soul.

An amazingly hilarious dark comedy that will keep you guessing and laughing every step of the way. What sounds like a tired premise on paper (smart loner causes havoc at elite prep-school) plays as one of the smartest, most original movies I've seen in years. There are sequences in this film that are perfect - absolutely flawless - and always very very funny (Max emerging from that elevator in slow-motion, that shot will stay with me forever). The young actor who plays the lead is mesmerizing. All of the supporting cast is solid, including Olivia Williams who really shines here (unlike what she was asked to do in Costner's The Postman), but the most amazing and wonderful performer in the movie is Bill Murray. It is the most subtle characterization he has ever done on screen and it is absolutely flawless. Every pause, every facial expression, every line he delivers is golden. I have always been a huge Murray fan, but this is easily his most inspired and original performance. Rushmore is hauntingly funny: it will stay with you for a long time.

This is the closest thing to a "comedy" Scorsese has ever done, but being who he is it isn't quite like any other comedy you've ever seen. It is filled with intriguingly bizzare characters (played by an eclectic cast) that really shows what big city paranoia is all about. For everyone who has had "one of those days", check this movie out and see what a bad day is REALLY like. Scorsese also has quite a bit of fun with the camera, so take that Dramamine first. Oh yeah, and it's HILARIOUS...that is if you find suicide and blood-thirsty mobs funny. Filled with so many nuanced moments and performances that it gets better and better with repeat viewings.

This is a must for any fan of Hollywood film-noir of the 40s. This movie seemlessly blends scenes from great films like Hitchcock's Notorious and Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity with a very funny story that has Steve Martin and Rachel Ward actually interacting with the likes of Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Alan Ladd, and Jimmy Cagney. No Forrest Gump-like morphing or other compter generated tricks, just clever writing and perfect wardrobe and lighting that constantly amazes. This plays well even if you haven't seen the classic films that the clips were borrowed from, but the more familiar you are with the material, the more amazed and amused you will be. This is Carl Reiner's best, most inventive work and Steve Martin is perfect.

Unique, amazing film. Each of the big, sometimes complex, musical numbers is a look inside one of the character's heads, showing how they perceive the 1930s Depression Era world around them. Their dreams (or delusions) usually have little to do with reality. Steve Martin's Arthur is a bizarre, almost unredeemable amoral man who creates a pretend morality in the vision of the music he loves: he claims to listen to the words, that he is a pure romantic, but the reality of his actions constantly opposes this. Bernadette Peters is, well, Bernadette Peters...she's gorgeous and perfect here as the mousey then trampy object of Arthur's obsession. And Christopher Walken has a show stopping tap-dance sequence that must be seen to be believed. Great stuff that at the very least you have never seen anything quite like before. Darkly ironic eye-candy that stays with you.

This is Albert Brooks at his neurotic, psychotic, hilarious best. If you are an obsessive person, especially when it comes to relationships, and you or someone you love always kind of feared that you're a big freak - a little too scary and weird - check out Albert Brooks' Robert Cole. You'll find that you aren't nearly as bad off as this insecure little man. Or at least I hope you aren't. It also has some really funny behind the scenes comments on Hollywood, as the character is a film editor in Los Angeles. After Broadcast News this is my favorite Brooks performance.

Like Quick Change this movie was unfairly panned by critics and ignored by audiences. Bill Murray is simply wonderful, but it's not the sarcastic Murray from Groundhog Day or Ghostbusters, but the dim-bulb Murray from Caddyshack (with a dozen fewer blows to the head). The plot is contrived, but cleverly so. Of course it's ridiculous, but this wasn't intended as a thriller like David Fincher's The Game, but as a low-key comedy like A Fish Called Wanda, The Lavender Hill Mob, and especially the Inspector Clouseau pictures - except this character's absent- mindedness is explained by the plot: he doesn't realize this is a real cloak & dagger situation. Very funny, and every facial expression, physical gesture, and voice inflection is done perfectly by Murray in a nuanced rather than manic performance. Smart, silly stuff.

Occasionally Elmore Leonard writes about something other than the underworld. Here his wonderful dialogue and amusing characters are centered around, not a bank robber or ex-con, but a young man who receives miraculous stigmata. The tone is stirical and the comedy is quite dark; definitely worth a look. After Get Shorty Hollywood seemed to finally get how to translate Leonard to the screen, and Touch certainly belongs in the company of Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight. The cast is perfect in this one, with Skeet Ulrich and Bridget Fonda the best they've been so far, plus Christopher Walken in full glory, and Tom Arnold (yes, That Tom Arnold) just dead on as a religious zealot. This one didn't get much of a theatrical run so go find it at the video store.

Don't try to figure it out, simply enjoy the ride. The plot to this movie isn't even that important: the way the characters react and the tone of the thing, that's what draws you into this piece. It is blissfully bizarre and probably belongs up there with Altman's The Long Goodbye and Polanski's Chinatown as a wonderful snapshot of Los Angeles wrapped in a private-eye story. Again, it isn't a riddle to be solved, just movie entertainment at its best. The initial "mystery" of this story is about as important to the final film as the initial "who stole the truck" business in the beginning of The Usual Suspects. Forget about it and listen to the Dude sponging-up vocabulary, Walter chastizing pascifism, and poor Donny always six steps behind, out of his element. Like all the Coen Brother's films, this one gets better with repeat viewings to catch every nuance in performance, dialogue, cinematography, etc. Jeff Bridges gives his best performance since Fearless. Find out who has Walter's undies. You'll laugh to meet the man...parts, anyways.

Why didn't this pick up a bag full of Oscars? It is an amazing interpretaion of an oft-filmed/performed piece. The visuals are breathtaking (especially in wide-screen...the pan & scan really kills this film's wonderful cinematography and sets). Every frame is a painting. Astounding. The play is almost completely intact, and Branagh's passion for it is clear from the opening titles on. No Zefferelli here, just great storytelling the way only film can, but rarely does. Jacobi is especially perfect as Hamlet's murderous Uncle: he doesn't play him as a mustache- curling evil villian, but a charming politician, allowing us to see why only Hamlet suspects foul play. Branagh also nails the subtlety of the line between Hamlet's fake/real madness and the burning revenge inside him. And the many cameos come off quite well, everyone from Billy Crystal and Robin Williams to Gerard Depardeu and Charlton Heston, unobtrusive if you are sucked into Branagh's vision the way I was. A mesmerizing piece.

Although set in the 1950s, this film is mostly a tribute to the greatest of screwball comedies like His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby, but fused with Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Of course, because it is the Coens it isn't quite like anything else, really, which is what makes it their least understood film to date. Gets better and better with repeat viewings. Lots of fun with elaborate art-deco sets and the acting by Robbins, Leigh, and especially the wonderfully deadpan Paul Newman. Sure, sure.

You've probably never heard of this, as it went straight to video, but if you can track down a copy you're in for a treat. This is a really twisted, bizarre little movie that Billy Zane starred in way before he had done Titanic...heck, before he had done Sniper for that matter. It is waaaaay over the top and completely hilarious with a brilliant cast and wonderfully contrived plot. Besides Billy Zane this great cast includes Jennifer Beals (don't miss her perfect song "one girl in a million"), James LeGros, Harry Shearer (up there with Derek Smalls and Mr. Burns as his best characterizations), and Darren McGavin (as good - if not better - a performance than in A Christmas Story). After you see this you'll wonder why you've never heard of it before. Very funny. A great find.

This is a clever, hysterical movie that was ignored during its initial release. Murray, Davis, and Quaid are perfect as the too-clever-by-half bank robbers, and the supporting cast is equally as perfect including Stanley Tucci as a not-too bright Mafioso, Bob Elliot's fake-tough bank guard, Phillip Bosco's by the book Bus Driver, Jason Robard's tired supercop, and especially Tony Shalhoub's incoherent cab driver. Murray is at his sarcastic dead-pan best as the world-class bank robber who can't seem to get out of New York City. A classic that everybody seems to forget about. See it again.

The Thing was released a few weeks after E.T. in 1982 and Blade Runner was released a few weeks before E.T., resulting in dismal box office for both of these films. Blade Runner has, of course, gotten its due over the years, but The Thing still hides in relative obscurity (perhaps in one of us...get the flame- thrower!). While not as groundbreaking a classic as Ridley Scott's masterpiece, it's certainly worth repeated viewings. It is a good ol' fashioned scary movie, and certainly Carpenter's best work. If you've only seen in on TV with commercials or on cable a dozen years ago, see it again (if possible a wide screen copy as Carpenter used the 2.35:1 screen beautifully to create a mood and place). No stupid cop-out endings or cheesy one-liners here, just great storytelling. Best seen at night, during a snowstorm, with the lights and heat turned off.

This underrated/underseen Huston film is definitely worth a look. Newman is wonderful as Roy Bean, and the large supporting cast is amazing, especially Anthony Perkins as a travelling padre, Stacy Keach as Bad Bob, Roddy McDowell as a wormy lawyer, Ned Beatty as the outlaw who'd rather be a bartender, and John Huston himself as Grizzly Adams. This is not a perfect picture at all. It falls apart by the last third or so, has a terrible day-for-night process shot that doesn't really work, and a unnecessary and embarrassing "raindrops keep falling on my head"-type musical montage, but the rest of it is great fun. This is the crazy kind of script Milius used to write in the 70s, like Apocalypse Now and especially 1941. The tone is very odd, but if you like your comedy dark and your westerns satirical you'll find lots to like about this one. A very broad and dark performance by Newman, who manages to find the pathos and integrity of this western charicature. It's a nice companion/contrast to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Kind of what Rami must have been going for in The Quick and the Dead (minus the Spaghetti Western style), and the examination of the mythic hero that Roderiguez tried for in Desperado, but much better achieved by Huston (duh). Fun stuff.