IN WAR THEY FOUND EACH OTHER… IN EACH OTHER THEY FOUND LOVE… It’s a pity that director Richard Attenborough can’t bring life to the story of how young, wounded ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway met nurse Agnes in Italy during WWI. “A Farewell to Arms” is a true literary classic, but the filmmakers manage to make … Continue reading In Love and War
HE’S UP PAST HIS BEDTIME IN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS. Kevin’s (Macaulay Culkin) family is ready for another vacation, but this time he gets lost in New York and runs into some familiar burglars… If I were a member of this family I’d think we were stuck in Groundhog Day; this is virtually a remake of … Continue reading Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
IT’S BAD NEWS FOR BAD GUYS… AGAIN. Did you actually think that little Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) was done beating up defenseless burglars? Well, he is in fact, because there’s a new kid on the block. The third movie in the series introduced a new family and eight-year-old, but the tired concept remains the same. The … Continue reading Home Alone 3
IT’S NOT PARANOIA IF THEY’RE REALLY AFTER YOU. Director Tony Scott’s films rarely have much substance to offer, but in this thriller he has found something that fits his grand style like a glove. It is a paranoid story with plenty of pizzazz, starring a likeable Will Smith as an attorney who is hunted for … Continue reading Enemy of the State
FEAR STRIKES. Knife salesman Gil Renard (Robert De Niro) is denied the right to visit his son, and the frustrations in his life turn his vicious attention to ace baseball player Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes). A stalker thriller that tries to be more than just that, but fails miserably. De Niro knows how to intimidate audiences, … Continue reading The Fan
AN EPIC OF MINIATURE PROPORTIONS. In my opinion, a bug’s life and its competitor, Antz, are equally good, but this one might actually appeal more to kids. Conceived with plenty of imagination, this is a remake of The Seven Samurai with ants standing in for the villagers, grasshoppers for the parasitic bandits and a circus troupe of various insects for … Continue reading a bug’s life
This is one of Robert Youngson’s last accomplishments, a compilation that celebrates the funnymen of the 1920s, Laurel and Hardy in particular. We get to see how their act started out and developed into two unforgettable characters. First half of the documentary is funnier but seeing their now classic short pieces remains a fascinating experience … Continue reading Laurel and Hardy’s Laughing 20’s
A somewhat different choice of topic for the director who achieved fame with two documentaries about laborers’ struggle to survive, Harlan County, U.S.A. and American Dream. Barbara Kopple hooks up with one of the most famous directors in cinema history – Woody Allen, who’s also a skilled clarinettist in a band that plays New Orleans-style … Continue reading Wild Man Blues
HE DOESN’T PLAY GOLF… HE DESTROYS IT. The Caddyshack golf movies were popular in the 1980s, and then we got this – but in all honesty, it’s not an improvement. God knows Adam Sandler is no Bill Murray, but he did get some attention as the vicious hockey player who can’t skate to save his … Continue reading Happy Gilmore
