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The Perfect Storm

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, Karen Black,
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Ironsides

A sword fishing boat pushes out too far looking for a big catch to save the captain's reputation and gets caught in a killer hurricane. Maybe the book was a perfect masterpiece, but this is just another movie, albeit well made. Contains some good character parts that are left hanging as a result of the plot, which is not congenial to resolution, which is as it should be given the nature of the subject matter.

Bastard Out Of Carolina

1996

Jena Malone, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dermot Mulroney
Lyle Lovett, Pat Hingle, Christina Ricci

Bone (Malone), the illegitimate daughter of Anney (Leigh), grows up secretly suffering from the physical abuse of her stepfather. For all the publicity the book and film got, I expected more. I guess that I too am a victim, of the hype. After all, it's just an ordinary story that's been told many times before.

Whipped

Amanda Peet

At the same time, a girl dates three guys, friends who spend all their free time during the week scamming chicks and comparing notes in a diner on Sunday. Great structure with a completely immoral premise that offends even me. And the ending is, I guess, supposed to turn this perception around, after the viewers who haven't yet left are outraged at the immorality. But for me the ending is not the moral lesson it's intended to be. (Or is it, intended?) Is Peet's character supposed to be justified in what she's done? Isn't she just like the guys, only worse, because she's acting even more intentionally, and vindictively as well? This movie pissed me off, for several reasons, which is maybe its intention. I have never hit a woman, or do I believe that hitting a woman is ever justified, but this film makes me feel like I might not mind slapping Peet's character across the face--very hard.

Damnation Alley

Jan Michael Vincent, George Peppard,
Paul Winfield, Jackie Earl Haley

After a nuclear war, after things have settled down, survivors at a missile silo set out across the U.S. following a radio signal that may be a sign of other survivors. Nuclear weather, killer cockroaches, renegades, the usual stuff.

Le Petit Ciel

1999

Jocelyn Blanchard

A guy, the owner of a bar named Le Petit Ciel, is dying of cancer when he meets a recently jilted girl who can't seem to hook up with the right guy, and they fall in love as their difficulties are overseen by a ragtag group of bureaucratic saints and other heavenly personnel loosely presided over by a very unique and somewhat inept Jesus. Humorously profound.

All I Wanna Do

1997

Kiersten Dunst, Gaby Hoffman, Lynne Redgrave,
Rachael Leigh Cook, Heather Matarazzo

Some fairly serious woman's issues imbedded in an apparently flippant film about teens in an all-girls boarding school.

Loser

A nerd and a grunge kitten get together after they each experience hard times dealing with their college situations and awaken to reality. He is set up by his roommates and forced to move out and she is screwed by the system, almost destitute, and dependent on her philandering professor-boyfriend who she thinks loves her, and vice versa. The nerd is caught in the middle, his noble character preventing him from acting, but he wins out in the end.

Break Up

Brigit Fonda, Keifer Sutherland,
Steven Webber, Penelope Ann Miller

Crime drama with some surprisingly unique plot twists as a young married woman (Fonda) eludes the police and her abusive criminal husband after he almost kills her.

Siringo

1994

Brad Johnson, Barry Corbin, Crystal Bernard

In the old west, a half-breed lawman chases a prison escapee that he originally put into jail. An ordinary western with nothing much to recommend it.

Battlefield Earth

John Travolta, Barry Pepper

In the year 3000, aliens have taken over earth and enslaved the human population to operate mining production. Typical sci-fi flick, interesting mostly because Travolta plays one of the alien leaders

Zelig

Woody Allen, Mia Farrow

Mockumentary about "The Cameleon Man" (Allen) who changes personality and even physical form to match those people he's with in a desperate attempt to be socially accepted. Literally drips with sarcasm, perhaps even more so than most of Allen's other films. Best line: "I worked with Freud in Vienna. Yes. We broke over the concept of penis envy. Freud felt that it should be limited to women."

One Night At McCool's

Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman, Reba MacEntire,
Paul Riser, Andrew Silverstein (Andrew Dice Clay)

Story of the infatuation of three men for the same girl, whom they meet in a bar one night at McCools, told from the multiple viewpoints of the guys, with accompanying differences of opinion.

Earth Girls Are Easy

1989

Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans,
Jim Carrey, Michael McKean, Julie Brown

Three goofy aliens (Goldblum, Carrey, and Wayans) crash land in the swimming pool of a Califonia girl (Davis) swimming pool and fit right into the LA scene. Basically a stupid movie, but I enjoyed it. Best line: Michael McKean, as a surfer dude/pool guy, says to a kid whose mother is giving him a hard time: "Leave home, kid."

The Chamber

Faye Dunaway, Chris O'Donnell, Robert Prosky,
Millie Perkins, Gene Hackman, Josef Sommer

O'Donnell was his usual squirrelly self. Hackman was magnificent as a southern bigot. And Dunaway was perfect in the role of his daughter. I'll bet that role took a lot of make-up and special lens filters.

No Deposit, No Return

David Niven, Darren McGavin, Don Knotts, Hershel Bernardi, Barbara Feldon, Charles Martin Smith, Vic Tayback

McGavin and Knotts are burglars, working as garagemen and trying to stay straight, but owing money to a gangster (Tayback). Runaway kids fill out the stupid plot. Knotts is pretty good when he's not fully into his Barney Fife persona.

Passenger 57

Wesley Snipes, Tom Sizemore, Elizabeth Hurley

Snipes plays a cop hidden aboard a high-jacked airliner. Original, Huh? That's about as good as it gets.

Fair Game

William Baldwin, Cindy Crawford

Miami detective Baldwin defies his superiors to protect lawyer Crawford as they both go on the run. Excellent action film. But it is just an action film.

Under Seige

Steven Segal, Patrick O'Neal, Gary Busey, Colm Meaney

A rogue ex-special forces cook foils a take-over plot aboard a navy destroyer. Typical Segal stuff.

The Family Man

Tea Lioni, Nicolas Cage, Jeremy Piven, Josef Sommer,
Saul Rubinek, Don Cheedle, Mary Beth Hurt

Super businessman Cage gets a second chance after he chooses his career over his fiancee (Lioni) when an angel (Cheddle) demotes him to an ordinary family man in an ordinary job. Fairly stereotypical, but well-played.

America's Sweethearts

John Cusack, Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal,
Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin

Movie star couple (America's Sweethearts) are broken up, and he suffers while she exists in her own neurotic world. Enter Crystal and Roberts to alter the arrangements. Slow-moving, with unmemorable performances by Roberts and Cusack. But Crystal and Walken keep it marginally interesting. The second half was much better than the first.

Jane Doe

2001

Rob Lowe

When her teenage son is kidnapped, a laid-off account security officer of a local corporation with government contracts sets out to find him and runs into her ex (Lowe) who is involved. The criminals need her expertise inside the company and set her up in a frame, and so she is chased through the rest of the movie by both the criminals and the authorities. Sounds good on paper, but unbelievable character motivations and plot devices ruin the film. I hate it when Lowe, an actor whom I really admire, does these lame movies.

Girl Interrupted

Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, May Kay Place,
Whoppi Goldberg, Jeffry Tambur, Vanessa Redgrave

Fascinating portrayal of girls in a mental institution struggling for a sense of identity and peace of mind.

Mona Lisa

Bob Hoskins, Robby Coltrane, Michael Caine

Film noir of an ex-con who returns to his neighborhood and gets a job as a bodyguard/driver for a high-class prostitute. Well told story, excellently acted. You know it's good when Michael Caine is the weakest link. Great Photography.

End of Days

Arnold Swartzenegger, Robin Tunney, Gabriel Byrne,
Kevin Pollak, Rod Steiger, CCH Pounder

Arnold plays a suicidal cop (how original) who investigates strange events leading up to end time prophecy fulfillment (how original). Best Arnold line: "We're not afraid to die." "Good. Because I'm not afraid to kill you."

Rush Hour 2

Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone,
Alan King, Saul Rubinek, Jeremy Piven

The first movie wasn't all that great, but this one stinks by comparison. The first half seemed very awkward, but the second half was a bit better

Get Carter

Sylvester Stallone, Miranda Richardson, Rachael Leigh Cook,
Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, John McGinley, Michael Caine

Fairly well-done movie, but English films seem to do it so much better, don't you think? Stallone did a pretty good job of acting, but Cumming stole the show. Nice touch using Caine in the film. He had the lead in the original.

The Pentagon Papers

James Spader, Alan Arkin, Michele Blanc

Good history. Spader was a perfect Daniel Ellsberg. He gets better and better as an actopr as he ages. But he seems to losing that shy act--or maybe it was real, maybe he was bringing that part of himself to the screen.

Chambre à Part

Jacque Dutronc, Lio, Frances Barber,
cameo: Engelbert Humperdick

A Frenchman and his English wife, living in London, meet an unusual French couple at a New Years' Party and become sexually involved with them. Together, the four of them develop a complex and difficult relationship.

Loch Ness

Ted Dansen, Ian Holm

A university scientist, down on his luck, is assigned to go to Loch Ness to prove that Nessie doesn't exist. But is he in for a surprise. Standard monster plot that actually started out pretty good and was going along well until those damn monsters showed up. That's the problem with monster tales. They have to have those monsters in them, where the theme of human interest gives way to the theme of monsters, even as the plot purports that the opposite is true. [Did I use the word monsters enough yet?]

Retroactive

James Belushi, M. Emmet Walsh

A scientist in his underground laboratory in the desert in Texas invents a time travel machine that saves the life of a woman who is murdered when the machine is accidentally initiated. But there are consequences (aren't there always?) as the characters go back in time, over and over again, to relive the same series of events to try to make things right, or in one case, wrong. Very clever story development that builds on each previous version of the story.

The Echo of Thunder

Judy Davis, Brian Brown

A guy's daughter from his first marriage comes to live on his palm tree farm (Australia) after her mother's death from cancer and disrupts family life as she struggles against the non-acceptance of the second wife and her oldest daughter. Typical stuff, but well-acted.

Taken
(Sci Fi channel miniseries)

Good suspense. Great survey and interpretation of the phenomena and even better subtle references to the sci fi/aliens film genre. But it falls somewhat short in characterization, stereotypically portraying what could easily have been made into well-rounded characters, given the run time. And a very disappointing and overly drawn out ending. Favorite line: "Some people are born too mean, some too tender."

At Close Range

1985

Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn, R.D. Call,
Mary Stuart Masterson, Crispin Glover, Candy Clark, Millie Perkins, Tracey Walter, Keifer Sutherland, David Strathairn

A young guy (Sean Penn) meets his outlaw father (Walken) for the first time and becomes involved in his "business," thievery. But it all turns sour when the father mistakenly tries to negate the influence of the son's loose-mouthed girlfriend (Masterson). Excellent acting and plot structure. Great story with a non-Hollywood ending.

That's The Way I Like It

1977

Adrian Tang, Medaline Tan

Singapore: A guy takes classes to learn how to dance and enters a dance competition in order to earn money to buy a motorcycle. A tribute to Saturday Night Fever.

The Caveman's Valentine

Samuel L. Jackson, Ann Magnuson, Anthony Michael Hall

Story of a psychotic musical genius, living in a cave in the park, who sets out to prove that a famous artist murdered one of his models and left him frozen in a tree in front of the Caveman's cave.

The Good Wife
warning

Rachael Ward, Brian Brown, Sam Neil

Excellently done, this film really pissed me off. Brian Brown played this character who is a really nice guy, forgiving, tolerant, and yet, manly and even a bit macho. And here's this cunt of a wife (Ward), dissatisfied, looking for some other kind of life. Enter the stranger (Neil). But the husband loves her and forgives her and takes her back. Lesson to women: if you've got the "right" man, you can get away with anything.

Kotch

Walter Matthau, Larry Linville, Debra Winters, D: Jack Lemmon

Kotch is a grandfather, living with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, whom he adores. But the wife, stressed-out and becoming increasingly intolerant, hires a babysitter and attempts to estrange Kotch. So he leaves and starts a new life on his own. Great stuff. Really captures the essence of family, in a negative sort of way.

Josie and the Pussycats

2001

Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Alan Cumming,
Carson Daly, Rosario Dawson, Parker Posey

A three-member all-girl band struggles to survive. But circumstances throw them into the big time, big time. The movie tries hard to be cool, but it's overly campy. It's dripping with irony, but it just doesn't quite make it. Daly plays himself as a murderer for hire. Cute.

Coyote Ugly

Piper Perabo, John Goodman

A naive song writer (Perabo) leaves her Jersey home and crosses the river to the big city. But while trying to establish her career, she hits a few snags, not the least of which is her own psychology (lamely defined). Starts out good, but gets superficial pretty quickly. Goodman plays his usual fatherly self and may be the best part of the movie.

Most Wanted

Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jon Voight, Paul Sorvino, Eric Roberts

A Special Ops agent, scheduled to be executed for killing his C.O., is recruited by a Special Ops organization as a fall guy for an assassination. That's about it. Not one of the most profound films ever made.

Volcano

Tommy Lee Jones, Ann Heche, Don Cheedle,
Keith David, Gaby Hoffman

No need to describe the plot or story line. You've seen it all before, and before that, and... Heche is her usual cute self, and Tommy is as Tommy as they come, and Gaby is as endearing as usual. What a waste of talent.

The Patriot

Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper

Some stereotyping and superficiality of plot, but good solid background material and a great perspective on the reality of life at the time, particularly with respect to how the rebels became disenfranchised into a position where they had little to lose by rebelling. Their reaction to the brutal acts of the English Army swelled the ranks of the Continental Army and inflamed the popular sentiment for it.

The Art of War

Wesley Snipes, Ann Archer, Donald Sutherland, Michael Beihn

A special Ops specialist (Snipes) specializes on several ops. Well-done, non-stop action holds your interest, but after all, it's just an action film. The guy who played Nero Wolfe on A&E was the sympathetic FBI agent, who was sarcastically fantastic.

Uncommon Valor

Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Robert Stack,
Patrick Swayze, Tim Thomerson

Typical stuff. How many of these let's-recruit-a-bunch-of-has-beens-and-go-back-and-get-'em movies can they make? Best lines:

"What happened to your grenades?"

"I had to use them for an emergency enema."

Kind of gives you an idea of what this movie is about.

The Uninvited

1944

Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp

A brother and sister get a deal too good to be true on an old English manor house. Then they discover the secret. Old time ghost story that holds up well over the years.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

1989

Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Kevin Spacey,
Joan Severence, Anthony Zerbe

Endearing, but second-rate movie about a deaf man and a blind man who team up to solve a murder that they themselves are accused of. Funny, but ordinary. Good nude scenes of Severence, though.

Compromising Positions

Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, Edward Hermann, Judith Ivey,
Joan Allen, Mary Beth Hurt, Joe Mantagna, Josh Mostel

A housewife (Sarandon), who put her career aside to raise a family, runs afoul of her husband (Hermann) when she begins to investigate a local murder and becomes attracted to the detective (Julia) on the case. Good story. Great character development. Well-developed mystery. Unfairly reviewed as being too eclectic, because it doesn't follow Hollywood formulas closely enough.

Daddy's Dying. Who's Got The Will?

1990

Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Beverly D'Angelo, Judge Reinhold, Keith Carradine, Patrika Darbo, Molly McClure, Bert Remsen, Amy Wright

A family gathers together for the pending death of the father, and their differing personalities clash. A primer in country expressions. Tight, effective screenplay adapted from a play. Excellent characterizations. I seem to remember criticizing Beau Bridges a few years back for not taking on any in-depth roles that allow him to display his talent, but instead playing it safe and superficial. I take it all back. He does an excellent job in this film playing the unlikable brother. Good choice of role.

Judgment Night

1993

Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Jeremy Piven, Steven Dorff, Dennis Leary

Once it gets started, the action is non-stop as four guys on their way to a boxing match get sidetracked into a bad neighborhood and face a real challenge to their macho senses of self by escaping from local hoods after they witness a murder. Leary's portrayal of the bad guy is outstanding, and his suicidal psychology is well hidden and only subtly revealed at the end through his physical interaction with Estevez.

Blowback

Mario Van Peebles, James Remar

A religious fanatic serial killer is executed, but revived, given a new face (Remar's), and continues his agenda of reconstructing the deaths of Saints with his victims as proxies, while being trailed by the cop (Van Peebles) who arrested him the first time. Typical action flick, with some bizarre twists re torture and death.

The Next Best Thing

Madonna, Rupert Everett, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Lynne Redgrave, Ileanna Douglas

Started out kind of slow and obvious, but got increasingly complicated and profound in the second half. Well drawn, inextricable plot. Once it made a turn, it couldn't be reversed and had no other alternative but to go the way it went. Huh?

Money Train

Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Lopez,
Robert Blake, Chris Cooper

Interesting characters, but basically a stupid movie. Not enough action for an action flick or enough profundity for an intellectual one. And not enough JLo for any purpose.

K-PAX

2001

Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Alfrie Woodard, Conchata Ferrel

Great study of what drives a person into catatonia, or the story of a man from the planet K-PAX. Take your pick. The acting is great all around, but the story overshadows everyone. I like it when the writer leaves the interpretation up to the audience.

Predator 2

Danny Glover, Ruben Blades, Bill Paxton,
Marie Conchita Alonzo, Gary Busey

Sorry, but I just didn't buy Alonzo as a macho, hardcore shoot-'em-up urban assault cop. But Busey as a hardcore FBI agent was perfect. The story, however, fell far short of the original, and the mystery was gone. Not much more than a gimmick film with the gimmick already used up.

Come Back to the Five and Dime,
Jimmie Dean. Jimmie Dean

Cher, Sandy Dennis, Kathy Bates, Karen Black, D: Robert Altman

Joe gets tits and Sissy loses hers. A retrospective of a teenage club who worshipped Jimmie Dean. Twenty years later, they return to their high school hang-out, a Woolworth's store in an impoverished town, to learn each other's fates and to dispel the fictions about themselves that they've been living with. Great counterpoint writing, as characters become what they were not in their pasts.

Pure Country

1992

George Strait, Leslie Ann Warren, Rory Calhoun

Sappy, but well-acted story of a country singer who, as a result of the stress of the road, runs off and leaves his band and crew to fend for themselves while he returns to his roots and redefines himself.

Maverick

Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner,
James Coburn, Graham Greene, Dub Taylor,
Bert Remsen, Doug McClure, Dan Hedeya

Started out kind of slow and ordinary, but got better as it went along. But the plot was all screwed up and defied logic, or at least an internal explanation, and you get the idea that the filmmakers just didn't care, being too interested in a loose interpretation of the television legend.

Ruby

1992

Danny Aiello, Sherilyn Fenn, Arliss Howard, David Ducovny

Great Story. Well-made movie. But I don't agree with the theory. I think Ruby killed Oswald for the mob/CIA, to keep him from talking about the conspiracy. Maybe the Mafia financed this film in an effort to deconstruct the past. Great acting by Aiello. Biggest fault in the film: Ducovny had too small a role.

Pearl Harbor

Ben Affleck, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin, Scott Wilson,
Mako, Dan Ackroid, Jon Voight, Catherine Keener

This was an okay movie. I didn't think I'd like it at all and resisted it at first. It started out a little slow for me with all that romantic stuff, but I'll bet the women liked it. But it got a lot faster in the second half, with all the macho war scenes, which I bet all the men loved. Something for everyone. But, ultimately, it's a remake of dozens of old films. SOS. Best line: "A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war." (Mako, who came off not so well as the rest of the actors. He should have been a lot better, based on his acting history.)

Life as a House

warning

Kevin Kline, Kristen Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen,
Jena Malone, Mary Steenbergen, Scott Bakula

A divorced father, who's barely getting by with his life in model construction for an architectural firm, gets fired from his job and immediately thereafter is diagnosed with terminal cancer and discovers he has only several months to live. (It's done with a lot more class than the cliche seems to indicate.) His reaction is atypical. He decides to build the house he's always dreamed of building, but never had the time or motivation for. He wants to leave it as his legacy, and he does, in a far more profound way than anyone except his son imagined. Great film. Subtle and daring. Great performances by all, with an especially well-done "love" scene between Kline and Malone.

College Confidential

Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Mamie Van Doren, Randy Sparks, Conway Twitty, Walter Winchell, Earl Wilson, Shiela Graham

A liberal college sociology professor, while doing a cultural survey that involves sex mores, is framed by a supposed friend for engaging in 'inappropriate behavior' with his students. I just love these campy B pictures. I had this one figured out right from the start, but then plot twists caused me to doubt my predictions, several times. This is one sign of a good script. Too bad the acting didn't measure up. But Steve Allen is always lovable despite his bumbling acting style. Remember The Benny Goodman Story?

What Dreams May Come

warning

Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Anabel Sciorri, Max Von Sydow

A young guy meets a girl in Europe, falls in love, marries her, becomes a doctor, and has two kids. And that's all in the first few minutes of the film. Then, tragedy strikes. His kids are killed in a car accident, he is killed in a separate car accident and goes to heaven, and his despondent wife commits suicide and goes to hell. Thereafter, his job is to retrieve her. Love conquers all. I thought it was kind of corny at first, but it got progressively better throughout the movie, especially when disguised characters began to reveal themselves. Favorite line: "Once her reality becomes yours, there's really no way back." How true, even in a normal world.

The Big Time

2002

Christopher Lloyd, Molly Ringwald

Made for tv film about the early days of television. Doc (Lloyd) is the brains behind a start-up tv station competing with the early networks for survival. Good story and acting. I wanted to see more of Ringwald and her gentle corporate machinations though. They should have made her the central issue.

Out of Sight

George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Albert Brooks,
Don Cheadle, Nancy Allen, Michael Keaton, Dennis Farina,
Samuel L. Jackson, D: Steven Soderberg,

A guy (Clooney) and his buddy (Rhames) break out of prison and in the process kidnap a federal marshall (Lopez). And, of course, Clooney falls in love with her. Good plot, good story, and Lopez looks as hot as ever. Brooks does a good job of looking like someone else for a change. Allen looks better than ever. She's almost lost that teenager look. Great scene between Farina and Keaton, who proves once again that he can bring subtlety to even the smallest role.

Scorpio

Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Paul Scofield, Gayle Hunnicut

A CIA agent (Lancaster) is targeted for assassination by his boss and escapes to Vienna where old friends help him out, in vain. Slow and boring, but it has a non-Hollywood ending to redeem it.

Hi, Mom

Robert DeNiro, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning (early bit part)

Sarcastic story of a young, ambitious cinematographer who schemes to make candid porn films. It took me a while to get into this film. The acting was a bit rough and the political message a bit dated. But, overall, it was worth watching.

Harlem Nights

Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Danny Aiello

African-American night club operators run afoul of top-dog gangsters and plan revenge via a final heist before they depart the scene. Solid acting, but not much of a plot.

The Lost World

Bob Hoskins, Edward Fox, Robert Hardy, Peter Falk

An English expedition to the Amazon encounters fundamentalist ministers, dinosaurs, monkey-men, and natives. Good rendition of a classic story. Nothing special though, except maybe for a little bit of updated science.

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

Doris Day, David Niven, Janis Page, Spring Byington, Jack Weston

Started out as a pretty good show, but reverted to the old, pre-liberation attitude when the mother (Byington) began to advise her daughter (Day) as to how to keep her husband (Niven). And she tells Niven "Loving her is one thing. Letting her think she's intelligent is another." [Gasp!] But at least her advice wasn't taken, which implies that it is old school, even back then. Actually, I found the movie pretty boring most of the time. But it's a fairly sophisticated film with a lot of risque situations. Lots of innuendo. For example, one of the kids asks an androgynous-looking visitor to the house if she's a man or a woman, and she replies that she's a veterinarian, which is halfway in between. Get it? Lots of butt shots and a few good crotch shots of Ms. Day in pants.

The One

2001

Jet Li Delroy Lindo

Pretty much a meaningless action film. An assassin from a parallel universe is jumping around between universes and killing all of his doppelgangers. With each death, he grows progressively stronger.
Good lines:

"Oh for Christ's sake. You're getting an MRI, not a heart transplant."

And:

"Get down on the floor!"
"The floor! This is a hospital. The floor is full of germs!"

Spy Game

2001

Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, David Hemmings

Working on his own, an ex-trainee (Pitt) of a retiring CIA agent (Redford), is arrested in China and sentenced for execution in 24 hours. Operating entirely from the headquarters building in Washington, the agent sets out to rescue his protégé via the telephone and subterfuge. Good spy psych stuff. But it's hard to believe that Hemmings is the same guy that was in Blow Up.

Now and Then

Cloris Leachman, Bonnie Hunt, Rosie O'Donnell,
Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Demi Moore, Rita Wilson,
Melanie Griffith, Janeane Garafalo

A badly constructed story with a lot of duplication of character effort. Boring, ordinary stuff. With all the talent involved, this should have been a much better movie. It would have been fine without the ‘adult' frame entirely. Then they would have had to change the title to Then.

Vampires

Daniel Baldwin, James Woods, Maximillian Schell, Gregory Sierra, the Indian from Car Wash, D: John Carpenter.

Vampire hunters comb the Southwest looking for the phantoms of the night. Great director. Great Actors. Just another stupid vampire movie.

The Legend of Drunken Master

Jackie Chan

The son of an herbalist runs afoul of English diplomats who are smuggling heritage treasures out of China. Typically dumb Kung Fu film.

Disturbing Behavior

A new kid comes to town and uncovers a "Stepford children's" conspiracy as "deviant" kids are replaced by doubles. Great metaphor for the pc influences in society. Psych methods ala A Clockwork Orange combined with implant surgery.

Bittersweet

Angie Everhart, Eric Roberts

A patsy who does jail time for a robbery teams up with a DA investigator to seek vengeance against her co-criminals who shot her and left her for dead. Unrealistic macho-woman shoot-em-up, but fairly satisfying if you're into that kind of liberation stuff, which I am.

The Dunwich Horror

Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Sam Jaffe, Ed Begley

A girl drives a young guy home to his country estate and becomes involved in supernatural interaction with beings from another dimension. Pretty tame stuff by today's standards. Slow and boring. A young Talia Shire, who is credited as Talia Coppola, has a bit role as a nurse. Not one of Stockwell's best, but not typical Sandra Dee material either.

Chain Reaction

1996

Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Fred Ward, Joanna Cassidy

An energy experiment at The University of Chicago is sabotaged and some principle researchers are set up as patsies. Lots of fighting off agents and running away and hiding out, and a few spectacular explosions. Good set-up. Typical stupid ending. Not much in between. Freeman plays the same basic role he played in Outbreak.

The Whole Nine Yards

Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollock, Natasha Hendstrich, Rosanna Arquette, Harland Williams

A hit man (Willis), recently released from prison and hiding out from the mob, moves in next door to a dentist whose wife is trying to kill him. The dentist becomes involved in a complicated multiple murder plot. Very satisfying story and plot resolution.

A Thin Line Between Love And Hate

Martin Lawrence, Roger Mosley, Della Reese

A womanizer becomes involved in a fatal attraction-like situation when he tries to reform himself and devote himself to his childhood girlfriend. Starts out with a lot of the typical hype, gets more serious as the movie progresses, and ends just dripping with moral lessons.

Some Girls

Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Connelly

A dark comedy about a guy who is invited to visit his college girlfriend in French Canada for Christmas and becomes involved with her quirky family.

15 Minutes

Kelsey Grammar, Robert DeNiro, Edward Burns, David Alan Grier.

A Czech and a Russian enter the U.S. and proceed to wreck havoc by making an amateur snuff film of their exploits while committing a series of murders. Lots of violence and brutality. Grier in a clever little role as a park mugger.

The Beach

Leonardo DeCaprio, Tilda Swinton

With the help of a secret map, two guys and a girl find an island where pot growers are growing a huge crop and peacefully co-existing with a commune on the other side of the island. The three intruders are adopted into the commune and, when tragedy strikes, one of the guys (DeCaprio) goes a little crazy and turns temporarily native.

Meet Joe Black

Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Tambur

Death comes to take a media executive and decides to take a vacation and stay a while in human form. Clever and witty film. Lots of good payoffs throughout.

Mercury Rising

Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin

An insubordinate FBI agents gets an assignment to find a missing austistic boy and ends up risking his career to protect him from the authorities when he discovers that the kid is targeted for assassination by an unknown government agency. Good premise and development. Typical ending.

Holy Smoke

Harvey Keitel, Kate Winslet, Pam Grier

An Australian girl (Winslet) goes to India and becomes involved in a cult. When she is convinced to return home under the pretense that her father is dying, she is given to a deprogrammer (Keitel) for three days, during which it becomes questionable as to who is deprogramming whom when the method backfires on the guy and goes very, very wrong. Subtle psychology overlaid with a grosser obvious methodology.

Nowhere To Run

Amy Madigan

A retired Marine captain is targeted for assassination by a military conspiracy after her husband is killed for trying to uncover it. Good "escape into the wilderness" fantasy in the second half of the movie, but it's hard getting there.

Shocker

Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Cami Cooper, Richard Brooks, Tmothy Leary, D: Wes Craven

A serial killer is put to death by electrocution and, energized by electricity, he returns to continue killing. You see one Wes Craven picture, you seen 'em all. Good use of thematic imagery.

The Fast and the Furious

2001

warning

Vin Deisel

Aren't there any new plots left? Vin Diesel plays a rebel street racer outlaw type (there's a stretch) whose organization is infiltrated by an undercover cop. So-so, but I like Vin Diesel. I can't help myself. I don't want to like him, but I do. He's a Dave Atell type, but more macho.

The Watcher

2000

Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson

Better than average murder mystery about a serial killer who follows a stressed-out and on-disability FBI agent from LA to Chicago. Spader brings his subtle angst to an otherwise ordinary film.

The President's Man

Chuck Norris

A retiring special agent to the president recruits his replacement. Typical Norris stuff. Improve the acting and you've got a typical dumb action film.

Benny and Joon

Mary Stuart Masterson, Johnny Dep, Aiden Quinn, Julianna Moore, Oliver Platt, Dan Hedeya, William H. Macy

A stranger who imitates Buster Keaton (Depp), the visiting cousin of a friend, is lost in a poker game to a garage owner's (Quinn's) mentally ill sister (Masterson), who ends up falling in love with the guy. Good interest and payoffs, but Masterson's illness was kind of tame and trivialized and not very realistic. Favorite line: "Having a Boo Radley moment, are we?" (Masterson)

My Dog Skip

Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane

A whimpy kid gets a dog for his birthday and it changes his whole life. Some unintentional discrepancy between the voice-over narration by the kid and the actors' portrayal of events, especially in the father's (Bacon's) characterization.

Brigit Jones' Diary

2001

Rene Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent

Zellweger was absolutely adorable, but I don't know what all the fuss about this film was all about. Probably marketing hype. It's a nice little romantic comedy, but nothing to rave about. It's nice to see Grant in the bad guy role for a change.

The Bone Collector

1999

Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington,
Queen Latifah, Luis Guzman, Ed O'Neill

Great character premise for Jolie, but the movie turns into an ordinary crime drama after the setup.

The Very Thought of You

1998

Monica Potter, Joseph Feinnes, Rufus Sewell,
Tom Hollander, Ray Winstone.

Three English friends fall in love with the same hard luck American girl who's decided to chuck Minnesota and head for England. Great mistaken identity frame with Winstone. Favorite line: "You didn't come to see me to make a decision, you came to me because you didn't like the decision you already made." (Winstone)

The Negotiator

Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse

When the partner of a police negotiator (Jackson) is set up and killed because an informer has told him that cops inside the police department have conspired to rip off the police pension fund, it's up to Jackson to find the guilty parties, which he sets about to do in a drastic way, using all of his negotiator's skills in the process. Good acting, good action, good suspense, great production values, great psychology, same old tired plot.

The Puppet Masters

1994

Donald Sutherland, Julie Warner, Eric Thal, Will Patton,
Richard Belzer, Yaphet Kotto, Keith David

Alien parasites that look like miniature Sting Rays threaten to take over the earth. Just another sci fi flick.

Center Stage

Peter Gallagher

A movie that proves that high-class ballerinas are cunts, as if we needed that proof. If you like ballet, you'll like this movie. If you don't, you probably won't. Superficial in both plot and content. There must be more to ballet than this. But maybe not.

Me Myself I

1999

Rachael Griffith

Interesting film about a lonely woman, desperate to find a man, who gets hit by a car and meets a version of herself who got married way back when and has a husband, two boys and a girl, whom she must now learn to cope with. A great 'what if' movie. Rachel Griffiths is a good-looking woman in a geeky-gawky sort of way, a kind of ideal of mine. I liked this film, but I ended up wishing it had a lot more depth.

Dreamscape

1984

Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, Max Von Sydow, Eddie Albert, Christopher Plummer, George Wendt

Dumb movie about a reluctant psychic blackmailed by government involvement to take part in a University dream research project, ostensibly to help America's president to overcome mental problems that threaten the stability of the country.

White Squall

1995

Jeff Bridges, John Savage, Caroline Goodall, Balthazar Getty
D: Ridley Scott

The abilities of a school ship captain are called into question when his high school crew runs into difficulties and tragedy at sea.

China Moon

1991

warning

Ed Harris, Madeline Stowe, Benicio DelToro, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Charles Dance

Better than average Body Heat-type murder mystery about a police detective who falls in love with a married woman whose husband abuses her and cheats on her. She ends up shooting him when he returns home unexpectedly and attacks her as she's packing to leave, whereupon she convinces the cop, who's waiting for her outside, not to report her, but to help her cover it up instead. It keeps you guessing trying to figure out the obtuse clues, and the ending is very anti-Hollywood. Made in 1991, but not released until 1994 because Orion Pictures almost went bankrupt.

The Sure Thing

1985

warning

John Cusack, Anthony Edwards, Daphne Zuniga, Lisa Jane Persky, Tim Robbins

Over the holidays, a sex-starved East Coast college freshman takes a trip with an uptight coed to California, where a high school friend has him fixed up with a "sure thing." But the trip changes his mind about his juvenile values. Nice romantic comedy with a lot of good moments, but with a conventional and trite ending. Memorable performance by Tim Robbins as a partway co-traveler.