(Jennifer) Garner is the best thing about Daredevil, another in a line of smart, sexy, athletic chicks who more than hold their own against the trumped-up testosterone. I would rather see a movie about her character Elektra than a movie with her supporting a less interesting character like Daredevil. Read the rest of this entry »

On my mother’s side of the family, admitting you didn’t like country-western music was enough to get you written out of the will. So I would sit there with the rest of the extended family and pretend to laugh at the hayseed humor of Hee Haw, hoping just this once the producers had lost their mind and booked a musical act without a fiddle. Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Dallesandro spends a lot of time out of his clothes in director Paul Morrissey’s “Flesh.” If I looked like Joe Dallesandro, I’d spend a lot of my time out of my clothes as well. I have a friend who looks like Joe, and he spends a lot of his time naked. I guess I should be glad that the star of this film is Joe Dallesandro instead of Joe Flynn from “McHale’s Navy.” Read the rest of this entry »

Walt Tenor (Greg Kinnear), like any other good looking, athletic, multi-talented young man growing up on Martha’s Vineyard, wants to spread his wings. As an actor, Walt has the chops, but needs to move to Los Angeles in order to make contacts and get discovered. There’s only one thing holding Walt back. His brother Bob (Matt Damon). It’s not that Walt wants to leave Bob behind, he can’t. Read the rest of this entry »

I passed on “Disturbing Behavior” when it played in theaters. The previews positioned it as a teenage “The Stepford Wives.” The reviews that I read weren’t kind, and most stressed the lack of character development and plot. At 84 minutes, “Disturbing Behavior” didn’t just cut to the chase, that’s all that was left. Read the rest of this entry »

While it’s never boring to look at, director Neil Jordan’s “In Dreams” is so silly you want to bitch slap those involved. Pompous, overblown and overacted, “In Dreams” is a psycho-thriller that never manages to thrill. Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, a notable Hollywood publication prints a summary of the best un-produced screenplays. Each and everyone is considered a masterpiece of its genre, but none have found their way into production. Read the rest of this entry »

Good morning, Mr. Larsen. Your mission is to infiltrate your local Cineplex and attempt to understand Hollywood’s endless fascination with teenagers. Your mission will be filled with dangerous pitfalls, mindless dialogue, hair-raising clichés and deadly plot retreads. You won’t be able to distinguish your contact because they all look alike. Read the rest of this entry »

The heat can make you do crazy things. In “Phoenix,” a decent stab at but a not slice of film noir, the temperature is soaring. Thanks to a tidy yet familiar script by Eddie Richey and assured direction by Danny Cannon, “Phoenix” ignites the screen with gut-wrenching action and incendiary performances. Read the rest of this entry »

After attending an evening of drinking and flirting at a Christmas party, Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise) and his wife Alice (Nicole Kidman) retire to their swank Central Park West apartment for a little dope smoking and mind games. Read the rest of this entry »