Actually, I should have done #5 before I went to see “Solider,” quite possibly this year’s worst movie. If Hollywood were to have a Crap-Fest, “Soldier” could be their opening night premiere. Read the rest of this entry »

Screenwriter Marc Lawrence is quickly becoming the Akiva Goldsman of his generation. The thing I liked least about the remake of Neil Simon’s “The Out-Of-Towners” with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn was Lawrence’s lame script, which was so full of contrivance it hurt. The pain continues with “Forces of Nature,” an amicable romantic road comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck. Read the rest of this entry »

On the surface, “The Last Starfighter” is a sweet and unassuming movie. It’s charming and quaint, a familiar story about one young man’s dreams of escaping his dreary existence. You have to go a little deeper to understand that significance of “The Last Starfighter.” Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that after the success of “Dumb and Dumber” that the Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby, would strike out with this simply outrageous bowling comedy. Even though they redeemed their box office clout with “There’s Something About Mary,” “Kingpin” remains a mystery. Read the rest of this entry »

In the 1992 film of Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games, CIA analyst Jack Ryan, played by Harrison Ford, watches from a remote command post as an attack on a terrorist camp is carried out. The thermal imagery is broadcast on a giant screen, and even though the details are nothing more than pixels on a screen, Ryan is shocked by the matter-of-fact dismissal of life. Read the rest of this entry »

When writer Joe Klein’s novel “Primary Colors” (written under the pseudonym “Anonymous”) was first published, it created quite a stir. Half of the attention centered around who had written the controversial novel. Read the rest of this entry »

The Coen Brother’s latest film “The Man Who Wasn’t There” reminded me of the theory about how a butterfly flapping its wings in the rain forest can cause a hurricane halfway around the world. Taking their cue from such great film noir masterpieces as “Double Indemnity” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” the Coen Brothers have created their own modern day masterpiece. Read the rest of this entry »

The wonderful thing about working in the science-fiction genre is that, within reason, you get to make up the rules. A good storyteller can work outside the box and still suspend disbelief. Don’t expect either from “Timeline,” a time travel action-adventure that, excuse me while I take the low road, is a waste of time. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Spanish Prisoner” is an anomaly, a small, independent, intelligent film that completely defies the rules. It’s an exception and a alternate to the big-budget fair that is currently playing on local screens. Read the rest of this entry »

You can’t keep a good serial killer down. Just ask Freddy Krueger. Just ask Jason Vorhees. Just ask Michael Myers. Michael Myers, the scourge of Haddonfield, a small, picturesque town where “Halloween” will never be the same. Locked away in a mental institution when he was a child, Michael grew up to become something more than evil. Read the rest of this entry »