Wings movie review: that’s two you owe me, junior
Anyone who doubts that silent films can be just as engrossing as those newfangled talkies needs to see Wings, an early buddies-go-to-war story that still echoes in today’s movies.
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Enemy of the State movie review: someone to watch over me
Director Tony Scott (Crimson Tide, Top Gun) has crafted such a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat roller-coaster ride that you won’t realize till after the end credits roll how ridiculous it is, how much it relies on outrageous coincidence, and how it cops out in the end with a clever but cheap finale.
Ronin (review)
What a difference it makes to a movie when it’s real actors — as opposed to, say, studio executives’ personal trainers — blowing things up. The Fugitive stood out in the action movie genre by drawing its energy from the intense performances from both Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (Oscar winner for a popcorn flick!). And now Ronin shows just how smart car chases and gunfights can be when thinking actors are the ones behind the wheel and behind the trigger.
Star Wars Trilogy: The Special Editions (review)
A recent episode of Showtime’s Stargate SG-1 featured this delightful line: ‘We’re afraid you’re gonna dark side on us,’ one character says to another who’s under the sway of the enemy. The mythology of Star Wars has presented us with a new verb: ‘to dark side.’ I love it.
The Fifth Element (review)
I suspected The Fifth Element was gonna turn out to be a bunch of claptrap, and I was right. It’s a visually stunning film, to be sure — I’m a sucker for gorgeous spaceships and gorgeous spacescapes — but ultimately it’s a strange brew of Blade Runner, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Douglas Adams, mixed with a lot of pseudoreligious, pseudoscientific nonsense.
Armageddon movie review: it’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity
Oh, there will be those who say that Armageddon is mindless fluff, a complete waste of celluloid, a blot on humanity’s collective soul. Heed them not. Director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have crafted as fine an educational experience as you will find these days.
Mulan (1998) and Hercules (1997) (review)
Damn! Mulan is thisclose to being not just a brilliant animated film, but a brilliant film, period. It has a dramatic story, a heroine who kicks butt, a villain who kicks butt, a square-jawed hero with a not-so-nice side, and some of the most sweepingly gorgeous visuals since Beauty and the Beast. But Mulan is dragged down by insipid songs that feel tacked on and silly, inappropriate sidekicks and secondary characters.
Titanic (again) (review)
I’m particularly struck by one key to Titanic’s success: repeat business from teenage girls. Usually it’s the boys making testosterone-soaked action movies big hits, filling the theaters for second, third, and fourth viewings…
Titanic (review)
Titanic is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading this instant and run out to the multiplex. Titanic is simply a great film — and by *great,* I don’t mean *very good.* I mean *great* as in *epic and profound*…
Tomorrow Never Dies (review)
License to Shill Explosions. Babes. Gadgets. Exotic locales. Nasty bad guys with German accents. A lovely, tuxedo-clad good guy with an English accent. Tomorrow Never Dies (starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, and Teri Hatcher) is a Bond movie. Nuff said. What it does, it does well. But it’s cinematic junk food that you … more…
