Upon hearing news of the death of Donald Sutherland, I decided to watch Ordinary People. It had been the first time in over a decade since I saw it. But I always thought his performance as Chicago-area lawyer Calvin Jarrett was one of the best of his career, quite possibly the best. And for that,Continue reading “Donald Sutherland Was A Versatile But Prolific Actor”
Tag Archives: reviews
Yabba-Dabba-Don’t! ‘The Flintstones’ At 30 Still A Rocky Adaptation
Picture it, mid-June 1993. Thousands, if not millions flocked to the movie theaters to see Jurassic Park. The juggernaut Hollywood blockbuster defined the summer of 1993. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero made the foolish mistake of opening the week after. Even though the Governator said that Jurassic Park had moved its release date to JuneContinue reading “Yabba-Dabba-Don’t! ‘The Flintstones’ At 30 Still A Rocky Adaptation”
Why A Lot Of People Got It Wrong About ‘Captain Fantastic’
When you’re a parent, you can do everything right and still have problems with your child. There is no textbook for how to raise a child as long as you don’t do irreparable damage. I had a science teacher tell me all her father had to do was give her a look when she wasContinue reading “Why A Lot Of People Got It Wrong About ‘Captain Fantastic’”
‘Under The Bridge’ A Horrifying Look At A Teenage Wasteland
What remains so fascinating about the murder of Reena Virk in 1997 is that it opened people’s eyes to the evils that young women can do. Even worse, those who had participated in her murder came from such varied backgrounds. There’s always been Mean Girls even before Tina Fey brought the phrase to the AmericanContinue reading “‘Under The Bridge’ A Horrifying Look At A Teenage Wasteland”
‘Godzilla Minus One’ A Whole Lotta Fun
Godzilla Minus One has more action, excitement and thrills in its first 15-20 minutes than the last 15-20 movies released by Hollywood. With a budget only around $10-12 million, it’s a far better visual movie that The Expendables 4 which costs about 10 times as much and looks about 10 times worse. Ok, so maybeContinue reading “‘Godzilla Minus One’ A Whole Lotta Fun”
‘Once Upon A Time In America’ At 40, Still A Conflicted Masterpiece
Sergio Leone is mostly remember for his western. He was basically the John Ford of the Spaghetti Western genre, a somewhat misleading term for some good movies. Spaghetti Westerns were known for being filmed in the Iberian Peninsula or Mediterranean area and featured mostly Italian and other European actors. The most famous one is TheContinue reading “‘Once Upon A Time In America’ At 40, Still A Conflicted Masterpiece”
‘Spacey Unmasked’ Is An Eyeopener But Still Leaves Some Stuff Under Wraps
There just always something about Kevin Spacey early on that made him seem odd. He seemed to be perfect at playing characters you didn’t like no matter what. His role as a corporate stooge in Glengarry Glen Ross could’ve easily been dismissed. It was because he wasn’t as well known as the rest of theContinue reading “‘Spacey Unmasked’ Is An Eyeopener But Still Leaves Some Stuff Under Wraps”
‘Baby Reindeer’ Examines Realities Of Stalking And Cyber Harassment
If there ever was an example of the phrase, “No good deed goes unpunished,” then Donny Dunn and his experiences are a testament to that. Donny (Richard Gadd) is a bartender and aspiring comic in the London area who does one simple thing for a person having a bad day only to have it snowballContinue reading “‘Baby Reindeer’ Examines Realities Of Stalking And Cyber Harassment”
RIP Dabney Coleman
One of the earliest movies I remember seeing is 9 to 5, so I had known who Dabney Coleman was for a long time. His performance as the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot Frank Hart in the movie was so perfect. Coleman was able to balance the awful, cold-hearted sleaze with the sardonic, goofy, gullibleContinue reading “RIP Dabney Coleman”
‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip
Back in 1971, a young up-and-coming TV director named Steven Spielberg was given the opportunity to direct a TV movie in which Dennis Weaver played a businessman harassed by the driver of a tanker semi on desolate Southwestern highways. The movie was called Duel. There was such critical acclaim for it that the movie thatContinue reading “‘Joy Ride’ Is One Helluva Trip”
Zane Says 