[7] After suffering the suicide of his older brother, Steve (James Marsden) and his family relocate to Cradle Bay, where some of the kids at school aren’t quite themselves these days. With the help of new-found friends Rachel (Katie Holmes) and Gavin (Nick Stahl), Steve discovers that a local doctor, Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood), is conspiring with parents to lobotomize their teens in order to create …
[7] First of all, Batman Forever is not Batman and Robin, which came out two years later. For whatever reason, nearly everyone tends to confuse the two or lump them together. Both were directed by Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, Flatliners), but in my mind they are very, very different movies. I enjoy Batman Forever way more than I should, but Batman and Robin is …
[7] During the opening credits of this Roland Joffé (The Mission, Vatel) version of The Scarlet Letter, a certain snippet of text appeared that allowed me to forgive quite a lot of the nonsense that would follow. The text read: “Based Loosely on the Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne”. Loosely. So what the hell — why not have the American Indians rescue Hester from the gallows? …
[6] Molly Shannon is one of the funnier women to come out of Saturday Night Live the last few decades. If you agree, you’ll probably find Superstar moderately entertaining. If not, this formulaic comedy could be a rough slog for you. Shannon is reprising her SNL role of Mary Katherine Gallagher, a socially awkward Catholic school girl in search of superstardom and a wet face …
[4] I really like Oliver Stone about half the time, but the show-offy style he used with Natural Born Killers and J.F.K. doesn’t service Any Given Sunday. Those other films, with their multiple perspectives and drug-induced visions, felt right to employ rapid editing and multiple media. But Any Given Sunday is (or should have been) a reality-based ensemble drama about the rigors and tribulations of …
[8] Anything but ‘more of the same’, Tim Burton’s sequel dives into the troubled psyches of its headlining trio — Batman, Catwoman, and The Penguin. Michael Keaton’s Batman still plays second fiddle to the villains, but what fascinating villains they are. Burton is careful to show us how they become their alter egos, giving each of them full character arcs complete with bittersweet resolutions. Danny …
[4] Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction, Field of Dreams) stars a high school grad who freeloads off his parents until a menial overnight job at Target introduces him to the love of his life, played by the stunning Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth, A Beautiful Mind). I like the idea of two nascent lovers spending the night alone in a Target store, but this John Hughes production reeks …
[8] This is an underrated comic book adaptation with slick, period production design and top-notch action choreography from director Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, October Sky). There’s a gee-whiz ebullience about The Rocketeer that I find utterly charming. Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly (future Oscar-winner for A Beautiful Mind) are attractive leads, even if their archetypal characters are somewhat shallow. Timothy Dalton’s villainous …
[8] Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) stars as an unwitting mail room clerk thrust into the office of CEO at a mythical uber-corporation when the board members decide to send the company’s stocks into a nose dive. But the board, headed by a coolly evil Paul Newman, doesn’t count on their newly anointed dim-wit to invent the next materialistic rage — the hula hoop. Under …
[8] Director Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Basic Instinct) continues his knack for combining violence, gore, dark humor and social commentary in this loose adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s serialized novel about humankind’s future war against a race of insect-like aliens. I can almost enjoy the movie for the action alone. It escalates beautifully, with plenty of exciting sequences and spectacular visual effects. But it’s the satirical …
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