[7] Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) tries to slide into a normal life after the events of the first film, but Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) keeps insisting on a re-match. Rocky II follows closely enough to the narrative of the original movie to be annoying, and a pivotal moment where Adrian (Talia Shire) reverses an important opinion doesn’t sit well with me. But the characters are …
[7] Twins Billy and Bobby Mauch do very well as the title characters in this lavish production of Mark Twain’s oft-told tale of mistaken identity. Claude Rains takes the role of villainy this time, playing an evil Earl who forces the beggar boy to be king for his own selfish gain, while Errol Flynn (at his dashing best) plays the soldier of fortune who helps …
[5] Bette Davis marries Errol Flynn and moves to San Francisco, but their happy marriage begins to disintegrate when he can’t support the couple and turns to drinking. It may be the writing more than the performances, but there’s not much chemistry between Flynn and Davis (who hated each other in real life). The film sticks primarily with Davis’ character, short-changing the subplots revolving around …
[6] Barbara Stanwyck shows up at Errol Flynn’s doorstep claiming to be the wife of his late brother. While he suspects she is a gold digger, she suspects he is abusing his young niece (Geraldine Brooks) and may be hiding an even greater secret. The film throws in a few too many red herrings, but I like that it keeps the characters’ motives and allegiances …
[6] Paul Newman headlines this Robert Wise biopic about real-life boxing champ Rocky Graziano. Ernest Lehman’s smart, well-paced script sees Rocky through several youthful indiscretions that threaten to ruin him just as the lightweight championship comes within reach. Though he had appeared in one other film prior, this is the movie that launched Paul Newman to stardom, and it’s no wonder why — he’s magnetic. …
[5] Marlon Brando is terrific as Marc Antony in the centerpiece scene, rallying Rome to condemn Caesar’s assassins. The supporting cast, sets, Miklos Rozsa’s score, and the cast of thousands are impressive. But I’ll be damned if this movie didn’t have me fighting off sleep on more than one occasion. Maybe I need to see it again later, or maybe James Mason’s voice just puts …
[6] [Warning: This review contains spoilers.] Spike Jonze directs this meta tale of a screenwriter losing his mind trying to adapt a book called The Orchid Thief. While his twin brother moves in and begins mirroring him in many ways, he decides he needs to find the author of the book to excavate its meaning. If you can’t already tell, Adaptation is a very hard …
[6] There’s no director I admire more than Peter Weir (Fearless, Mosquito Coast), even if his latest film left me a tad underwhelmed. The Way Back is about a group of men who escape a Russian labor camp during WWII and risk their lives through thousands of miles of wilderness to find their freedom in neighboring Mongolia. The cast includes Ed Harris and Colin Farrell, …
[6] Errol Flynn stars as a deep sea diver hunting for a rumored sunken treasure while fending off a trio of baddies that are trying to swipe it out from under him. Flynn is a little past his prime here, and the early fight scene with Richard Webb may be one of the worst-staged in movie history, but Maru Maru is still a fun little …
[5] If you can get past the fact that the Rocky series never should have lived to see a fifth entry, Rocky V may actually surprise you a little. I’m glad it doesn’t retread the old narrative of every installment that precedes it. It’s good to see Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) and his family ‘on the rocks,’ adjusting to life back in working-class Philadelphia. I found …
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