[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 …
[6] It’s mawkish, awkward, and in need of a subtlety injection, but I like Making Love anyway. As one of the earliest big studio mainstream films to feature openly gay characters who are neither serial killers nor flaming queens, I have to give the flick some cred. Michael Ontkean (Twin Peaks) and Kate Jackson (Charlie’s Angels) play best-friend newlyweds whose relationship begins to deteriorate when …
[7] Future Oscar-winner (I’ve been saying this since 2001’s Manic) Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes an auspicious writing/directing debut with Don Jon, a character study of a young New Jersey guy whose addiction to pornography takes its toll on his relationships with women. Gordon-Levitt pumped up to play the title character, but I hope he drops the muscle mass soon — his head’s too small for a …
[8] At an idyllic lakeshore cruising spot for gay men, Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) hopes to find a romantic partner. After searching for days at the clothing-optional oasis, he befriends a frumpy loner named Henri (Patrick d’Assumçao). The two strike up a platonic relationship and engage in deeper conversations than what’s normally had at a hook-up. But then a rugged-looking swimmer named Michel (Christophe Paou) catches …
[3] Ill-conceived both corporately and creatively, Grease 2 lacks any reason to keep you watching. The plot is basically a gender-reversal of the first film’s storyline, but without any interesting characters to latch onto. The songs are horrendous. Repeat: the songs are HORRENDOUS. The only reason to watch Grease 2 is to gawk at the beautiful faces of Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield. It ain’t …
[3] Cocktail is everything awful about calculated ’80s studio film making. It’s as if Touchstone Pictures said, ‘Hey, we have Tom Cruise and a killer soundtrack — quick! Someone write a script!” And that script (based on a book by the screenwriter) throws in everything and the kitchen sink in a desperate attempt to recapture the success of Dirty Dancing, Top Gun, and An Officer …
[5] A light, fluffy, inconsequential comedy about a man who dies and is given the opportunity to return to life in another man’s body. The movie works best during it’s ‘fish out of water’ scenes, where Warren Beatty interacts with the people in his affluent host-body’s life, including some charming house servants, a duplicitous wife, and her murderous lover. For all the Oscar attention this …
[7] Hollywood’s most celebrated melodrama is still entertaining today. Vivien Leigh does a remarkable job playing one of the most volatile heroines in film history. Scarlet O’Hara begins Margaret Mitchell’s story damned spoiled, and I’m not sure she ever really learns her lesson, but Leigh renders a subtle transformation while always remaining true to character. My other favorites are Olivia de Havilland (sweet in everything …
[7] This is the first of at least three film versions of Robert L. Sherwood’s play about an American soldier who falls in love with a Londoner during a World War I air raid, unaware that she is a prostitute. Director James Whale (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man) delivers a solid melodrama with two great lead performers. I was particularly taken with Kent Douglass as Roy. …
[4] I knew I would eventually have to watch this 3-hour 20-minute behemoth and thank goodness it’s over. Doctor Zhivago is a sprawling epic about the Russian Revolution as seen through the eyes of a doctor (Omar Sharif) who wants to have his cake (his wife is played by Geraldine Chaplin) and eat it, too (his mistress is played by Julie Christie). The first half …
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