[8] Mike Nichols (The Graduate) directs Kevin Wade’s tale of a stalwart secretary trying to climb the corporate ladder in New York. Working Girl is a highly enjoyable comedy-drama with a screwball slant. Melanie Griffith has never been better than she is here, and she’s surrounded by spectacular supporting players. Sigourney Weaver is terrific as the boss from hell and Harrison Ford is his usual, …
[9] This is the ultimate romantic adventure, complete with a great cast, exotic locations, and measured doses of action, humor, and heart. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner never looked better. They have that ephemeral “chemistry”, the kind that keeps you glued to the screen, rooting for them. The screenplay by Diane Thomas is well paced and constructed, giving plenty of breathing room to a romantic …
[8] Ellen Burstyn stars as a widowed mother who suddenly finds herself having to start a new life in this engaging comedy/drama from Martin Scorsese. Burstyn plays Alice Hyatt, and if that name sounds familiar it’s because the TV show “Alice” was based on this film (though only Vic Tayback reprises his role in the series). The feature film begins inside Alice’s troubled home life, married …
[8] What an odd, beguiling vigilante road-trip romance this is. Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek star as two oddly unaffected youths who casually pair up and embark on what turns out to be a killing spree through South Dakota. This was director Terrence Malick’s (Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line) first feature film, and much of his trademark style is here — the beautiful …
[9] Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon play one of cinema’s most unusual but endearing couples in Harold and Maude, a delightfully twisted romantic comedy from Hal Ashby. Harold is a rich, sheltered boy obsessed with death, and Maude is a carefree spirit with an overwhelming zest for life. Once they hook up, wacky adventures and life lessons follow. Colin Higgins’ screenplay never approaches sentiment or …
[8] A fifteen-year-old boy (John Moulder-Brown) begins working at a British bathhouse where a young woman (Jane Asher) goads his sexual awakening. The boy begins obsessing over the woman and her fiancee. He stalks them at night and tries to break them up. Once the boy and woman consumate their unhealthy relationship, things take an even darker turn. I found Deep End to be acompelling coming-of-age story …
[9] A South London biker boy (Colin Campbell) finds himself caught in a romantic triangle, unsure whether to patch things up with his young wife (Rita Tushingham) or pursue an increasingly comfortable relationship with a fellow biker (Dudley Sutton). The Leather Boys is an obscure but surprising discovery, featuring beautiful, widescreen black & white photography, moody locations, a smart script, and solid performances. Produced at …
[10] James Dean received the first posthumous acting nomination from the Academy Awards for his performance as the troubled Cal in East of Eden, his first major film role. (He would die tragically just a few months after the film was released.) It’s a riveting performance, one of the most vulnerable and moving I’ve ever seen. The film, directed with style and elegance by Elia …
[9] It could just be my hillbilly roots, but I get a kick out of this corny but highly entertaining romp from the director of Singin’ in the Rain. A kind-hearted woman (Jane Powell) impulsively marries a mountain man (the booming Howard Keel) but gets more than she bargained for when he introduces his six brothers in the squalor of their remote farm house. Powell …
[9] Montgomery Clift (Red River, The Heiress) stars as a poor young man who takes a job at his rich uncle’s garment factory where he falls in love with a coworker played by Shelley Winters. Things become complicated when Clift is introduced to an alluring young socialite played by Elizabeth Taylor in her first ‘adult’ role. Just as Clift is ready to commit to Taylor …
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