Highly Recommended In 10 Words or Less A true American success story Reviewer's Bias* Loves: Creepy Jake Gyllenhaal, morally-questionable “heroes” Likes: Thrillers Dislikes: TV news Hates: The current state of journalism The Movie Jake Gyllenhaal is an extremely talented and versatile actor, but to this reviewer, he's never better than when he's making audiences uncomfortable, going back to his …
Recommended Jacques Rivette's Le Pont du Nord is a strange and dream-like character study of two women drifting through Paris with a surreal sense of urgency. They meet by chance (or perhaps fate), and end up accompanying each other on a wild chase through the city, where they are both the chasers and the chased. On one level, their situation seems to involve corruption of the highest order …
Highly Recommended The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Blu-ray Review One of the most ambitious and intelligent films ofthe yearwas The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby . Written and directed byfirst-time feature filmmaker Ned Benson, the filmmaking was bold,original, andunusual compared to other contemporary dramas.
Highly Recommended The Movie: Pork Chop Hill is an excellent Korean War-set combat film from 1959. Like Sam Fuller's Fixed Bayonets! and Anthony Mann's Men in War before it, Pork Chop Hill puts us on the ground with a group of G.I.s facing an impossible mission that's all risk for questionable reward
Recommended The Movie: There's a bit of bait-and-switch going on with My Old Lady , the film directing debut of New York playwright Israel Horovitz (adapting one of his own plays). The playful title, the slightly cutesy accordion music by Mark Orton, the romantic shots of Paris, and the shticky introductions to the characters all lead unprepared viewers to assume that they are being offered a …
Highly Recommended Bandit Queen (1994) is a fascinating though grueling Indian-British co-production about the life of Phoolan Devi (1963-2001), a real-life modern day bandit in rural India.
Highly Recommended Breaking Away Blu-ray Review It's never too late to follow your dreams. Thatimportanttheme is at the heart of Breaking Away , which became anenormous successfor everyone involved in the production.
Rent It The Movie: I have yet to have had the pleasure of watching one of the many films written and directed by Tyler Perry, but from what I've gathered second- and third-hand, his output is characterized by abrupt tonal shifts from silly comedy to severe melodrama, augmented by themes derived from Christian morality. If that is truly the case, then I wouldn't be surprised if Tyler Perry took …
Highly Recommended Fright Night Blu-ray Review What would you do if you discovered that you livednext doorto a vampire? That was the core conceptual idea which led to thecreation ofthe beloved 80's horror classic Fright Night (1985), which wasacritical darling, the second-highest grossing horror film the year itcame out,and a effort which led to both a direct-sequel and a big-budget 3Dremake …
Recommended The Movie: I'd be shocked if there isn't at least one Hollywood studio developing The Green Prince as a feature. The true story of the son of a Hamas leader secretly collaborating with the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, in order to cut down on the amount of innocent lives that would have been taken by Hamas' terrorist attacks is ripe for an awards season prestige …