Movie Reviews
The China Syndrome
Sometimes a movie opens at precisely the right time to become a blockbuster. This one would have done well, but the fact that the Three-Mile Island incident happened only twelve days later propelled it to a must see. It’s a scientifically accurate picture of what might happen if a nuclear reactor got out of control. Jack Lemmon is great, as always, and Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas do ... Read more »
Cats
So here it is, the most reviled movie of the year, possibly the decade. Some say the century. Many walked out, many others said it was the worst movie they had ever seen. Won six Razzies: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actor (James Corden), Worst Supporting Actress (Rebel Wilson), Worst Screenplay, and Worst Screen Combo: “Any two half-feline half-human hairballs.” The ... Read more »
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
I’m not the first one to say it, but if Jesus came back today we would nail the bastard up again. (Jesus is a probably fictional character in Christian mythology, written about in manuscripts by four men who almost certainly never met him.) The cross would be constructed by Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Mike Pence, and the Reverend Jerry Falwell, Jr. Our Goon-in-Chief would congratulate ... Read more »
Parasite
First, I have a bone to pick with the Academy. It is just not fair for a movie to compete for Best Picture and Best International Picture (a new category replacing Best Foreign Language Picture). I think the producers should have to choose. Go up against four other non-English films, or roll the dice for the Big One. Please understand, I do Read more »
My Cousin Vinny
How long does it take before a movie becomes a “classic?” A lot of reviewers are fond of the phrase “instant classic,” which strikes me as a total perversion of the whole idea of classics. How about “a brand new antique?” Is 28 years enough? Probably not, I’d opt for more like 50 years before that word could be applied. But this is pretty close to a classic, one of our favorite comedies. ... Read more »
Jojo Rabbit
In another year this could very well have been my choice for Best Picture. Instead of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood winning, it might … oh, wait. That didn’t win, did it? Once more the Academy fucked up, as it did recently with Green Book, The Shape of Water, Moonlight, Spotlight, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave, Argo, The Artist, The King’s ... Read more »
Seven Psychopaths
Pretty mixed feelings about this one. It’s a dark comedy, and I got some very good laughs. Quite a few, actually. But it was so aware of itself, so self-referential … and yet, that was a big part of the joke … as I said, I’m conflicted.
A rather normal guy (Colin Farrell) is writing a screenplay called Seven Psychopaths. But all he has is the title, and one ...
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Big Trouble
There are three Florida writers of comic novels that I am aware of. Tim Dorsey’s books are the wildest, with his character Serge Storms killing half a dozen bad people in ingenious and appropriate ways in each book. But I don’t think his stories would translate well to the screen. So far, no one has tried. Carl Hiaasen is probably my favorite. I’ve been reading him for a long time (and ... Read more »
Suicide Kings
This is probably a love it or hate it movie. I pretty much loved it. See, there’s these four rich kids (five, later, but one of them isn’t in on the plot at first) and the sister of one of them has been kidnapped. The abductors are demanding two million dollars, which none of them can get. So they come up with the bright idea of kidnapping a semi-retired mob boss, played by Christopher ... Read more »
Frailty
Here we get off to a cracking good start, and waste it all in an outrageous ending. Bill Paxton (who also directed) lives in the fictional (I’m happy to say) town of Meat, Texas, with his two young sons. All is well until one night he goes off the rails and plunges off the trestle of sanity into the dark river of religion. An angel has spoken to him, and his mission in life is now to kill ... Read more »