Hotel Transylvania

Frantic. Frenetic. Frenzied. Hyperactive. The English language is rich in words that mean “too damn fast.” There is hardly a moment to breathe in this story. Only ninety minutes long, but it feels a lot longer because there’s no place to rest.

The story is not bad. Count Dracula has built a resort for all the persecuted monsters of the world to hide out from the torch-waving, ... Read more »

Houdini

As is typical for biopics like this, they get the broad strokes more or less right, but fudge the details for dramatic reasons. Like … Bess was not a wide-eyed innocent, she was a fellow carny. Many of his escapes from jails were the result of simple bribery, or were set-ups of one sort or another. Though he may have begun visiting “mediums” in hopes of contacting his beloved mother, I ... Read more »

Hour of the Gun

The IMDb lists no fewer than 67 movies and TV shows that either feature Wyatt Earp, like My Darling Clementine, or have him as a minor character, such as Cheyenne Autumn. And all because of the melodramatic dime novels and penny dreadfuls about that that silly little dust-up in Tombstone, Arizona. I must have seen half a dozen examples ... Read more »

The Hours

A 3-part film, told simultaneously. Some parts work better than others. I’d have given the Oscar to Rene Zellwegger instead of Nicole Kidman which doesn’t mean she’s not good here. The Meryl Streep part is the one that worked best for me. [What about Julianne Moore?]

House of Cards

First, what makes this unique, is that it was the first big production from Netflix, which is trying to get into the game with HBO and all the other cable players. Even stranger, all the episodes were debuted on the same day, all thirteen hours of it. Very strange. Since we don’t subscribe to Netflix streaming service, we had to wait until they brought it out on DVD, and now we’re ... Read more »

House of Cards

Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams.
—Richard III

What a find! This four-hour mini-series takes place just after the resignation of Margaret Thatcher, and chronicles the machinations of one Francis Urquhart (pronounced, with typical British illogic, “UR-cutt.”) to obtain the position of Prime ... Read more »

House of Cards: The Final Cut

This episode begins with a sight for sore eyes: Margaret Thatcher’s coffin being carried in state through Westminster Abbey or some such place. (Let’s hear it: Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray!) (The rumor in real life is that the old bitch is still alive, but I can believe what I want to.) In ... Read more »

House of Cards: To Play the King

In the continuing adventures of the most ruthless man in Great Britain … F.U. is now the Prime Minister. He finds himself in opposition to no less than the King. The man is never named, but it’s clear that Elizabeth Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has finally kicked the royal bucket, at least 20 years before she actually does (at this writing, 7/3/10, who knows when she will, Read more »

House of Games

As I’ve said before, I am a huge fan of caper movies, and movies about con games. This one ranks right up there with The Sting. It has a terrific script by David Mamet, terrific performances by Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna, terrific support from J.T. Walsh and Ricky Jay (the world’s deadliest card thrower!), and it’s just all-around … well, Read more »

House of Sand and Fog

Very moving story of how a small dispute can get out of hand. Ben Kingsley is always good, but Jennifer Connelly moves to a whole new level in this one. Excellent.