Movie Reviews
The President’s Analyst
SPOILER WARNING. The big villain in the movie that has James Coburn fleeing from some of the biggies in the cinematic villain department—the CIA, FBI (here thinly disguised, apparently after some pressure from Washington, as the CEA and FBR), and the KGB, turns out to be TPC: The Phone Company! Remember when Ma Bell was this huge corporate monolith? (I’m sure ... Read more »
The Runaway Bus
What an odd movie. It was written and directed by Val Guest, who did comedies and some fairly decent science fiction in the ‘50s. This one is sort of a comedy, sort of a heist movie, and a little bit of a thriller. The London area is socked in with an incredibly thick fog. All flights out of Heathrow are cancelled, and people are put on a bus to be driven to another airport. At the same ... Read more »
Run Silent, Run Deep
World War II submarine drama starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. The only time Gable worked with a male co-star, how about that? It can’t quite measure up to some of the really pulse-pounding sub stories, the best of which is the German masterpiece Das Boot, but for its time it’s pretty accurate, filmed in sets built with real sub equipment loaned by the ... Read more »
Premium Rush
First, you should know that this is a movie about people you would probably hate in real life, whether you are a bike rider or an urban driver. But the narrator acknowledges that right up front. Second, very little of what you see could happen in real life. If you run as many red lights as the riders do here, it won’t be long before you tangle with a vehicle, and guess what? The vehicle ... Read more »
Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
First, I have to say that this is possibly the worst title for a motion picture, ever. I understand why they couldn’t use Push, as there was a crappy Sci-Fi film of the same name, the same year. However, I don’t see why they couldn’t have gone with Precious, which is what everyone calls it, anyway. Second, I ... Read more »
A Prairie Home Companion
Garrison Keillor has one of the homeliest faces in America, and one of the most beguiling voices. He loves to sing, but he’s not particularly good at it; he can carry a tune, but not elegantly. He is absolutely bursting with stories, both funny and sad, he is witty, compassionate, folksy, intellectual … I could go on and on, but the point here is that he was certainly Read more »
Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation
This is the first sequel to Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, from 1982. It was followed 14 years later by Naqoyqatsi: Life as War. All three are words from the Hopi language, and all three were filmed by Godfrey Reggio. Dude was seriously determined to get his vision out there, over twenty years. All three also feature music by ... Read more »
The Post-Impressionists – Klimt
This is one of a series, an academic look at the great gilder and leader of the Vienna Secession, back when art was controlled by a lot of stuffy traditionalists who pretty much told you what you could paint and couldn’t paint … sort of like Rudy Giuliani vs. Robert Mapplethorpe, come to think of it. Klimt was a well-known public figure but rather mysterious. There don’t ... Read more »
Run Lola Run
One of my favorite small films. Lola (Franka Potente, the German girl from The Bourne Identity) has 20 minutes to get across town and save her boyfriend from being murdered by a gangster. Oh, and she has to find 100,000 marks along the way. This movie is an in-your-face explosion of action, and every editing trick in the book. Lola is running for most of it (and ... Read more »