Movie Reviews
Titles starting with I
In Her Shoes
I liked this movie almost in spite of myself. The first half hour is a bit hard to take, as two sisters who share nothing but parents and the same shoe size clash repeatedly. Cameron Diaz is beautiful, lazy, a drunk, a thief, a liar, an illiterate, a slob, and keeps stealing her sister’s shoes. What’s not to like? Toni Collette is a pretty Aussie (though you’d never guess ... Read more »
In Like Flint
Some movies age better than others. This one has aged catastrophically. I remember sort of liking it, though as a sequel to Our Man Flint it was distinctly inferior. It is populated almost exclusively by Playboy bunny-playmate types. That’s probably why I liked it. I’ll admit it, I was a devotee of Hefner’s rag back then, and I won’t ... Read more »
In My Country
Shortly after Nelson Mandela got out of jail he and the government set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to do an extraordinary thing: They allowed many of the criminals of the previous regime to get off scot-free if they admitted what they had done, apologized to the victims and survivors, and could show they were “only following orders.” There is a great documentary to made ... Read more »
In Old Chicago
In Old Chicago (1937) Daryl Zanuck made this hoping to cash in on the success the previous year of San Francisco. Both films end in the destruction of a great American city. The Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871, but did you know that, on that same day, there were several other fires in the area? Two hundred and fifty miles north of ... Read more »
In & Out
Simply the finest fast food burger chain in the West. (Maybe the East, too. I wasn’t impressed with White Castle sliders.) Since 1948 they have not varied their menu: burgers, fries, soft drinks, coffee, and shakes. You might notice that this is pretty much exactly what McDonalds served back in 1955. You don’t go to In-N-Out for a breakfast sandwich, a chicken sandwich, raspberry ... Read more »
In the Bedroom
I have to issue a small complaint concerning the title. In the first few minutes it is explained that a lobster entering a trap goes “into the bedroom.” Possibly this applies to what comes after in some metaphorical way, but it went over my head. The story is of a couple (Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson) whose college-bound son falls in love with Marisa Tomei, an older woman who is trying ... Read more »
In the Cut
Directed by Jane Campion, who won a screenplay Oscar for The Piano in 1993, which was a good movie. This, however, is basically a stupid potboiler that makes no sense.
In the Electric Mist
The original title continued to say With Confederate Dead. I’ve been a fan of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels since the very first one. I grew up in the area he writes about, Cajun country, but just across the state line in Texas. He sure handles the settings well. This was not actually my favorite of the books, but it’s good enough. One thing I can’t ... Read more »
In the Electric Mist
(Second Review) The original title continued to say With Confederate Dead. I’ve been a fan of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels since the very first one. I grew up in the area he writes about, Cajun country, but just across the state line in Texas. He sure handles the settings well. This was not actually my favorite of the books, but it’s good enough. One ... Read more »
In the Good Old Summertime
Hollywood’s second take on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László, the first being The Shop Around the Corner. This time it’s a musical set in Chicago. (Oddly enough, it takes place almost entirely in the good old winter time.) It’s not bad, but it can’t really compete with the original. However, it has the ... Read more »