Another Look: Open Range (****) Has aged well
It’s not perfect. It is entertaining throughout.
Another Look: Casino (**1/2) is a stale imitation
It’s one of the fruits of the labor of a great career that he’s been able to keep remaking the same film over and over. This doesn’t make the stale fruit taste any better.
Another Look: Heist (****) Is refined gold
Hackman’s natural style works perfectly with Mamet’s prose. His dialogue is direct, sometimes crude, but never frivolous.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (***1/2) almost taps it
In all it does what you want good comedies to do by giving several re-watchable moments and leaves a pleasant smile on your face. Great comedy risks more, but these guys have friendships with most of the people they are skewering. That’s okay, though. It’s only a Friday stuck at home in Covid 19 season.
Another Look: Can we all admit Saving Private Ryan (***1/2) is good sentimental B.S.?
The soldiers deserve the knowledge that we cannot or will not forget their sacrifice. Then we can work to earn the freedom they gave to us, like Captain Miller wanted Private Ryan to do.
The Fifth Element (****) is worth Another Look
The name Korben Dallas just begs for a series of sequels. These never happened. Maybe it is for the best, but I could have enjoyed a few more ventures to other planets in the future.
Another Look: Step-Brothers (Unrated) Why did Holmes & Watson fail?
There’s almost enough here to make a movie that’s not half bad.
Another Look: Galaxy Quest (***1/2) still good, almost great
If only the scriptwriters could have done more to punch up the story to match the superior acting talent, this might be a classic.
Criterion: Local Hero absorbs its surroundings
If we could keep it all within the confines of Ferness, life would be perfect. Even if the town is open to another deal.
Another Look: Natural Born Killers (No Stars) still deserves the Golden Sombrero
The real conspiracy is, with the editing style and stupid storytelling, people just don’t like watching a bad film. Well, maybe some people. The Columbine killers code named their attack “NBK.”
Another Look: True Romance Director’s Cut (***1/2) is Tony Scott overriding Tarantino
The result is a good, not great first script. There are two fantastic moments and many good ones to boot. It’s not much more than that, even as Tarantino’s legend rises beyond what anyone imagined.
Another Look: Full Metal Jacket (***)
“In total, this film means the same thing to me that it did back in 1987. It’s schizophrenic and frustrating. In the effort to make mirror images of life before and after being honed into the “full metal jacket” they forgot to make the story a believable one. It might have been more effective if the characters were more than just big, dumb mouthpieces of some of the post poetic prose you ever did hear about war. Or if they’d just stuck with Hartman until the end.”
Forgotten Gem: Miller’s Crossing (*****) catching a star on the rise
“This film is a definite display of two of the best filmmakers of their time in Joel and Ethan Coen. They show all of the range that would later be used to make some of the films which I really enjoyed, even if there were still those weird one offs that still haven’t grabbed me. “
Another Look: The Highwaymen vs. Bonnie and Clyde
“The Warren Beatty film has received a gentle critical wind in the ensuing years, remembered more for its groundbreaking violence than for any of the many nominated performances. In retrospect, its not a bad film, but it’s not a classic, either. The main thing it lacks is a cohesive story that’s not real accurate with any amount of character development. “
Another look at The Shining (****): The Old Folks Call It Cabin Fever
Director Stanley KubrickScreenplay Kubrick, Diane Johnson based on the novel by Stephen KingStarring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel So much has been written about Kubrick. […]
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 