Movies I have seen in November and December!
Out of Time
*1/2A man with cancer is given a sleeping potion by some ghostly types who inhabit the woods outside of a small town. It seems they need him alive 20 years from now so he can stop a political campaign by the man who marries his wife, who belives the man has abandoned her. Confused? So am I. This movoie was pure tripe. Dumb, dumb, dumb story. Crapout ending. Stupid plot. Dumb, dumb, dumb movie. Miss it.
See review by Susan Granger
It Runs in the Family
**Comedy, remberance of the author's childhood. This movie was oddly overdone-the father's voice was strangely loud and the humor very over-produced. Still, it was fairly effective. A boy with a character of a father lives through "the greatest summer of my life." He gets involved in playground 'tops' competitions, his father gets into a 'war' with a bunch of hillbilly neighbors and he goes fishing for the first time. See it! Fairly humorous, and a nice ride down nostalgia-lane for us older types.
See info at Hollywood.com (couldn't find a review on this one)
Dark Days
**1/2Documentary. A look at the homeless who made their "homes" under New York City in the subway tunnels. This was a vivid look at what can become of people in this society. They constrcted ramshackle dwellings, complete with electricity and televisions. Rats running around everywhere. Through interviews we get a look into some of their lives. Quite a fascinating little film. Especially when the Amtrack authorities order them out. See it!
See review by Roger Ebert
The Lost Son
***Tense, and at times, disturbing movie. A private investigator is brought into a missing person case and soon finds that the young man he is looking for has ties to a pedophile ring. Though he is fired from the job, he cannot forget what he has seen and becomes determined to follow it through. Extreme tension at times. This movie is not for the young. There are heart wrenching images. See it. Not for everybody.
See Review in Irish Times
National Lamppon's The Don's Analyst
**A meek mannered analyst with marital problems suddenly finds himself thrust into the Mafia underworld when two not-so-smart thugs kidnap him to analyze their father who is going soft. Neat storyline. And it was entertaining in spots. Still, this movie was tired. It had a big Hollywood look and little plot tension. See it if you have some time to waste, but otherwise mow the lawn. That might be more rewarding.
See review by Nathan Rabin
Sleepy Hollow
***I loved the look of this movie. It IS possible for a modern day movie to achieve a truely spooky and rich atmosphere. The photography was dazzling and the special effects believable and rich. Loosely based on Hawthorne's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" this movie is set in 1799. A New York criminologist travels to a little town where there have recently been several beheadings. The locals all tell him a tale about a headless horseman who roams the night in search of a head. I liked this movie a lot. It IS graphic, but for once, the blood enhances the story. Definately recommended-see it on a dark and thundering night!
See review by James Berardineli
The Way of the Gun
***Tense drama. Two smart ass tough guys hear about a woman carrying a surrogate baby. There is big money involved. They decide to kidnap her and collect a ransom but don't realize they are dealing with some real big shots. This movie had some great tension. Its full of blood and gore and it's mostly a big shoot-out, but it's a cut above most movies of this genre. I got into it. I though Juliette Lewis did some amazing acting, especially during the childbirth scene. See it!
See review by James Berardinelli
The Whales of August
***Two elderly sisters, one blind, share a home on the coast of Maine. An eldelry man visits, and the sighted sister has an interest in him, but the other sister will not tolerate it. This was a good movie. Very low keyed, with a fine, subtle tension. Add to this elegant cinematagraphy and good acting-well, you have a pretty good movie. Mostly dialouge, with little action, it might not suit everyone's tastes, but I do recommend it!
See review by Roger Ebert
Autumn in New York
**A mid aged womanizer sets his eyes on a woman young enough to be his daughter, only to find in mid-affair that she is suffering from a terminal illness. What results is painful growth. This movie was lushly photographed. I admire it's ability to find real beauty in the hustle and bustle of the big city. Though the storyline is an old cliche', and though it suffered from any real originality I can only recommend this one to a viewer who wants shallow plot and knee-jerk emotionality. It's a great looking movie for sure-but you just can't sugar coat an old-school tale.
See review by James Berardineli
A Fish in the Bathtub
**An elderly married couple, long used to bickering with each other split up after the husband bigs a big old smelly fish and puts it in the bathtub. What results is supposed to be funny but is mostly just painful. Painful to have to sit two hours and watch, that is. I don't know, I suppose there are people who will like this movie (my wife did) but as far as I am concerned it was tedious and man, I have seen this story in one form or another too many times. Its got the whole schmaltzy bit-old friend dies after an argument, son has an affair, dysfunctional family meets new age therapist, you get my drift. Miss it.
See review by James Berardinelli
Wonder Boys
**1/2A college creative writer professor is having an affair with the chancellor. At the same time he takes one of his students, who is talented but quite eccentric under his wing. The results are complicated and life changing. This movie was billed as a comedy and there were some funny moments, but for me, it looked more like a mid-aged crisis type drama. Michael Douglas was not entirely convincing in his role to me and the plot seemed forced and unnatural. Still, I did develop an empathy for the characters and it held my attention. My recommndation? See it. Why not?
See review by James Berardinelli
Psycho Beach Party
**Campy parody (if such a thing is possible) of the popular beach movies made in the early 60's. A teen aged girl wanting to be a part of a group of young male surfers suffers from multiple personality syndrome. Every time she see polka dots she changes into an aggresive personality. At the same time people are being murdered. This movie was kind of fun. I liked the surfer music. Its a stupid story, but stupid stories are definately fun to parody. See it if you like camp, hip, bohemian weirdness. Otherwise tune into something else. Lawrence Welk maybe.
See Review by Matt Heffernan
The Sandy Bottom Orchestra
**A pianist has sacrificed much by marrying and moving to a small town in Wisconsin. Her daughter is a talented musician and her husband yearns to direct an orchestra. She feels unwanted in the little town and is on the verge of bitterness, but the town orchestra saves all of that. This movie had a decent story. It had a nicely done tension, but somehow the screenplay just didn't fit together. It looked like a jig saw puzzle with all of the pieces crammed into wrong places. The result was a less than satisfying movie. Still, I recommend it. Though sacharine, the characters were nicly done and it held my attention.
See review by Susan Granger
Dead Awake
*1/2Truly bizarre movie. I mean, this was a movie that didn't try to be odd (so far as I can tell) but suceeded anyway. Terrible acting. Awful lines. Convoluted story. Its worth a see if you enjoy a really oddball movie now and then. A man who cannot sleep at night sleeps during the day with his eyes open as he works as a top level executive. Every night he walks the same streets at the same time. One night he witnesses a murder and the cops think he did it. I have to say miss this one, I really do!
See blurb from entertainment page-can't find any reviews on this one
Charlie's Angels
*1/2WOW! Effects galore and beautiful women doing impossible karate moves! Jumping out of airplanes with no parachutes, superwomen!!! Odd, though, in the same scene they attempt to be soft an feminine and then mean and lean! Let's face it, this movie was a mess. I mean, it might be fun watching a beautiful blonde kicking the crap out of some big mean tough guy, but it tires after five or six times! The plot (as if there were one) the bad guys are out to get Charlie and the Angels have to stop them. By land, by air, by sea! Skip this movie. Its attempts at humor were lame and the plot has been filmed a thousand times. MISS IT!
See review by James Berardinelli
The Big Kahuna
***Three salesmen are in a hotel room in Witchita Kansas. They have come here to meet a potential account. This is very important stuff. One of them is brash, blunt and loud, one reserved, and one young. The youngster makes the only contact with the potential customer. What unfolds is wonderful tension and fascinating character development. Philosophical undertones weave their way throughout this movie, which is 95% dialouge. I enjoyed it. I found it thought provoking and engaging. Definately see it!
See review by James Beardinelli
Almost Famous
***A teenager with aspirations of becoming a rock journalist hooks up with a band that is on the verge of stardom. He experiences eye opening life on the road while his over controlling mother frets at home. This movie was quite good. Great music from the early 70's and, I think, a fairly honest look at the rock and roll industry. The story was believable and produced an effective tension. While the ending was less than good, I got to thinking; this may have been a movie for which a good ending would be impossible to write. See it and see if you agree!
See review by James Beardinelli
Country Life
**1/21919 Australia. A finicky father, who is a failed critic, comes to stay with his daughter. To their surprise, he has married a very young and a very pretty woman. The new visitor's presence wrecks havoc in the household. The local doctor becomes enamored with the young wife. This was a pretty good movie. I think it caught the tensions that can arise within a family very well, and it has an interesting stroy to tell. A story of life's ups and downs. See it!
See review by Roger Ebert
Steal This Movie
**1/2Docudrama covering the political life of Abbie Hoffman and his family. This movie was shot using old footage from the 60's interspiced with newly made film, an approach I find unsatisfying. I would imagine younger viewers with little or no knowledge of the Chicago 7 and the late 60's might find much of this film to be choppy and hard to follow. Still, it is an interesting look at one of the old radicals. I recommend it!
See review by Roger Ebert
Tom's Midnight Garden
***1/2The one flaw with this movie was its leading actor, who looked seiously moronic and untalented. But, in spite of this, I go into this movie. A teenager is forced to spend time with relatives when his brother comes down with the measles. He discovers that at the stroke of midnight a secret garden appears in the back yard of the building he is staying in. In this garden he meets a young girl and develops a friendship.
If I had kids, this might be the ONE movie I would want them to see. Combine a fascinating storyline and a refreshing lack of violence, great cinematography and you have a very enjoyable experience here. This movie reeled me in. It worked. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone!
See BBC review
Hollow Man
*1/2A smart-ass scientist working for the government has discovered the secret of invisibility. He talks co-workers into making him a human guinea pig. However, they are unable to make him visible again. He slowly changes and becomes quite mean spirited. This movie had some really good special effects. But the story is the same one we have seen over and over again. A shame Hollywood writers can't seem to keep pace with the special effects people. Crap out ending. Miles and miles of explosions. Ho hum. Don't waste your time.
See review by Roger Ebert
Network
***I think this movie has lost a lot of its punch over the years. What seemed novel and sensational in the 70's has become largely ordinary in the 2000's. Kind of sad in a way. But, this movie still has a message to deliver. What it speaks of is as needed now as then, if not more. But, alas, I think it will not find its audience. A fourth rate television station's newscaster becomes psychotic and the station executives see a golden opportunity. Exploit the poor man for a ratings boon. Interesting movie. Highly acclaimed in its day. Its a movie worth seeing. I recommend it!
See review by Roger Ebert