Reviews

I just watched the short film on DVD called "Cleveland In My Dreams".

Wow! It was really, really cool.

It was adapted from Lawrence Block's classic short story "Cleveland In My Dreams". I'm very, very impressed with it. Terrific direction and crisp editing! A first time film by an obviously gifted director.

The two biggest flaws were minor: 1. The greenscreen scenes didn't work perfectly. 2. The acting was not as polished as it could have been.

I loved the integration of the music into the flow of the film one of my favorite directors, Michael Mann, is a favorite for the exact same reason - the deep integration of score with visuals.

Mark (the director) and his sister (the scriptwriter) translated a Lawrence Block tale to film and it works perfectly (unlike many other adaptations of Block's work). A feat unequaled and unrivaled. Well done!

If you get the DVD be sure to listen to the commentary track. I'd have liked to have seen the addition of English subtitles to the DVD but what extras you did have are really great! Loved the behind the scenes stuff too.

One other thing, after watching the bloopers during the credits stick around for a final easter egg (the punchline to a very funny joke told in the film).

HEY, STOP STABBING ME! has no right to be good, it has a no budget feel, its shot on videotape instead of film and uses an all amateur unpaid cast.... honestly this film sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. But not only have they managed not to suck its actually PRETTY DAMN GOOD MOVIE! This team has the chops to tackle hollywood films head-on and I'll bet you if it had something like half of the exposure of Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi it'd be doing as much business! Normally I'd point to the few weak spots (the fight sequence in the yard for example) but I won't even do that, this film pulls itself up by its own borrowed bootstraps and overcomes the mediocrity of most film and acomplishes the uberfilm dream it truly entertains. Congrats to all involved, see you on the flipside! ;-)

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) isn't perfect, but it has a lot going for it. The pairing Eastwood and Bridges is great, these aren't the same kinds of actors, and yet their on-screen relationship works well. Supporting character actors George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis round out rest of the heisters, and Gary Busey makes an early appearance in a small role. Also of note is the striking Montana scenery, quite unseen on film, this movie does an admirable job showcasing it. What I'm really surprised about is how no one else seems to have noticed a couple of things about this film.

First: The title of this film, and its two main characters are an homage to a pair of famous 19th century highwaymen who called themselves respectively `Captain Thunderbolt' and `Captain Lightfoot'. This isn't the last time Hollywood film criminals would be named after real life bandits. In the film `The Way Of The Gun' the characters are called `Mr. Parker and Mr. Longbaugh' which of course were the real names of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid! Also of interest is the fact that Geoffrey Lewis appears in The Way Of The Gun!

Second: Those interested in a companion piece to this film might consider watching `Thelma and Louise' which mirrors the on-the-road relationship of this film very closely. Though the plot is different, the relationship with the landscape and the emphasis on two characters is strikingly similar. In short a good film, worth watching!

EAGLES ATTACK AT DAWN is a watchable P.O.W. rescue movie, similar in many respects to UNCOMMON VALOR. I bought this video thinking it was yet another version of the true life story of Entebbe rescue mission. Instead I got a fictional account of something similar. A daring rescue on foreign soil by I.D.F. commandos. I love Israeli films, they are always low budget but are also always full of great energy. The villains and the heroes are all interesting to watch in this one, the locations are good, but the transfer I saw was pretty sad, washed out color generally grainy and muddy sound. Seeing as its not particularily outstanding in any area its unlikely to garner a fresh or remastered transfer to DVD. A couple of interesting points in its favor, the indoor gunfights are especially well staged and executed "first person shooter" PC game designers would do well to watch this film just for that. While watching I found myself thinking, "boy that's a great choke point scene, someone should do a map of this for Return To Castle Wolfenstein!". Also of note, this is an ENGLISH language production, so there are no badly translated subtitles to worry about. Kudos to the Golan/Globus team for this decent "B" title.

Too all those who didn't like this film, the best argument I can make for you is, `That's too bad, you've somehow lost your whimsy.'

Personally, I love little films that take you to interesting places, this one does it very well. "Pumpkin" fits in perfectly to a wonderful little genre of films like "Ghost World" and "My First Mister." If only every fifth film were as good and sweet as this little flawed gem... Oh, that'd be so wonderful.

While many aspects of the plot are wholly unoriginal, the film really works. While it is true, there are portions of the movie that aren't perfectly polished, I just didn't mind. I was worried the ending wasn't going to go where it should, and thankfully my fears didn't materialize. Seen in pieces, that is seeing each scene as individual and separate from the whole, this isn't a terrific film, but when the pieces go together, as with the movie experience, it definitely becomes more than the sum of it parts. A sweet fable, a silly comedy along with something to think about.

Christina Ricci and Hank Harris are a great screen couple. Sam Ball also deserves a round of applause for his performance! Bravo Sam! This film was so enjoyable, it reminded me of films like `Revenge Of The Nerds', `Election' and the terrific `Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit'. When you need a lift a good romantic comedy always does the trick, this one does the trick, and puts a little twist on the usual formula! If you enjoyed `Pumpkin' look for an obscure romantic comedy called `Paperback Romance', starring real life husband and wife team Gia Carides and Anthony LaPaglia. To all those `Pumkin' boosters out there, ‘I love you'. To all the Pumpkin haters I say ‘too bad your so sad.'

Here's hoping the producers release a SPECIAL EDITION with a commentary track!

ACTING:

Charlize Theron was very mediocre in this film, this is a woman who's aiming at mediocrity and ably achieving her goals.

Courtney Love was pretty good, but she's already pigeonholed as a "Courtney Love type". Which is a shame because she's got a charisma that could play well in other roles.

Pruitt Taylor Vince, a great character actor, earned another paycheck doing his patented thing. Pruitt is well known for playing twitchy, nervous looking and disturbed characters. Luckily, twitchy, nervous looking and disturbed characters is something Hollywood needs a lot of. Pruitt would be great in a Cohen brothers film or playing opposite Brad Dourif, these guys seem to have the "twitchy weirdo" character market all to themselves.

Kevin Bacon, poor Kevin Bacon, he seems to be having a mirror image career of Denzel Washington. Kevin is playing bad guys all the time, Denzel is playing good guys all the time. But that's Hollywood for you, there are no "grey hat" characters to play. At least they are both earning a living. Back to Kevin Bacon, Kevin man, lissen you should broaden your horizons, record a book-on-tape, do some stage work, pick a role as a corporal in a war movie. Seriously.

The little girl, Dakota Fanning, is fine, for a child actor. Child actors are all that good, I'd be happier with adults dressed as children doing all the children's roles. In the olden days of theater, women's roles were always played by men. So why not adults playing children? Paging Gary Coleman.

Stuart Townsend, a newcomer is acceptable but nothing special. One thing's for sure he certainly didnt look old enough for this role! Also, have you ever noticed in movies how easy it is to have a beautiful house and never have to go to work? Nice house on the beach oh ya and ... HIS OWN FLOAT-PLANE! Ya right.

FILMING:

Am I the only one getting a little tired of this plot? "Mother defends child in danger". "Father is brave and rational, mother is panicky and unable to control herself." I saw PANIC ROOM, it was much better than TRAPPED, and the little girl with some pathology of the week is starting to get stale.

There was nothing original in this movie, the best part of it was the idea of turning the airplane's engine off in order to recieve a cell phone call. This was good, but you don't go into a dive when you turn your engine off if want to live, you slowly descend, riding the edge of a stall. The film UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD has a much better version of an engineless descent.

There seems to be a whole subgenre of "disaster on Mars" films coming out over the last few years. The funny thing is, its a terrible collection of films to be rehashing. I've always been fascinated by Mars stories, this one doesnt fare any worse than most of the others "Red Planet (2000)", "Mission To Mars (2000)", "Ghosts of Mars (2001)", "Total Recall (1990)" all of interesting points but are not really about Mars! It appears that human beings have great difficulty telling stories about large inert planetoids in anything like a realistic manner. I've been wondering when we're going to see a story the actually is about Mars. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

On to "Stranded (2002)", it has: Terrible terrible terrible acting! Though it has a couple of decent actors, they are given poor dialogue. The worst actor of them all is the main character who also directed the film. She's as stiff as the desicated Martians lying around the set! The film has a deep slowness that makes you think of Tarkovsky's filmaking. The clunky dialogue hurts. The plot is so recycled its starting wear thin at the joints. Gee I wonder what we'll find! Oh look so there really are Martians after-all! Why cant somone film Ray Bradbury's short story "Dark They Were And Golden Eyed!" There is a twist, something not so blah boring. The ending is almost a complete failure, the only redeeming element is half baked and unoriginal. And yet... there are some minor redeeming elements, the mention of "Barsoom" is always a good sign, some of the scenes arent all that horrific, the orbiting spacecraft isnt bad. What a strange film!

This film had a lot going for it - Timothy Hutton, Harvey Keitel and Stephen Dorff all did admirable jobs with what they were given. There is a great dichotomy in the look of the film, the sunny California sky and the Industrial backdrops. The effect makes it look like Blade Runner in the daytime, Palm Springs and L.A. both look their grittiest. The music is very well done too.

One thing I find strange though is that none of the comments have mentioned that this is essentially a Richard Stark novel. Almost every novel starring Parker, Stark's master thief, has the plot of this film: A heist followed by revenge on one of the double-crossing heisters. Had the tough-minded aspect continued through to the end, had Roy Egan (our pseudo-Parker for this film) been more of a stone faced professional in private as well as public, had he thought of himself instead of the girl (Famke Jansen) and her welfare this would have been a Parker movie. Had Keitel been directed to act more like Robert Duvall in The Outfit and less like Mel Gibson in Payback we'd have a serious classic on our hands. What we have here is a failed classic. There are scenes that work by themselves. Just after the heist the heisters are pulling away in their getaway sedan. They stop art a stoplight and a half-dozen police cars approach them. The tension in that scene is terrific.

If you liked CITY OF INDUSTRY try these films:

HEAT directed by Michael Mann, starring Robert Deniro

THIEF directed by Michael Mann, starring James Cann

RESERVOIR DOGS directed by Quentin Tarantino

THE OUTFIT directed by John Flynn, starring Robert Duvall & Joe Don Baker

POINT BLANK directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin

THE KILLING directed by Stanley Kubrick

Slow and low budget character piece. A SOLDIER'S TALE seems interested in the corruption moral norms in wartime. The indoor scenes are dark and grainy, the outdoor scenes are just grainy. No one in the film is likeable enough to care about. Even the war content is of limited interest to WWII aficionados.

A British sargeant named Saul (Gabriel Byrne) in recently liberated Normandy meets a French woman named Belle (Marianne Basler). Belle is in trouble, the French Resistance wants her for crimes against France. Saul wants her affections all she wants is his protection. But an American G.I. (Judge Reinhold) has similar plans for Belle. Through use of voice over and flashbacks we get Belle's backstory, which is again slow, ponderous and unimpressive.

Saul thinks nothing of taking sexual advantage of a lone and powerless woman. Rape vs. execution isnt much of a choice and yet its hard to muster up much sympathy for Belle. A disappointment.

I won't summarize the plot, others have already done that already, but I will make a few points and expose a few of the more obvious flaws.

I was hoping that Race To Space (2001) would be as good as The Dish (2000), which is also based on a true story of the space race (check it out if you can!). I was hoping that this film would dramatize the meaty subject of ex-Nazis working in the America's rocket program. Something that has had virtually no attention in film. Unfortunately it didn't.

Children and animals and rockets? No, it doesnt work. The mindset that brings together the first two for quick buck doesnt understand the latter. What happened to the live action kids movies? All they seem to know how to make is endless kids and animals films about animals who behave like spoiled brats and the kids who love them. Air Bud 1, 2 and 3 Free Willy 1, 2 and 3 M.V.P.: Most Valuable Primate 1, 2 and 3! How is a kid watching these films supposed to gain any insight into real animal behavior from all this stage production? It sickens me. It would be okay if they were actually entertaining, but they are all derivative crap. Race To Space is just lucky its not sequel bound like it forebearers (I hope).

Though James Woods was fine in this film, he is usually much better, his accent was very poorly done.

The meaningless subplot about a NASA supervisor (William Atherton) who is bribed by a rival rocket developer (?) into wilful sabotage of a Redstone rocket was not only ridiculous, it was sad. Is this ham fisted manipulation of the plot supposed to explain away all the other meandering plot threads???? If so, it didnt work. Sad. Poor William Atherton (you probably know him from his arrogant and abrasive TV reporter role in the Die Hard movies), he plays pompous and self-important characters so well he's become typecast in the worst way. I guess its a job, but he can't be still having fun playing the same character over and over again in film after film.

This film was ultimately a big disappointment, it takes way too many liberties with the facts to be legitimately use the "based on a true

story" tag. The only facts from NASA history that this film keeps are that:

1. German scientists/engineers were instrumental in the space race and

2. That a Chimpanzee was launched into space before a man was.

The true story of the first Chimpanzee in space may not have made as good a "Hollywood kids movie" in the tradition of (Free Willy), but it certainly would have been a better film. This is ably supported by the mini documentary entitled "Ham: America's First Space Hero" which is included on the DVD (amongst a surprising number of ineffectual extras). "Ham: America's First Space Hero" is the one bright spot in this otherwise shabby production.

I don't think that children actually enjoy or learn from schmaltzy unrealistic animals movies, let alone from "based on a true story" films that aren't! Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps you will really enjoy it if you are 11 years old, I'm not, I didnt.

"Zigs" aka Double Down is hilarious. Full of little scenes that make a small movie work. The core of the movie is four friends, degenerate gamblers all who spend their days and nights at a restauraunt bar called "Zigs". When one of their number is threatened by a Christopher Walken impersonating bookie, for his excessive debts, the Jewish buddies come up with a plan to throw a major league baseball game. The plot is really unimportant compared to the great atmosphere and fun characters. One scene on the techniques for impersonating William Shatner is worth the cost of rental alone. A fun little film. Keep your eyes peeled for more Jason Priestly work, he's not just a 90210 flake! If you like Double Down you'll also enjoy a great little movie called "Coldblooded".

Beau Bridges, Haing S. Ngor and Liem Whatley perform admirably in this small Vietnam war film. Liem Whatley plays Ho a north Vietnamese soldier, a revolutionary seeking establish communist land reform. Beau Bridges is a straight arrow American officer who is captured by Ho. This is an interesting take on the Vietnamese war insofar as it spends some time with "Charles". Well done.

Interesting little film. The acting is atrocious, the "realistic" dialogue is stilted but the result rings true. We know the facts: Growing up in a slum is hard, racism is painful, people are mean to each other, but the words don't equal knowledge. This film translates that information into knowledge by demonstration. I was satisfied (not pleased) with the results and no doubt you'll be too.

It was the best of films, it was the worst of films... two words: "Engrossingly Mind-numbing". Def-Con 4 is truly an oddball. The script is incomprehensibly senseless. There is no story arc at all, it is simply a collection of characters improvising scenes. It is a great example of what I like to call "plotless development" or "one damn thing after another". The acting is uniformly bad with the exception of Maury Chaykin who is hilarious as a Canadian survivalist. I particularly love one scene in this film in which we see the detail of a mechanism of a booby trap. The booby trap has as its trigger a Canadian social insurance card. What kind of symbolism are we supposed to find in this? Either this is the deepest film I've ever seen or the it is the shallowest. Either it deserves a 10 or it deserves a 1, I'll split the difference and give it 5.

Lightning has struck twice! Rick Green has again turned a no-budget television program into comedy/learning gold AGAIN! Rick Green was fantastic as the host of "Prisoners of Gravity" now he's hosting "History Bites" a wickedly funny history lesson program airing on Canada's History Television.

The premise of this innovative television show is based around the supisition that television has been around since the dawn of history; So why not watch some of those reruns?

Hilarious impersinations of Jeopardy, Martha Stewart, David Letterman, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and many, many, many, other shows allow instant accesability to famous and infamous historical events and persons. Barbara Walters interviewing Genghis Kahn. Ted Koppel interviewing Joan of Arc! So many events have been covered in the first three seasons, and I've learned so much laughing all the way! If at all possible check out this hilarious brainfest!

WARNING THIS PROGRAM IS NOT FOR THE STODGY!

"I refuse to condone, by passivity, or default, the wars which greedy men make against others. Spain and China are part of the same battle. I am going to China because I feel that is where I can be most useful."

-Dr. Norman Bethune

Donald Sutherland's performance was wonderful in this film. The story is important and truly interesting. Presenting the life of Dr. Norman Bethune and his complex character, he was both selfless and arrogant, an international humanitarian, an alchoholic and a communist who acted on his beliefs (when so many of us simply talk about them). Bethune was a champion of socialized medicine and a rabid anti-facist who though subject to entirely human failings also presented the best in human achievement. Bethune's life is fascinating and truly heroic and this film demonstrates that fact very well. Several of the rational criticisms leveled at the film by other IMDB commentators are apt, but the film is a triumph nonetheless. As for the 'up with communism' criticism: Of course Mao was a big problem for China and the Chinese people. But that was not evident in 1939. In 1939 Japanese were the problem. It is easy to be smart when looking back in time and with a history book on your lap. It is harder to forsee events when they havent happened yet. Perhaps our polish friend would have chosen differently had he been in the same position. But he could not have chosen better.

Like Ray Bradbury's Wonderful Ice Cream Suit but Australian. Well maybe not exactly like "Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" but it surely has the same inner beauty.

Ignore the quotes on the video's cover they utterly fail to capture what this film is about. Whoever designed the cover has obviously not seen the film. It is nothing like Crocodile Dundee or The Full Monty. And you will stop laughing it is more touching and heartwarming than it is hilarious.

Go, go now, stop reading this and go out and get a copy of The Castle. Gather up your loved ones because this should be a family experience.

The Kerrigans lead a simple life but then their simple themselves. They are tremendously supportive and loving. Their material wealth is next to nil, but the family makes lemons out of all the lemonades life gives them. Every meal is a banquet, every anecdote is a saga.

Lets face facts, Australians make the best films! Hollywood makes some good films but the Australians always seem to make better ones. Too Wong Foo Thanks For nothing when you can have Priscilla Queen of The Desert and The Castle. Go out right now and find a copy of The Castle. Don't expect convulsive laughs like in There Is Something About Mary. Expect giggles and a renewal in your faith in humanity. Are you still reading this? Go, I said go, go out and get The Castle!

Red Planet the animated mini-series based upon the novel by RAH is a mixed bag. I'd have liked it to have been more faithful to the book but it is pretty good for what it is. There is a lot to like and a lot to hate. The villans and action sequences are disappointing but the feel that New Ares (Mars?) has is quite nice. The alien "locals" are also well done. I wish they'd do more animated mini-series based upon novels, it would much improve the quality of animation on television.

Red Planet the animated miniseries based upon the novel by RAH is a mixed bag. I'd have liked it to have been more faithful to the book but it is pretty good for what it is. There is a lot to like and a lot to hate. The villans and action sequences are disapointing but the feel that New Ares (Mars?) has is quite nice. The alien "locals" are also well done. I wish they'd do more animated miniseries based upon novels, it would much improve the quality of animation on television.

Ring of Bright Water is a truly wonderful film. This story of an englishman and his otter reminded me of a wonderful childhood oddessey I experienced myself. On a waterborne journey along the british columbia coast we stopped at a fjord that had a house very much like that of Graham Merrill's. They themselves must have been great fans of Gavin Maxwell's book as they too had a free ranging pet otter. It was astonishing and wonderful to swim with one of these little mammals. I hadnt heard much about the film before I watched it so it was a wonderful surprise. I'd heartily recommend it for children and adults. It has some suprisingly realistic scenes but nothing that a child wouldnt understand. It is a very touching story. I plan on listening to the audiobook of the book the film was based upon immediately.

I bought this movie based upon the IMDB rating. I wasn't expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised by the original story this film tells. Treat Williams plays a prefab housing engineer who travels to Saudi Arabia in the late 70's to cinch a multi-million dollar deal. But when he arrives he discovers that what he bargained for wasn't actually much of a bargain. His original deal with the Saudi government collapses and he is forced to rely on the good graces of his unreliable but charismatic Arab middle man. As the title implies things don't get much better and Williams and he must try to escape before he ends up under a dune in the desert! If you look at the cover of this video you'd think it was just another action movie. It isn't it, in fact its a very scary and true story of cultural clash and a surprisingly balanced look at the dubious justice system of Saudi courts. Check it out if your a fan of Treat Williams or if you appreciate a reality based story. I'd also recommend "Doomsday Gun" which deals in similar stuff as this.

Far East (1982) is another in the growing ranks of interesting new sub genre of Films. That is, it's another remake of the famous 1942 film Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lazlo. Far East joins the ranks of Casablanca remakes along with Cuba (1979), which starred Sean Connery and Brooke Adams and Caboblanco (starring Charles Bronson). But it is this Australian production set in what I presume to be Manila (in the Philippines) which is the most faithful to the original. Instead of Humphrey Bogart playing Rick Blaine the ex-pat American owner of "Rick's Café Américain" we have Bryan Brown playing Morgan Keefe as an ex-pat Aussie who owns a bar/nightspot called "The Koala Klub". "The Koala Klub" has a piano but no Sam to play it, I guess they don't remember that, so they make do with disco on the hi-fi. But it doesn't matter; this is in no way the swanky diggs like "Rick's", "The Koala Klub" caters only to assorted local and imported sleaze. All is right with the world, at least as far as can be in a corrupt backwater like Manila, when as they say "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, SHE walks into mine" she is Helen Morse in this case. Morse plays Jo Reeves an old Acquaintance of Morgan's. Her husband is an investigative reporter doing good deeds just like our Czech underground leader Victor Lazlo. But the local military government gives the Lazlo's... I mean the Reeves nothing but grief. So it's up to Rick... that is its up to Morgan to smooth things over for them. The final plane scene isn't a plane scene it's a boat scene, and there isn't a "beautiful friendship" that starts after the plane... I mean boat takes off. But it's Casablanca all right. Well, it is if you squint and if you've had a little too much gin. You must remember this? As time goes by... we appreciate the original more and more.

I first saw this British miniseries when a friend lent me a scratchy EP VHS copy made from its first broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre in 1988. Since then I've watched it several more times. Each time I was astounded at its depth, charm, wit and humanity. Recently I obtained a more servicable version when "Piece of Cake" was rebroadcast on Canada's HistoryTelevision. I will cherish it.

"Piece of Cake" is the story of Hornet squadron a fictional Spitfire fighter wing flying in France and over Dover during between 1939 & 1940. Beyond its fabulous dogfights "Piece of Cake" is also a wonderful story done the way only the British can do it. Characters like Pilot Officer "Moggy" Cattermoll are both original and compelling (as brilliantly portrayed by Neil Dudgeon). No one charcater here in this story is THE hero, for they are all heroic even the real bastards. No one character here in this story is THE villan, for they all can be villanous. Rather than being simple one note characters these are awesome full blown human people we can hate and love. The music as well, with this production, is truly inspiring, running from tension building, to melodic and beautiful to heartwrenching melancholic. If you wish to see THE definitive piece of televised fiction on the Phony War and The Battle of Britain you want "Piece of Cake" no doubt about it. Top notch entertainment.