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Yet another one of the special effects laden films this summer. Apparently, there are still filmakers out there who believe bigger is better. This banal black comedy stars Michael J. Fox as a freelance "exorcist", who claims to be a master psychic and ghostbuster. However, he's actually a con-artist, who is in cahoots with the ghosts he's supposed to be exorcising. He lives in a small town, where mysterious murders are taking place, which are being caused by "The Soul Collector" (a.k.a., the Grim Reaper). Fox is forced to confront the demon, when people he cares about become the collector's targets.This recent big-budget bonanza, from acclaimed independent director Peter Jackson (Dead Alive), has been highly overrated by the critics. There are so many things wrong with this movie, this review is in danger of becoming a list. I'll narrow it down to three major things.
This only proves a theory of mine. For most independent film directors, it seems, their early small-budget efforts are usually a lot more entertaining and interesting, than any of their high-budget mainstream pictures. If you don't believe me, take a look at Jackson's earlier efforts (Dead Alive and Heavenly Creatures). Then, take a look at this. You'll see what I mean.
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The movie that nobody ever asked for. This excruciating "comedy", a send-up of The Bad Seed, is about as funny as slamming your nuts in a sliding glass door. If you even care about the plot, here goes: It involves the stupidest couple in America (John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck) adopting the world's meanest kid (Michael Oliver). After an amusing opener, this goes downhill fast! The onslaught of gross sight gags and repulsive "humor" would make even Beavis and Butt-Head run away in disgust. There's only one place this should have gone. That would be down the toilet and into the ocean from whence it came hopefully reincarnated into a movie that doesn't waste the movie goer's time. But alas! This does not happen as you will see in tomorrow's review.
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For those of you who wished the first Problem Child had either died or gone away, I've got some real bad news for you! Not much to say about this one, except that the little devil (Michael Oliver) has returned and is up against another problem child. This one is female, and is even meaner, nastier and more disgusting then even a rotten kid like Oliver could imagine. Once again, the movie throws more bad humor our way. If you were to say this is the worst movie of the decade, that would be too much of a compliment. It's the worst movie of ANY decade!
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After three days of film slime, I think some of you are ready for a good drama. You should really see this exquisite movie, about a young teenager (an unrecognizable Eric Stoltz) who has a disfiguring disease, which has deformed his face. His mother (Cher) has instilled a true sense of confidence in her son, and has been able to help her son get along with the rest of the world, a world with tendencies toward shutting out kids like Stoltz. But Stoltz is just a regular kid, who's had an irregular thing happen during his life. He is so likable, intelligent and compassionate, that most people see past his face and into Stoltz's true self.A truly magnificent story! This is not one of those disease-of-the-week weepers you usually see on TV. The script and the filmakers dodge cliche after cliche so perfectly and are so realistic in telling the story, that you'd think you were watching real life, as viewed through a hidden camera. The performances are no less than brilliant. Cher does a surprising turn as the mother who is a loving, caring parent who truly wants her son to succeed in life. Stoltz of course is the real star, in one of his best performances to date. He gives so much feeling to his character, that after about two minutes you stop thinking of him as a teenage Elephant man, and start thinking of him as a regular kid, a kid with all the usual problems of any young teenager. Add this to your must-see list of films to watch.
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This is a hysterical comedy, from French director Edouard Molinaro. The story involves a middle-aged gay couple (Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault), who are asked by Tognazzi's son to play it straight for one night. The son makes this request because he is about to bring home his fiancee and her parents and is worried about the parent-in-law's to be reaction, since her father is a minister of moral standards!Sound familiar? It should, because this is where The Birdcage got it's story from. I must say that this is as funny (if not funnier) as the Americanized version. Some of my favorite scenes include Tognazzi trying to teach Serrault to act "macho" and of course, the dinner sequence, where everything that could possibly go wrong, does. The story was obviously inspired from the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's, but also has a certain touch of originality, lacking in other films that try to emphasize that particular genre. If for nothing else, see it for Serrault's flamboyant performance. It's a scream!
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You've waited for it a long time folks. Now it's finally here. The first movie ever (discounting The Godfather, Part II) to feature Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on the screen, in the same movie, at the same time. Even if only for a short while! Getting past all the hype surrounding this picture, the plot involves a cat-and-mouse game between the leader (De Niro) of a group of professional thieves, and a police detective (Pacino) hot on his trail.Plenty of good action! Pacino and De Niro are good as always!! But, the film is FAR too long (it runs almost three hours) for this type of story. It's also hampered by too many needless supporting characters (save for Val Kilmer as one of De Niro's cronies), that detracts, instead of engaging, your attention from the main plot. Still, you haven't lived until you see Pacino and De Niro on screen together in that coffee shop scene. If you have been waiting your whole life for this particular moment, now's your chance!
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Acclaimed french director Francois Truffaut offers a heartwarming look at various children (ranging from ages 2 to 14) and the teachers, parents and other adults amid a small French village. For those of you who don't remember childhood as an idyllic time, this is the perfect film for you. The movie does capture the joy and excitement of childhood, but also the pain and the hurt of it all. It's a fine seriocomic tale, with a brilliant assortment of child actors, who remind you of at least half a dozen kids you knew when you were a child. This is the ultimate nostalgia trip, brought to life by a true master of universal themes.
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