 Teen Movie Critic is a Dream Machine SiteThe Dream Machine --- The Imagination of the World Wide Web |
| Teen Movie Critic is a Dream Machine Site The Dream Machine --- The Imagination of the World Wide Web |
| Home | About TMC | Brothers and Sisters | Directors | Alphabetic Index | Guest Critics | Hall of Flame | Other Film Sites | Feedback |
 Buy this poster at  |
The most recent film version of Shakespeare's classic play, this adaptation updates the bard to the here and now. Set in crime-ridden Verona Beach, the Montagues and Capulets are now corporate rivals, whose offspring are warring with each other. The worst of the lot is Tybalt (John Leguizamo), a greasy-haired gunslinger, who wishes for nothing but war between the two families. The youngest of the two families, Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) fall in love, much to the dismay of both houses. Tragedy follows, when Leguizamo kills DiCaprio's best friend and DiCaprio does the same to Leguizamo out of revenge.The idea of updating Shakespeare sounded interesting at the time, but it has some huge flaws. The overblown action scenes and the annoying MTV style cinematography are my two biggest complaints. It does have two good performances by DiCaprio and Danes, who capture the feel of adolescent love, but this production is nowhere near up to par with the 1968 film version. Parting is not such sweet sorrow, after you've sat through this.
 Buy this poster at |
One of the big revolutionary films of the 60's, this (mostly fictional) look at the famous partners-in-crime boasts some outstanding performances from Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the title roles. Following them from their bankrobbing days to the famed ambush on their car, this features the first ever use of "realistic" violence. This has everything that makes a good movie. Beautiful cinematography, fine editing (that last scene is superb), fine direction from Arthur Penn and occasional moments of humor. After you see this, you'll understand why this is on many critics top ten list.
 Buy this poster at |
A 1950's rock film for the 1980's, this introduces us to Tom Cody (Michael Pare), a soldier-of-fortune sent to rescue his ex-girlfriend (Diane Lane), a rock star, from a sadistic biker gang. He has help from tough-as-nails McCoy (Amy Madigan) and Lane's promoter (Rick Moranis), a guy who looks like the class creep from an old 50's B-movie.Not only is it a tribute to the old camp classics of another era, it's nicely updated with a hard-driven 80's rock score and music video style visuals that make the place in the film seem like an alien world. Pare is pretty dull in the lead role, but Lane and Madigan are great and seem a hell of a lot tougher than Pare. It's not for everyone's liking, but there are some pleasant surprises hiding here.
 Buy this poster at |
A film that defined the era of the turbulent 1960's, this low-budget film tells the tale of two motorcyclists (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) in search of the "real America". Guess what! They don't find it. They do have a hell of a good time trying though. One of the odd assortment of characters they meet is a nutty drunken lawyer (Jack Nicholson), who may be a bit too odd even for these boys.The movie virtually ruined Hollywood when the studios tried to capitalize on the success of this film, but it proves that good things don't always come in twos. A good script by Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern. Plus, plenty moments of humor and a powerful star-making role for Nicholson. Though this has aged a bit, it still captures the sights and sounds of the 60's better than most (but not all) films today.
 Buy this poster at |
An unfortunate attempt to continue the series after Peter Sellers death, Blake Edwards really hit an all-time low with this one. Ted Wass (a poor man's Sellers) plays a detective assigned to track down the famed Inspector Clouseau, who has disappeared off the face of the earth. He performs this assignment, while bumbling his way through dull sight gags.Herbert Lom as Clouseau's boss (who absolutely hated Clouseau) is the only spark of life in this dreck. The only curse here is the one that caused you to shell out your money to see this. In two simple words: It's horrible!
A really bizarre crime film, Cary Elwes plays a young punk who drags his old friend (D.B. Sweeney) and ex-girlfriend (Bridget Fonda) into a gang war. It's a battle between Elwes' group and the Vietnamese mob who are out for vengeance. And man, do they ever dish it out!Despite some relatively good performances by Sweeney, Fonda and Elwes, the movie is mostly slow moving and boring. Some scenes run way too long, allowing you enough time to drowse into deep slumber. Maybe you should put on The Wild One instead of wallowing through this muddled mess.
 Buy this poster at |
"Q:What has four eyes, but can't see?"
"A:Mississippi."
-Popular joke of the civil rights era.A brilliant look at the civil rights movement and the people who fought and died for it. Based on a true story of three civil rights workers in the deep south, who were taken by the local redneck police force and handed over to the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them. Two FBI agents (Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) use everything they have in their power to find out the truth, and possibly find a way to indict the sheriff (Gailard Sartain) and his cowardly deputy (Brad Dourif). The key to the whole case rests on the shoulders of Dourif's wife (Frances McDormand), a woman who is subjected to severe spousal abuse by Dourif. She has the knowledge that could destroy the credibility of Dourif's alibi and let the truth come out about the community's (black and white) knowledge of what went down with the three boys.
Simply stunning. A great ensemble cast, which features excellent acting from Hackman, McDormand (Fargo), Dafoe and Dourif. The film is also quite scary in the way that it shows the brutality perpetrated upon the black people of Mississippi. What's most frightening is the knowledge that this happened all too recently, and that something like this could happen again anytime, anyplace. A movie that is on par with Schindler's List, this is the type of film that children SHOULD see (despite the R rating), because it offers them a chance to learn about a dark chapter in American history and to perhaps learn from the mistakes made during that period.
The Dream Machine --- Network Services
...the best independent ISP in the Twin Cities