Amid the stale jokes and flat direction to be found in THE WAR WITH GRANDPA, one is subjected to cartoonish takes on elder abuse, child abuse, and I’m pretty sure that the bass didn’t enjoy its time during the fishing sequence. Based on the book of the same name by Robert Kimmel Smith, the film… Read More »
THE COMEDIAN
THE COMEDIAN makes me want to forgive Robert De Niro for BAD GRANDPA. Almost.
DIRTY GRANDPA
We will commence with the flensing of DIRTY GRANDPA momentarily. Before we begin, though, a brief summary of the plot of Mel Brooks’ THE PRODUCERS. In that film, more the original rather than the musical remake, we were delighted by the inspired but appalling behavior of producer Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, his hapless accountant turned… Read More »
RIGHTEOUS KILL
The best performance in RIGHTEOUS KILL is not given by either of its storied leads, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It’s not given by the solid supporting cast of Donnie Wahlberg, John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, and Brian Dennehey, who all add a raffish interest while still seeming to pull their punches in an attempt… Read More »
EVERBODY’S FINE
After too many years and too many films spent squandering his considerable talent, Robert de Niro has redeemed himself in a little film, EVERYBODY’S FINE, perfectly designed to showcase his genius. He plays Frank, a recently widowered retiree with a lung condition from years of working with telephone wires. He’s a man who has devoted… Read More »
MACHETE
MACHETE, Robert Rodriquezs homage to grindhouse genre, is a bracing concretion of advocacy filmmaking and raucous hyperbole. In spirit, it is the unexpected successor to the likes of Rabelais, who used giants and satire to bring low the status quo. The giant here is the title character (Danny Trejo), a former Mexican federal agent out… Read More »
LITTLE FOCKERS
There is in LITTLE FOCKERS barely a trace of the spark that made MEET THE PARENTS interesting. Ben Stiller as the husband and Robert DeNiro as the father still antagonizing one another over oddly placid wife/daughter Terri Polo has run out of what little steam it had left after MEET THE FOCKERS. Stiller and De… Read More »
LIMITLESS
Its the dream come true. A pill that allows a person to remember everything he or she has ever seen, access it instantly, and fire off the synapses in order to use that information meaningfully in any given situation. Too good to be true? Of course. And thats the rub in LIMITLESS, a spiffy little… Read More »
KILLER ELITE
Though inspired by actual events, and based (loosely) on an actual book, The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, THE KILLER ELITE is a vehicle expertly tailored to the particular talents of Jason Statham. This is, in itself, not an indictment. Mr. Statham has starred in high-adrenaline action flicks that are more than worthy of… Read More »
ANALYZE THAT
Robert De Niro appeared in THE GODFATHER II, so he might be forgiven for thinking that all sequels are at least the equal, if not the better, of the original. Billy Crystals sequel to CITY SLICKERS, CURLEYS GOLD, didnt embarrass anyone, and so, he, too, might conclude that sequels are never an insult to the… Read More »