The death of one person is a tragedy, so the saying goes, but the death of a million people is a statistic. This is the model Oliver Stone has chosen for his latest history lesson for the masses, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, an explication of why the world financial markets collapsed in 2008. By… Read More »
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1
It might be hard for someone unfamiliar with the Harry Potter universe to catch the nuances of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1. Fortunately, the larger themes are intact, despite some liberties taken with the chronology of the books and the usual necessity of streamlining a richly plotted novel into a workable screenplay.… Read More »
THE SANTA CLAUSE 2
You have to admire the folks behind THE SANTA CLAUSE II. In this sequel-happy world, they didn’t rush right out to cash in on the success of the original. Instead, they waited eight whole years for a good premise before venturing back, and when you consider that in kids’ years that’s a whole generation, it was a… Read More »
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2 begins with a bang and doesn’t stop. Starting right where the last film ended, it barely has time to catch its breath, or go into florid exposition, before diving right into the final face-off between the boy, now man, wizard (Daniel Radcliffe), embodiment of all that is… Read More »
MEN IN BLACK II
If you liked MEN IN BLACK, you will love MEN IN BLACK II because, and Im not exaggerating much here, it is EXACTLY THE SAME MOVIE. Its another tale of the super-secret agency whose agents, all male, even the dogs, wear sober black suits and keep the rest of us from finding out that not… Read More »
BE COOL
It should be a rule of filmmaking that when the plot fizzles out, the film should end. Actually, it should end before any signs of fizzle appear, but that, perhaps, is asking too much. In any case, it is the sin that afflicts BE COOL, the sequel to GET SHORTY, a film that did not… Read More »
CLERKS 2
CLERKS 2 isn’t just everything a perfect sequel should be, it’s everything a superb film should be, too. Right on top of the zeitgeist, and fiendishly clever in it commentary on it, it skewers political correctness within a profane framework that unwaveringly champions middle class values with an infectious elan. It picks up with the eponymous… Read More »
Tim Allen & Michael Lembeck Invoke THE SANTA CLAUS 2
Though the result may be so much cinematic cotton candy, the process of making THE SANTA CLAUS II was anything but all sweetness and light for its star Tim Allen. Playing both Santa and his evil toy double required extensive prosthetic makeup that took hours to apply and didn’t last all that long under the… Read More »
Elizabeth Mitchell is THE SANTA CLAUS II
Elizabeth Mitchell brings a wonderfully savvy sweetness to her role as Santa’s love interest in THE SANTA CLAUS II. It was also evident when I talked with her on October 11, 2002. The conversation turned, naturally enough, to the holiday spirit. You have to admire the folks behind THE SANTA CLAUSE II. In this sequel-happy world, they didn’t… Read More »
Mark Lewis Warns Us About CANE TOADS: THE CONQUEST
This is Mark Lewis’ second documentary about the eponymous amphibian. His previous one, CANE TOADS: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY was his tribute to the triumph of nature over the folly of humankind, in this case, importing cane toads from South America to Australia where they failed to eradicate a crop-eating beetle. Instead, they multiplied and migrated… Read More »