There’s hardly any part of “Witness” I don’t love. In fact, I wonder how a film like this even got green-lit. Much of the supporting cast and the two writers were perennial television workers, the director had never directed an American film, and films about the Amish weren’t known to…
I’ll admit it. Many of the films I enjoyed as a child were supremely influenced by a PBS show called “Sneak Previews” with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They left the show in 1982 and went to network syndication with “At the Movies”. “Sneak Previews” continued without them and never…
How the hell did this cost $65 million? That’s almost as much as it cost to make “The Rock” the same year, and that got us Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris, and it got the studio more than twice that at the box office. But darn it, I…
I became a fan of rom-coms because of “When Harry Met Sally.” For once, the guy was a smart alec who didn’t look like a Ken doll. One of those “He could be me” situations. And Meg Ryan was everybody’s high-maintenance but sweet girl next door. In fact, I think…
I can’t tell you how many times I saw “The Incredible Shrinking Man” on television as a kid, but it was a lot. This film is emblazoned on my childhood. Oddly, it gets very little respect. It wasn’t a huge hit, and took a few re-releases to make a profit. …
The early 1990s were a good time to do husband and wife thrillers, and “Malice” is just about the best. Coming of his hit play-turned-movie “A Few Good Men”, Aaron Sorkin pens this story of intrigue, after which he veered off into politics with “The American President”, “The West Wing”…
I never understood why this film never really found an audience. It’s classic Stephen King directed by classic John Carpenter. I never understood why this film never really found an audience. It’s classic Stephen King directed by classic John Carpenter. King’s narrative of the teen nerd no one likes supernaturally…
This is one of those stories where a studio head says “What the heck. Let’s make a movie.” Scriptwriter Tom Holland was a successful writer and wanted to direct his next script, a horror film. Horror was in during the 80s, but vampire films were in short supply (this was…
Some films are meant to be read. “Steel Magnolias” is one of those films where the dialogue is the lifeblood of the films. The plot isn’t really interesting and doesn’t go many places. The spine of the story is this group of close-knit friends and the drama of the good…
“My Bodyguard” had a first-time director and a cast of unknowns It made $22 million from a $3 million budget, and basically launched the careers of Matt Dillion, Joan Cusack and others. Ok, Dillion was in Little Darlings that year, too, but this is the showy role that critics saw. …