If there was a movie that was supposed to be dead at the box office, it was “All The President’s Men.” A movie about government. A movie about newspapers. A movie about recent history where everyone who would be interested in these subjects already knows the ending. It made back…
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…
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. …
Some sports movies work even if you don’t like the sport. You don’t have to be a boxing fan to like Rocky, and you certainly don’t have to like basketball to love “Hoosiers.” “Hoosiers” is a sport movie that really isn’t about sports, or even about basketball specifically. The same…
The only reason I ever heard of this movie is that I saw it at least a dozen times. I lived in a neighborhood that had a neighborhood movie theater, which played final-run movies for weeks on end. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” played for weeks, and…
I must confess an affinity for business movies and that has stayed with me through the years. “Wall Street” was really my first. Oliver Stone make personal films. He fought in Vietnam, so he makes “Platoon,” “JFK,” and “Nixon.” His father was a stock broker, so “Wall Street” shouldn’t have…
I sometimes get into an argument with myself if this is a Norman Jewison film or Al Pacino film. It’s not a Barry Levinson film, although he shared an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. The script isn’t the best thing about this film. It’s not even in the top ten…
“Braveheart” got the attention but “Rob Roy” deserved more. I don’t think there is a better swashbuckler with smarter, dry and wittier dialogue than Rob Roy. Oddly, the best dialogue is with the supporting cast. This historical dramatization of the real Highlander Robert Roy MacGregor is one you’ll want to…
Dustin Hoffman isn’t just an actor. When he works, the film becomes all encompassing, and in the 1970s he was on a roll. He wouldn’t just play a part. He studies the part. He fights over scenes. He rewrites scripts. He does everything they tell actors not to do. …