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Reviews
Sister Act (1992)
One of the Best Comedies of the Early 1990's!
*** Possible Spoilers ***
"Sister Act" is one of the funniest and best made films of the early 1990's. Starring Whoopi Goldberg as Delores Van Cartier, (a lounge singer working in a Reno, Nevada casino) the film begins with a flashback showing a young and irreverent Delores in a Catholic parochial school being reprimanded by a nun after giving the names of the Beatles for the names of the apostles. The nun warns Delores that she won't amount to much if she maintains her poor attitude.
Returning to the present, we see the hapless Delores and her two back-up singers performing before a mostly empty audience in a Reno casino. Unhappy with her career and her married boyfriend, Vince LaRocca (played by Harvey Keitel), Delores decides to leave, but Vince appeases her by giving her a mink coat. When Delores discovers that the coat actually belongs to his wife, she tromps over to Vince's office, where she unwittingly sees Vince shoot one of his employees. Sadly, Delores' unfortunate appearance did not go unnoticed as Vince orders his henchmen to get Delores. She bolts out of Vince's office and into the casino where she manages to escape and flees to the police.
Now knowing that her exboyfriend Vince is a gangster, police lieutenant Eddie Souther (played by Bill Nunn), tells Delores that she must enter the witness protection program to be safe until she can testify against Vince. Eddie takes Delores to San Francisco so that she can assume her new identity as a nun in a convent.
After Eddie leaves, the very unhappy Delores cannot hide her horror of being a nun and Mother Superior (played by Maggie Smith) is not thrilled with the situation either. You can't help but laugh while watching Mother Superior's attempts to find a suitable place for Delores (now known as Sister Mary Clarence) within the convent or Delores' disgust with "looking like a penguin," as she puts it. Meanwhile, two of the convent's nuns, Sister Mary Patrick (played by Kathy Najimy) and Sister Mary Robert (played by Wendy Makkena) become endeared with Sister Mary Clarence.
Mother Superior finally decides to have Sister Mary Clarence join the convent's inharmonic choir, which has been under the tutelage of Sister Mary Lazurus, who was played by Mary Wickes. This wasn't the first time that Mary Wickes portrayed a nun: she also portrayed Sister Clarissa in the films "The Trouble with Angels" in 1966 and its sequel "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows" in 1968.
Will Delores find a way to survive life in the convent and bring harmony to the choir? Will Mother Superior be able to keep her sanity in tact? Will Vince find where Delores is hiding? To answer these questions, sit back, watch this film and be prepared to laugh!
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
An Entertaining Musical Sci-fi Comedy!
"Earth Girls Are Easy" is a musical sci-fi comedy about valley-girl Valerie (played by Geena Davis) living in 1980's Los Angeles, and who is engaged to a cheating, boyfriend doctor named Ted (played by Charles Rocket). Catching her boyfriend at home playing with a nurse, the disgruntled Valerie gets the surprise of her life when a spaceship crash lands in her swimming pool. The spaceship's crew (played by Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans), haven't had any "shore leave" in a long time. Not wanting to cause too much of a stir, Valerie takes the alien trio to her best friend Candy (played by Julie Brown) who owns a beauty salon. After Candy transforms the furry trio into believable human males, Valerie finds their captain, Mac (Jeff Goldblum), very attractive. Wild things happen when the alien trio are taken to a dance club and letting them drive in California traffic! The fact that this film is also a musical only adds to the humor as there are several original songs by Julie Brown!
If you enjoy remembering the excesses of the 1980's and New Wave music, you will probably enjoy this film!
The Dark Crystal (1982)
An Exciting Adventure on an Alien World
Long before CGI, the late Jim Henson, along with Frank Oz, spent five years creating a remarkably detailed alien planet, endearing and bizarre creatures, and an adventurous story for the film "The Dark Crystal" using the power of puppetry.
The film begins with a brief narration providing an introduction to the alien world where the lives of its inhabitants are linked to the power of a massive crystal. Those most influenced by the crystal are the gentle Mystics and the evil Skeksies. Over the past 1000 years, the Skeksies harnessed the power of the crystal to enslave others, mostly the Gelflings (whom they fear) and the Podlings. The Skeksies systematically hunted down and destroyed nearly all of the Gelflings because an ancient prophecy foretells that a Gelfling will destroy them. One Gelfling, Jen, whose family was destroyed by the Skeksies, survives and is found and raised by the Mystics. The Mystics send him forth on an odyssey to find the crystal shard--a piece of the venerated, powerful crystal. Jen must find the shard and put it back into the crystal before the world's three suns eclipse one another in a great conjunction. If the crystal is incomplete at the great conjunction, their world will forever be plunged into darkness; but if the crystal is restored, their world will be reborn. Jen does not initially fully understand the significance of his quest, but he proceeds and discovers many great and terrible things along the way. Will Jen succeed? Let the story of "The Dark Crystal" unfold before you and find out!
Jim Henson's vision of the "The Dark Crystal" is a masterpiece capturing the imaginations of children and adults alike.
Chasing Buddha (2000)
An engaging & compelling documentary.
I watched this documentary the other night and found it to be a very interesting, engaging and compelling story about Robina Courtin, a former Catholic feminist from Australia who is now a Buddhist monk currently working with inmates in the USA, both on & off of death row. (Not all of the inmates she visits are Buddhist.) Since few Americans understand Buddhism (or any other non-Christian religion for that matter) it is likely that few Americans will be interested in watching it; but I highly recommend it.
The documentary includes flashbacks and discussions with Robina's friends who knew her long before she became a Buddhist nun.
Dark Star (1974)
ONE OF THE WORST SCI-FI MOVIES OF ALL TIME!
I made the mistake of watching "Dark Star" (1974) late one night many years ago. It was one of the stupidest movies that I have ever watched:
1. Bad acting.
2. Bad writing.
3. Scientifically stupid plot. (Destroying an entire planet because its orbit is unstable or in the way will only make matters worse: instead of having one large, easily avoidable object, you'll have thousands of smaller, but equally lethal and more difficult objects to track.)
4. Completely unrealistic characters. A painted beach ball as a space alien? The writers must have been doing too many drugs.
Not surprisingly, the majority of actors that starred in "Dark Star" never did anything else. Of those that did do anything else, the majority never acted again after Dark Star. Therefore, having Dark Star on one's acting resume was a death star to one's acting career!
Spider-Man (2002)
"Spider-Man" Rocks!
This is definitely one of the best superhero films I have seen! I was looking forward to seeing this film and I was not disappointed!
The dialog, writing and plot flowed very well and remained true to the original Marvel Comics vision of Spiderman. A lot of the special effects are computer generated, but that does not detract from the film.
I highly recommend seeing this film!
Crack in the World (1965)
So-so Sci-Fi with Flawed Science
"Crack in the World" is typical 1960's (and even 1950's) doomsday sci-fi fare depicting well-intentioned, but ignorant, science being responsible for cataclysm.
The problem with the movie's premise, simply, is that it is based upon unrealistic and flawed science. The earth's crust is covered with faults and cracks. If there was significant geothermal pressure sufficient to overcome gravity to force even a small piece of the earth to be thrown into space, then the earth would have disintegrated eons ago.
Along with the bad premise, the acting in the movie is less than memorable. It is no surprise that no copies of this movie can be found in local video stores.
Star Wars (1977)
ONE OF THE GREATEST SCI-FI MOVIES OF ALL TIME!
The original "Star Wars" is, to this day, one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time! When it was released in 1977, no other sci-fi film could come close in comparison to the quality and advancement in special effects technology that this movie presented. "Star Wars" set the standard by which all other sci-fi films are judged to this day.
As for the plot, many critics like to say that people continue to watch and enjoy "Star Wars" to recapture lost youth. They're wrong. Because we remain young at heart and idealistic about the future, we love movies such as "Star Wars" that promote the hope of a better tomorrow when so many other things in real life have failed. Movies such as "Star Wars" ignite the imagination and encourage mankind to reach for the stars! Maybe it's the critics who need to recapture their youth and idealism, both of which appear to be dead and forgotten.
My thanks to George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness and the many other cast and crew that brought this remarkable film to life for countless generations to enjoy!
P.S. George, when are you going to release the original trilogy on DVD?
What's New Pussycat (1965)
The Quintessential 1960's Comedy!
One of the funniest comedies from the 1960's, "What's New Pussycat?" is an hilarious farce about a single man, Michael James (played by Peter O'Toole), in love with one woman, Carole Werner (played by Romy Schneider), but is unable to commit to her because he enjoys playing around with as many women as he can get. To improve his commitment abilities, he employs the help of the psychoanalyst Doctor Fritz Wolfgang Sigismund Fassbender (played by Peter Sellers), but the doctor needs psychotherapy more than Michael James and for the same reason!
The result of this crazy plot, written by Woody Allen, is an insanely funny movie, set in the city of love: Paris. Will Michael be helped so that he can marry the woman he loves?
Favorite one liners: 1) "I like thighs, do you like thighs?" (Dr. Fassbender)
2) "Group analysis, do you really think it will help?" (Michael James) "Well if it doesn't work we will try something else because I use all kinds of unorthodox methods! For instance, I got the greatest success shutting people in dark closets!" (Dr. Fassbender)
3) "Oh Michael, this can't work. I'm 34 and you're 12." (Miss Marks, one of Michael James' school teachers, played by Barbara Sommers) "Don't be negative." (Michael James)
4) "If you followed me here, how did you contrive to be here before me?" (Michael James) "I followed you very fast." (Dr. Fassbender)
5) "I come from a family of acute nymphomaniacs." (Renee Lefebvre, played by Capucine)
6) "My father, the most beloved gynecologist in Vienna, before they took him away on a morals charge for indecent exposure at the State Opera House said, and I quote, 'Please do not take me away, I will not do it again!'" (Dr. Fassbender) "Brilliant quote." (Victor Skakapopulis, played by Woody Allen) "He was a brilliant pervert!" (Dr. Fassbender)
Rent this movie, kick back, and be prepared to laugh!!! Then ask yourself whether you would join one of Dr. Fassbender's group analysis meetings!
Army of Darkness (1992)
Pure Nonsense & Utter Stupidity!
I am truly amazed by the number of people that enjoyed this totally stupid movie. Some friends wanted to see this movie when it was released in 1993, and, not realizing what I was getting myself into, went with them. Had I not rode to the theater with one of my friends, I would have walked out of this celluloid disaster before it was half over! (If only I had drove my own car to the theater that night!)
This regurgitated "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" with a mixture of "The Siege" mentality was a complete waste of time and money!
I doubt that any of the actors in this totally forgettable flop use this on their resumes.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Very well done, very entertaining and fun to watch
Though I have not read the Harry Potter books, I saw this film and found it to be truly entertaining and fun movie to see.
Whether you are a child, a child at heart, or an adult that enjoys a good break from reality, it is very likely that you will enjoy watching this film.
The child actors are excellent (why couldn't George Lucas find one good child actor for Phantom Menace?), as are the adult actors in this film. The plot is wonderful.
My advice: sit back, watch the film on a big screen, and enjoy yourself!
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Overly-hyped, overly-long, whiney, sappy, melodramatic tripe
A friend of mine and I watched this overly-long 3-hour flick two weeks ago on DVD. Though the film has extravagant special effects, the characters and plot fail to live up to the massive hype that this film received when it was released.
Ben Affleck's character and the love story with Kate Beckinsale was nearly identical with his character in Armageddon. It's sad that he, the writers and producers of Pearl Harbor couldn't come up with something more original.
After 2 hours of watching this film, I nearly fell asleep. If the editors had cut most of the whiney, sappy & melodramatic tripe to have a 2-hour film, it would have been a much better, far more entertaining and much more exciting movie.
My advice: if you want to see a good film about the attack on Pearl Harbor, watch the History Channel or rent the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!".
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Really really bad remake
This Tim Burton remake of the original "Planet of the Apes" from 1968 (and starring Charleton Heston) is a far, far cry from the quality and plot of the original.
Certainly special effects have improved since 1968, but writing has not. The characters were boring and the dialog was awful. I sat through the entire film with a friend (who thankfully only rented it) and completely understood why, before Christmas, all of the "Planet of the Apes" toys at Target were in the clearance bin.
My advice to Tim Burton: don't put this on your resume.
My advice to everyone else: watch the original 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Not as good as the first three, but worth seeing
Phantom Menace is a very entertaining movie with excellent special effects, but failed to live up to the expectations generated by the first three Star Wars films.
In my opinion, the two things that caused the greatest harm to this movie were 1) Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker and 2) the character Jar Jar Binks. The first Harry Potter movie demonstrated that there are many very good child actors, so why couldn't George Lucas pick a good child actor to portray Anakin Skywalker? The character Jar Jar Binks sounds like a Jamaican wannabe reject that may appeal to some children, but definitely has no adult appeal whatsoever.
Though I was very disappointed to find out that the next Star Wars installment "Attack of the Clones" includes Jar Jar Binks again, at least Jake Lloyd couldn't grow up fast enough to portray an older Anakin Skywalker. Hopefully it will be a much better film than Phantom Menace.
My advice: see Phantom Menace, but do your best to ignore Jake Lloyd's poor acting and Jar Jar Binks' bad Jamaican accent.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
One of the best films of 2001
My hat is off to the producers, writers, actors and everyone else that made Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring one of the best films of 2001! I can't wait to see The Two Towers & The Return of the King!
My advice: don't miss this film on the big screen! I will definitely get a copy when it comes out on DVD.