Slow and steady seems to be the pace with Roger Moore’s improvement as James Bond. This marks his third appearance in a Bond film (the 10th in the series) and would be Moore’s point of no return. After The Spy Who Loved Me, Moore would portray Bond as arrogant in his desirability, essentially forcing himself upon women because he knew they subconsciously wanted his pretty-boy man juices, even if they didn’t know it yet and however hard they would resist.
An improvement for Moore, although his second outing as James Bond still comes up short. While it may be one of the more entertaining Moore-helmed Bond flicks, it suffers from being a bit too silly, over the top and even unoriginal.
Sean Connery returns as 007 in this film, after swearing of the series two films prior. Supposedly the money was right to get a return performance out of him. His performance is what makes the film worthwhile, although some would argue against my reasoning.
I absolutely love Stephen King’s work, and The Stand is no exception. It was one of King’s earliest novels, and yet it is one of his greatest achievements. Sadly, the translation from novel to film would be near impossible. Some of the key events (especially towards the end) would be impossible to convincingly create, which makes me wonder why anyone thought it could be turned into a TV mini-series.
Sean Connery had had enough of James Bond and did not accept the offer to play the suave super spy in this, the sixth installment of the James Bond series. Filling in for Connery is Australian model George Lazenby. Often times this film is cited as one of the most inferior in the series. I actually quite enjoyed it.
Head East, old chap!
The terrorist organization known as S.P.E.C.T.R.E. hijacks two nuclear warheads and attempt to hold the world for ransom or else they will unleash a nuclear crisis. Enter James Bond. He manages to get mixed up in all this while at a health club, where he is supposed to be improving his body. After important meetings with his boss he sets off to track down one of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.’s top men and the one in possession of the bombs.
Gregory Peck is a man’s man. He’s taken on many challenges in his acting career, and The Omen pits him against the spawn of Satan. Peck’s wife has a complicated pregnancy which results in a still-birth, but his wife in unconscious and has no clue. To cover it up, her husband switches babies with some monks and takes on Damien as his son.
Convoluted and fast-paced, Spike Lee has crafted his most commercial and mainstream film to date. Things are not what they seem to be during all parts of the film. A bank robbery that is not really a bank robbery, but turns out to be a bank robbery after all and more; a robber who’s true motive goes untold but we’re left to believe he committed the crime for the greater good; Christopher Plummer as the bank owner with a secret; and Jodie Foster, well, basically being Jodie Foster.
A unique and, at times, jarring quasi-literal portrayal of the events contained in the Book of Revelation, The Seventh Sign is not for everybody. In fact, only those who are seriously interested in Christian eschatology should bother watching it, because the everyday Christian will think “They got it wrong!” and those who know nothing about Christianity will think “This is what they believe?”
Like many of the “true Chinese epics” to hit theaters in the last decade, Hero is long-winded and stretches the viewer's ability to believe that the Chinese actually believe these things happened as they transpire in the film.
You would think that an 81 minute long film would fly by all too quickly, but Gus Van Sant’s muted tale of a high school shooting feels like a normal running time film. In just a short stretch of time, Van Sant manages to craft a collage of high school life that, while partially stereotypical and cliché, often reflects the reality of modern youth. 
Often times this film is lauded as superior to its predecessor, the original Star Wars. It can sometimes be hotly disputed even amongst die-hard fans. Empire has several superior elements: a better story with more well-rounded and developed characters, a deeper exploration of the mythology of The Force, and a grittier overall attitude and demeanor as opposed to the flash and camp of the original. 
The turning point in the Bond series and the best of the over-the-top, camp and gadget-filled sequels that would follow. Bond finds himself investigating a mysterious Swiss gold magnate suspected of illegally transporting his vast riches between nations. 
Without a doubt, this is the best of the serious Bond films to date. The script is excellent and the plot is very believable. In return for amnesty after her defection, a Russian agent also promises to deliver a decoding device that will help the West in its struggles against the Soviets. 
The very first Bond film got things started off right. There’s plenty of mystery and intrigue, a helping of sexiness and very little camp and gadgetry. The opening theme song is now legendary, although the plot of this film is largely forgetful. 
Lots of style and lots of attitude make this film work. It also helps that it has a killer soundtrack to boot. John Travolta’s character dreams of escaping his dead-end life in Brooklyn. On the weekends, he finds his momentary escape by becoming the king of the dance floor in the still-underground disco scene.
I think if you put Michael Jackson in charge of a candy company the outcome would be fairly similar to this “re-imagining” of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story.
I’ll be honest: Rob Zombie’s first foray into film was a complete mess. House of 1,000 Corpses was chaotic and made very little sense. I was quite dismayed and worried when I learned that Lion’s Gate felt House was successful enough to merit a sequel.
This lackluster popcorn flick borrows heavily from several more respectable sources, including Prizzi’s Honor (a story about a hit man and a hit woman falling in love with each other, despite accepting to perform hits on each other) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith (about a couple whose marriage isn’t what it used to be and they discover that they aren’t legally married, leading them to wonder where they can go from here).
Wildly weird, shamelessly indulgent and intentionally vulgar, Boogie Nights is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second major motion picture, the first of his films he was truly happy with, and much, much more.
Sadly, this film suffers most from being so dated. The Cold War is over, so young viewers won’t really understand this Reagan era quasi-propaganda film. And of course, with today’s stereotyping of mid-westerners and conservatives as gun loving weirdos, this film has also been cited a few times in anti-gun and anti-militia propaganda.
If this film had been shot and produced in the same manner as conventional films, it would have been a failure. The saving grace of this neo-noir comic book film is its style and art direction. Sin City is a visual masterpiece that really looks like a comic book in motion. Because of this, some of the effects that would seem laughable in any other film are laudable here.
I wanted my 300th film to be special, and selecting the Godfather Part 2 for my milestone movie was a very wise pick.
Don’t tell Hollywood that I didn’t give Schindler’s List my highest possible rating. I understand the power of the film and the drama that unfolds but the truth is that I feel that I’ve seen better and more heart-wrenching depictions of the Holocaust than what’s presented here.
Just as smart and dynamic as The Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne should be considered James Bond with brains. While many spy movies get caught up in camp and gadgetry, the Bourne films use their wits and instincts to barrel you through one adventure ride to the next.
I was never much of a Jamie Fox fan as far as his stand-up and TV work goes, so it was a breath of fresh air to see him in a serious role. It was also neat to see Tom Cruise as a bad guy, which he pulls off rather well. Director Michael Mann delivers a taught, harrowing suspense movie with a gripping human element.
Brainless popcorn fodder is what this mess of bad science and inference amounts to. Essentially, it’s an attempt to create an American version of The Da Vinci Code. It even succumbs to America’s greatest vice- greed. Instead of a controversial, well-sought after relic like the grail in Da Vinci, the heroes and villains of National Treasure are after, well, treasure. It’s a meaningless search for something that has no radical impact on anything profound (okay, so some bad guys would get rich- whoop-dee-doo).
Proof that Angelina Jolie’s breasts do not guarantee box office success. This movie is even more ridiculous than the first and the only reason this film is not relegated to the 0.25 star section is because, well, Angelina Jolie is hot. 
I don’t have much to say about this film, besides that I think it’s one that everyone should see. I certainly do not think that if everybody sees this that we will gain any ground on race relations in this country, but it will definitely give a lot of people a wake-up call.
I enjoy pleasant surprises. One of the all-time US box office bombs, I picked up The Island expecting to watch a delightful disaster that would fit nicely in my lower ranks. As it turns out, there are only a few things wrong with The Island.
This film was created by evangelical dispensationalist Christians during a time when it seemed plausible that the Rapture could occur, especially considering the popularity of Hal Lindsey’s guide to the pending apocalypse “The Late Great Planet Earth” at the time. Basically, if you read and believed Lindsey’s theories that the events of Revelations would come to pass no later than 1988, this movie probably seemed better to you than it did to me when I watched it in 2006. Seeing as the world didn’t end in 1988 (unless I’m unaware of something here) this film is now little more than a cult-classic used for evangelical recruiting.
Realistically, this probably shouldn’t be rated so high, because this “movie” is simply three unaired episodes of Family Guy tacked together without commercials. There are breaks where the commercials would go (where the screen goes black quick) or an obvious jump cut, instead of seamless movie action.
One would typically expect a film that ultimately pits Arnold Schwarzenegger against Satan would be laughable and tacky. Fortunately, the director knew the weakness of the ultimate plot and decided to spice it up with a whole lot of Christian imagery and symbolism. There’s a lot going on in this film, and most of it is in the details.
I’m trying to come up with a mathematical equation that will make this film make sense. I think I’ve got it:
Monty Python is hilarious, and this movie is a re-working of some of the best skits from the first two seasons of their Flying Circus television show. If you’ve seen the show, you’ve probably seen the skits before. This time, it just lacks a laugh track.
Quentin Tarantino’s original masterpiece, this film shows us what the director was capable of doing. The success of Reservoir Dogs on the Indie circuit elevated his credibility to the point where he acquired the funding to create his magnum opus, Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s style is still in the refining stages here, and compared to Pulp Fiction, Dogs is grittier and less polished. But what do you expect from a first time indie director who learned all he knows about movies from working at a video store?
I realize that chick flicks are notoriously unrealistic and sugar-coated, but my brain hurt for days over the ridiculous premise of this one. Julia Roberts plays a superstar actress fed up with all the paparazzi swarming her. She’s making a film in and around Notting Hill, in the West end of London, which is where Hugh Grant (playing the same daff everyman he almost always plays). Grant accidentally runs into Roberts on the street covering her with his beverage and he lets her clean up at his apartment (which is conveniently nearby) so she doesn’t have to deal with fans and cameras.
I can see why this movie didn’t do so well for Quentin Tarantino. This was his third full length directorial effort, but his first adapted screen play. His first two films, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were written by him and thus had his personal style oozing from all corners. With Jackie Brown, he adapted a book, limiting what he could do with the characters and story. There’s not as much Tarantino flair in this one.
