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3.5/4
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The Color Purple
(1985)
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Robert W. Butler
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While there are numerous moments... when Mr. Spielberg wobbles on unsteady legs, he has led a top-notch cast through a carefully constructed series of emotional plateaus to a deeply satisfying conclusion. It's clearly one of the year's best films.
Posted May 25, 2023
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3/4
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A Chorus Line
(1985)
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Robert W. Butler
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It lacks the stunning theatricality of the stage production, but it is reasonably diverting and every now and then lit up by flashes of genuine excitement.
Posted May 25, 2023
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3.5/4
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
(1993)
|
Calvin Wilson
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This animated addition to the Batman myth is that rarity -- a mystery that is genuinely absorbing, suspenseful and moving.
Posted May 23, 2023
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Girlfriends
(1978)
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Robert W. Butler
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Without Miss Mayron it could have been a disaster, but her characterization is so winning with its childlike vulnerability and tentative thrusts toward independence that it gives the film a core of emotion not readily apparent in the script or direction.
Posted May 17, 2023
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2.5/4
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An American Tail
(1986)
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Robert W. Butler
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Serious animation fans are likely to regard Tail as a small step backwards. Still, there's plenty to enjoy here.
Posted May 17, 2023
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Fiddler on the Roof
(1971)
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Giles M. Fowler
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I found the effect unintentionally, even paradoxically vulgar (what with such obvious pains taken to make the film tasteful), in that something modest and truly poetic has been turned into something grand and somehow inharmonious.
Posted May 16, 2023
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3.5/4
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Heavenly Creatures
(1994)
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Robert W. Butler
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With a relentlessly restless camera and superb wide-screen photography, [Jackson] with a wholly original look and feel.
Posted May 16, 2023
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3/4
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Crossing Delancey
(1988)
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Robert W. Butler
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Riegert has the rare ability to make common decency seem wonderfully attractive; in fact hard to think of another actor who could have brought off this role. Bozyk, a veteran of Yiddish theater who here makes her film debut, is simply wonderful.
Posted May 15, 2023
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen
(1933)
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Jack Moffitt
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Though Barbara Stanwyck is starred and gives her usual finished performance, [it is Nils Asther] that makes the picture notable.
Posted Apr 24, 2023
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3 Women
(1977)
|
Giles M. Fowler
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It is both exquisitely made and intelligently thought out.
Posted Apr 07, 2023
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2.5/4
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Army of Darkness
(1992)
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Robert W. Butler
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Army of Darkness is a great bad movie. It’s an extravaganza of B-movie sensibilities, a kinetic pigout of go-bonkers cinematic overkill, a non-stop orgy of violence and low humor. In short, it’s the movie every nerdy adolescent wanted to make someday.
Posted Mar 31, 2023
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3/4
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Evil Dead 2
(1987)
|
Robert Trussell
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Raimi has provided a slam-bang roller coaster of a gorefest that is a superior example of the most indestructible of genres, the independent horror movie.
Posted Mar 29, 2023
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The Black Pirate
(1926)
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Jack Moffitt
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"Marvelous" is probably the best adjective to use by way of the picture's description.
Posted Mar 22, 2023
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The Devil Horse
(1926)
|
KC Star Staff
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Far superior to the usual manufactured plot that is created to give an animal a chance to perform tricks that might well be confined to the vaudeville stage.
Posted Mar 21, 2023
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4/4
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Come and See
(1985)
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Robert Trussell
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Rare is the film that successfully blends intoxicating visual images with unrelentingly grim material, but Russian director Elem Klimov's phenomenal Come and See is such a movie.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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2.5/4
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Boys on the Side
(1995)
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Robert W. Butler
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The film alternately is furiously funny and ickily sappy.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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The Dark Angel
(1935)
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Landon Laird
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A picture that contains beauty in writing, intelligence in direction and sincerity and appeal in acting.
Posted Mar 10, 2023
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One Sings, the Other Doesn't
(1977)
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Robert W. Butler
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Here is a motion picture that speaks wisely, eloquently and with real spirit to the essence of womanhood and, by extension, to what it means to be human.
Posted Mar 08, 2023
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1953)
|
KC Star Staff
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The movie is well filmed, and the musical numbers are well done.
Posted Mar 07, 2023
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1.5/4
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Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
(1992)
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Robert W. Butler
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Maybe there's too much talent pulling at the material, because the result is bland, boring and unsatisfying. All too often, in fact, Little Nemo seems to be a third-rate counterfeit of a Disney film.
Posted Mar 07, 2023
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2/4
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9 to 5
(1980)
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Robert W. Butler
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Despite the disappointing second half, Nine to Five offers some good performances.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Sayonara
(1957)
|
KC Star Staff
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A bright chapter in the movie new year.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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2.5/4
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Thelma & Louise
(1991)
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Robert W. Butler
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Uneven as it is, Thelma & Louise is modestly successful because of its two fine stars and because it takes a different look at an old genre.
Posted Feb 28, 2023
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Flower Drum Song
(1961)
|
KC Star Staff
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Not only has there been more development of the story... but, more mileage is obtained from the show's songs.
Posted Feb 27, 2023
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Safety Last
(1923)
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KC Star Staff
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Although the story is built around the climbing "stunt" the film offers any number of amusing incidents, and some of Mr. Lloyd's experiences as a ribbon clerk, especially on bargain day, are immensely funny.
Posted Feb 21, 2023
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2.5/4
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Godzilla
(1998)
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Robert W. Butler
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Whenever this sleek, streamlined Godzilla is whipping through the canyons of Manhattan at 60 mph, the movie is a hoot. When homo sapiens rule, it's a snore.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
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2.5/4
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Wild Things
(1998)
|
Robert W. Butler
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The characters aren't particularly interesting, except for their kinky sexual proclivities. And while the switcher plot revelations are mildly satisfying, what happens in between is fairly unremarkable.
Posted Feb 02, 2023
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Back to Bataan
(1945)
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KC Star Staff
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There's lots of action in this film and the acting generally is good.
Posted Jan 31, 2023
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Diabolique
(1955)
|
KC Star Staff
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Tells a story made to order for those who like their film fare stark, gruesome and full of surprises.
Posted Jan 26, 2023
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3/4
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The Big Lebowski
(1998)
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Robert W. Butler
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The Big Lebowski is shallow and empty and horrendously profane -- and about as much fun as you can have legally.
Posted Jan 24, 2023
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Frankenstein
(1931)
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KC Star Staff
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Frankenstein is unadulterated horror, but it is horror cleverly done... Next to Mr. Whale's deft direction, one is impressed by the performance of Boris Karloff as the monster.
Posted Jan 18, 2023
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2.5/4
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Eve's Bayou
(1997)
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Robert W. Butler
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Lemmons reaches for more than she can deliver. Still, give us high ambitions over lowball moviemaking any day.
Posted Jan 09, 2023
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3/4
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Down in the Delta
(1998)
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Robert W. Butler
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This is a big-hearted film about finding one's roots, crammed with old-fashioned pleasures, solid acting and sentiment that never cloys.
Posted Jan 05, 2023
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The Lady Eve
(1941)
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KC Star Staff
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No straight faces at this one, and very few breathing spells from laughs that follow at the heels of Barbara Stanwyck, as the daughter of an astute card shark, and Henry Fonda, as the marked "fall guy" for stacked decks.
Posted Dec 29, 2022
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
(1937)
|
Landon Laird
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Its color is warm and eye-filling. Its humor is fresh and sparkling, and the music [has] a consistent lilt. Oh shoot, that's all were going to write about Snow White at this time. We're getting into a car to go up to the [theater] and see it again!
Posted Dec 21, 2022
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3/4
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Groundhog Day
(1993)
|
Robert W. Butler
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This is without doubt the wittiest Bill Murray film ever, filled with verbal, physical and even thematic gags that satisfy on several levels simultaneously.
Posted Dec 21, 2022
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2.5/4
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Braveheart
(1995)
|
Robert W. Butler
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The bone-crunching chaos of a medieval melee has rarely been so effectively captured... That's pretty much the story on this three-hour epic -- riveting when it comes to battles and the camaraderie of fighting men, a bit shaky the rest of the time.
Posted Nov 18, 2022
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Gentleman's Agreement
(1947)
|
KC Star Staff
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The fearlessness with which the film assaults the barriers of prejudice is the force behind the drama.
Posted Nov 16, 2022
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The Maltese Falcon
(1941)
|
KC Star Staff
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What distinguishes the "Falcon" most, however, is a literate and sensible air derived from the belief there is nothing so valuable in a mystery as understatement.
Posted Nov 11, 2022
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Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944)
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KC Star Staff
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The charm of the film lies precisely in that rush of ingenuousness, that lovely and happy creation of a warm horse-and-buggy mood.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
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King Kong
(1933)
|
Landon Laird
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King Kong therefore should be seen just to understand what tricks a few talented picture-takers and picture contrivers can do with their cameras and with their minds.
Posted Nov 10, 2022
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939)
|
Jack Moffitt
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington [is] a picture as hearty and jolly as Santa Claus, as rich in human juices as a turkey is in gravy. If there are any old chestnuts in the dressing they are made palatable by the Capra flavor. You'll relish the whole thing.
Posted Nov 09, 2022
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3/4
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Dances With Wolves
(1990)
|
Robert W. Butler
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The cynic in everyone wants to dig in its heels and stubbornly resist. But on a purely emotional level, Costner’s directing debut is extremely satisfying.
Posted Nov 07, 2022
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The Shop Around the Corner
(1940)
|
Jack Moffitt
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The boy and the girl story is surrounded by the life of the store which is revealed through a set of characters whom you'll love and recognize as the friends and heel of your workaday life.
Posted Nov 07, 2022
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Stalag 17
(1953)
|
Jack Moffitt
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A truly remarkable job has been done in toning down Stalag 17 from the stage version while preserving the rowdy profane humor as well as the melodrama which made this play a solid Broadway hit.
Posted Nov 05, 2022
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The President's Mystery
(1936)
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Landon Laird
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, it would appear, in addition to being a more than able campaigner for public office, has a neat hand at devising ideas for interesting motion picture productions.
Posted Oct 25, 2022
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The Thief of Bagdad
(1924)
|
KC Star Staff
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One can but mark "100 plus" on Mr. Fairbanks's report cards, in production, artistry, story and acting and send him out to get his diploma.
Posted Oct 21, 2022
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Shanghai Express
(1932)
|
Jack Moffitt
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If you want a lot of film for your money, stay through to the end. If you prefer quality to quantity, get up when they fade out the scene of Anna May Wong playing solitaire.
Posted Oct 21, 2022
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Peter Pan
(1924)
|
KC Star Staff
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Peter Pan is more than a child's picture. It is one of the monumental pictures the industry has produced.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
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The Toll of the Sea
(1922)
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KC Star Staff
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The coloring of the faces of the players and even of every thread of the wonderful Chinese costumes is so realistic that one forgets at times that it is a picture and that the players aren't really there in actual flesh and blood.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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