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The Evil Dead
(1981)
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Mike Hughes
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There's a saving grace here: The movie may be revolting, but it shows some real skill.
Posted Mar 24, 2023
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2/4
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Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
(1992)
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Joe DeChick
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Innocuous and well-meaning -- and as bland as all get-out.
Posted Mar 07, 2023
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9 to 5
(1980)
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Bernard Drew
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Nine to Five is only good from Nine to Nine Thirty.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Salem's Lot
(2004)
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Mike Hughes
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On one level, this miniseries has its limits... It can't avoid becoming a nasty horror story. Still, it's a well-crafted one. Mikael Salomon, a gifted Danish director, provided a stylish look and got some understated performances.
Posted Oct 14, 2022
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Andy Warhol's Trash
(1970)
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Bernard Drew
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It is the sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, always powerful study of the garbage some of the beautiful flower children became in their search for truth, love and Darma amid the rubble of the East Village.
Posted Sep 21, 2022
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Fright Night
(1985)
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William Wolf
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It's only for the most undemanding of audiences.
Posted Sep 14, 2022
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A Man for All Seasons
(1966)
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Bernard Drew
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Scofield is every bit as magnificent as he was in the play -- it is the screen's most noble performance this year -- but there seems to be a coldness, a withdrawal, a do-not-touch-me-ness, which was less apparent in the play.
Posted Sep 06, 2022
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The Deer Hunter
(1978)
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Bernard Drew
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Despite its faults, The Deer Hunter is a formidable work which asks a great deal of its audience. The graphic brutality of the Vietnam scenes are devastatingly rendered, and it is a pulverizing experience.
Posted Aug 30, 2022
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Annie Hall
(1977)
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Bernard Drew
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It is not only the best movie Woody has ever made, it towers over any romantic comedy I have seen in the last 10 years, and perhaps even longer.
Posted Aug 25, 2022
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10/10
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Oliver & Company
(1988)
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Jack Garner
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The film's combination of a humorous script, fast pace, clever gags, superb casting of well-known voices and entertaining musical score make Oliver & Company the most enjoyable Disney film of the modern era for viewers of any age.
Posted Aug 23, 2022
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5/10
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The Land Before Time
(1988)
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Jack Garner
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The Land Before Time is strictly for younger viewers. Only they will be consistently intrigued by the film's simple plot, unembellished drama and overly strong sentimentality.
Posted Aug 23, 2022
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Platoon
(1986)
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William Wolf
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Platoon is a great movie, a monumental achievement that should stand among the best and most important of anti-war films.
Posted Aug 23, 2022
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Creepshow
(1982)
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Jack Garner
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It's written with a fair amount of wit and style by horror master Stephen King, and directed with energy and garish, comic book colors by George Romero.
Posted Aug 09, 2022
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The Sting
(1973)
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Bernard Drew
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The String, which runs for more than two hours, has no more than three or four good jokes in it and settles, for the rest of the time, for shticks, gimmicks and twists which reach a point of diminishing returns before the movie is half over.
Posted Aug 08, 2022
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Terms of Endearment
(1983)
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Bernard Drew
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James L. Brooks' Terms of Endearment, based on the Larry McMurtry novel, is a simply sensational movie that sweeps over 25 years from uproarious laughter to tears.
Posted Jul 21, 2022
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48 HRS.
(1982)
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Bernard Drew
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The action never stops. Neither does the humor. Murphy is a riot throughout.
Posted Jul 19, 2022
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Gandhi
(1982)
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Bernard Drew
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It is not easy to make goodness, in this case saintliness, interesting, but Attenborough and Kingsley have achieved it. There isn't a slow or dull moment in its three and a half hours running time.
Posted Jul 19, 2022
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Chariots of Fire
(1981)
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Bernard Drew
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Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire is a masterpiece -- the finest film on sports ever made... The film celebrates the seemingly infinite limits of the human spirit when inflamed with a holy zeal.
Posted Jul 18, 2022
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Ordinary People
(1980)
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Bernard Drew
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Alvin Sargent's screenplay is admirable and the performances by young Hutton, Sutherland (his best in years) and Moore are all remarkable.
Posted Jul 15, 2022
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Amadeus
(1984)
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William Wolf
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Amadeus has a glibness that was disguised by the author's theatrical concept and the smart staging. On screen, the gimmicky idea becomes bloated and pretentious, losing its magic and zip.
Posted Jul 11, 2022
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Thief
(1981)
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Bernard Drew
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Not a moment of true feeling is allowed to peep through this miasma of phony artiness and pretension.
Posted Jul 07, 2022
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Up the Down Staircase
(1967)
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Bernard Drew
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Up the Down Staircase is not a bad picture. At moments it is a good one. but for a film adapted from the Kaufman hook and directed by Mulligan, it is not good enough.
Posted Jul 01, 2022
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Tess
(1979)
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Bernard Drew
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A beautifully wrought, handsomely produced, flawlessly directed and acted film. It's as faithful to its source as any film version of a novel I've ever seen, and in addition, is possessed of an exquisite, incandescent performance by Nastassja Kinski.
Posted Jun 17, 2022
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Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
(1969)
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Bernard Drew
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Nothing made in America, around now or ever, it seems to me, approaches the cool sophistication, the sly satire, and trenchant unmasking of the manners, morals and good natured, complacent hypocrisy of our lives as has Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
Posted Jun 16, 2022
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Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
(1973)
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Bernard Drew
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There seems to be a killing every five minutes in "Pat Garrett," but who is killing whom and why, are rather fuzzy and of minor consideration.
Posted Jun 14, 2022
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Buck and the Preacher
(1972)
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Bernard Drew
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Humorous, exciting, likable, and enormously entertaining. If all that were not enough, when the picture seeks to be more than an entertainment and make a few trenchant comments, it does so with irony and wit.
Posted May 26, 2022
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The Last Starfighter
(1984)
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William Wolf
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The movie is entertaining in an unpretentious way. It also is extremely good-natured, despite the combat scenes, and some may find it a welcome relief from the summers more intense fantasy films.
Posted May 03, 2022
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3/4
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I Like It Like That
(1994)
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Marshall Fine
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I Like It Like That is fresh, funny and original. Give it a chance and it will win you over.
Posted Mar 01, 2022
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A New Leaf
(1971)
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Bernard Drew
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It is a very funny, witty gray comedy and it's a wonderful showcase for [May's] special talents and those of Matthau.
Posted Feb 10, 2022
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3/4
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Sidewalk Stories
(1989)
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Marshall Fine
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Sidewalk Stories is the find of the season -- a small, rough diamond of great heart and humor in a season usually reserved for large projects of too-calculated social importance.
Posted Jan 24, 2022
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4/4
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L.A. Confidential
(1997)
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Marshall Fine
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L.A. Confidential glistens like a new car, but has the darkened soul of the best film noir in which good men are tempted by bad ideas. This is one of the year's best films, the thinking person's detective story.
Posted Oct 19, 2021
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2/4
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Go Fish
(1994)
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Marshall Fine
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Go Fish obviously was shot on a small budget. That's no excuse, however, for simplistic camera work and stiff writing and acting.
Posted Aug 25, 2021
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Rear Window
(1954)
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Jack Garner
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Many fans of the director's work favor Vertigo, but I am among those who feel Rear Window's straightforward narrative, highly cinematic style, dry wit, excellent performances and flawless script are unsurpassable.
Posted Jun 07, 2021
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Testament
(1983)
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Bernard Drew
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It is shattering, devastating and unforgettable. Jane Alexander deserves an Oscar for her performance as the mother of the family.
Posted May 10, 2021
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3/4
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The Ballad of Little Jo
(1993)
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Marshall Fine
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The film boasts a marvelously etched characterization by Amis, an underrated young actress. But it's nearly stolen by Bo Hopkins as one of her cantankerous neighbors, in a colorful performance.
Posted Mar 18, 2021
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3.5/4
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Wayne's World
(1992)
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Marshall Fine
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Wayne's World is fast, funny and imaginative. It's a loopy, wacky treat. No way? Way!
Posted Mar 11, 2021
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4/4
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The Joy Luck Club
(1993)
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Marshall Fine
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The ensemble cast is perfect... All of the women playing the daughters Rosalind Chao, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita and Ming-Na Wen are equally strong, though Wen and Tomita are particularly affecting.
Posted Dec 17, 2020
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Howard the Duck
(1986)
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William Wolf
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If it's for children, it's in atrocious taste and steeped in so much special-effects violence that parents might think twice about taking [their kids]. If it's meant as a comic strip for teen-agers or young adults, the script insults the intelligence.
Posted Dec 14, 2020
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Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze
(1979)
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Bill Hayden
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This is a well-conceived film that manages to succeed both as biography and drama in its sensitive and understanding exploration of a performer who deserved success but was unable to cope with it.
Posted May 06, 2020
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Do the Right Thing
(1989)
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Jack Garner
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Spike Lee, the innovative creator of the cult films She's Gotta Have It and School Daze, makes a quantum leap in substance and style with his latest movie.
Posted Apr 28, 2020
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3/4
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Lady in White
(1988)
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Jack Garner
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Lady in While is frequently impressive film making that builds to an exciting, even frightening, conclusion.
Posted Apr 15, 2020
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1/4
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Casual Sex?
(1988)
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Jack Garner
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Casual Sex? is a casual mess. It's casual in that it is shallow, uninvolving, superficial and leaves no lasting impression, and a mess in that it's ... a mess.
Posted Apr 15, 2020
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Silver Bullet
(1985)
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William Wolf
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There just isn't any style or excitement in this rather tired film.
Posted Mar 31, 2020
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The Journey of Natty Gann
(1985)
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William Wolf
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The Journey of Natty Gann proves that family entertainment doesn't have to be pap but can make demands on audiences and give them a more realistic view of America.
Posted Mar 30, 2020
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La Bamba
(1987)
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Jack Garner
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Valens, meanwhile, is played with likeable charm and refreshing innocence by relative newcomer Lou Diamond Phillips. Among the large supporting cast, Rosana De Soto stands out as Ritchie's proud and loving mother.
Posted Mar 24, 2020
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4/4
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Bull Durham
(1988)
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Jack Garner
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Bull Durham puts Shelton in the Hollywood big leagues, and he's hit his very first pitch over the scoreboard in centerfield.
Posted Mar 24, 2020
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Racetrack
(1985)
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Bill Hayden
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After seeing the two-hour film, no one will ever again approach in the same way this widely celebrated yet brief time on the dirt track.
Posted Nov 16, 2019
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One Crazy Summer
(1986)
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Steve Dollar
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The jokes are as predictable as they are flat, enlivened only by Goldthwait's hyperactive shenanigans.
Posted Nov 15, 2019
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The Ann Jillian Story
(1988)
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Mike Hughes
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Loliianco has taken a cliche (the tough guy who cares) and brought it to life. Jillian has taken a one of a kind role and filled it with human passion.
Posted Nov 15, 2019
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off
(1986)
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William Wolf
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off should warm the heart of every student who would love to play hooky from school. It also may bring back memories for grownups who think back to the good old days.
Posted Nov 15, 2019
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