David Mamet’s early directorial work, including the previously reviewed Oleanna, featured what has become known in some circles as “Mamet-speak”. Mamet-speak has the characters spouting lines of dialogue almost on top of one another and, in most cases, repeating information back and forth and asking the same questions repeatedly. It’sContinue Reading
Laszlo (Joachim Krol) is a successful Jewish restaurant owner in Budapest, Hungary circa 1938. His lovely assistant, Ilona (Erika Marozsan), is his biggest asset as well as his lover. When Laszlo and Ilona decide to hire a pianist, Andras (Stefano Dionisi) walks in and steals Ilona’s heart. However, she becomesContinue Reading
After sitting through it, I have only one question about Spun, one of the most horrifyingly bad movies I’ve ever seen: “How in the world did so many talented people agree to appear in this absolutely disgusting film?” To whit, we have a cast comprised of Jason Schwartzman, who wasContinue Reading
One of the great things about movie-going is that you will occasionally see an actor or actress in a performance that you know is going to change their career. Sometimes you see a film that provides that career-making role for two people. Rarely, though, do you see a film thatContinue Reading
In 1979, a film called Over the Edge perfectly captured the angst of being a teenager. That film, although it looks somewhat dated today, still has not been topped in its spot-on portrayal of teenage boredom, non-attentive adults, non-attentive school systems and all the possible pitfalls of growing up, includingContinue Reading
Made in 1967 — during the Vietnam War — Beach Red has something that war movies lacked up until that time: a conscience. I might be wrong — and I welcome any corrections — but this may be the first war movie to concentrate as much on the fear ofContinue Reading
It was a dark and stormy night. No, really. That’s how Identity begins its tale of psychological horror. A family of three are driving down a dark road during the aforementioned storm when their car suffers a blow out. As the father, played by John C. McGinley, changes the tire,Continue Reading