David Mamet’s play Oleanna gained notoriety by debuting immediately following Anita Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas as he attempted to win a seat on the Supreme Court. Those hearings brought the ideas of perceived sexual harassment to the forefront of mainstream awareness, prompting discussions of the subject in allContinue Reading
Larry Flynt was never a name that I recognized with the immediacy of, say, Hugh Hefner or Bob Guccione. Not that those names incur recognition for everyone, but I will confess to reading at least a few of each of their respective publications. I’d been wanting to see this filmContinue Reading
Garrison, New Jersey is a town directly across the river from New York City. Finding a loophole in the clause that says that only transit officers can live outside of the city, NYPD officers looking for a place to raise their families have taken out low interest loans, bought upContinue Reading
Whew! Having heard reviewers sing its praises and watching Nicolas Cage receive the Best Actor Academy Award in 1996 for this performance was not enough to prepare me for the experience of watching Leaving Las Vegas. The only word that I can use to describe the experience is “haunting.” BenContinue Reading
The Coen Brothers are responsible for some of the weirdest movies to come down the pike in Hollywood history. Movies like Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink and Miller’s Crossing are examples of their sheer, odd genius. Fargo is their best and most coherent work to date. To give tooContinue Reading
Trainspotting follows Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his band of friends, most of them heroin addicts, through their trials and tribulations on the streets and backrooms of Edinburgh, Scotland. Renton is determined to get off heroin and make something of himself, but routinely falls prey to temptation and returns to theContinue Reading
The 1980’s produced a lot of “teenage sex” movies, most of which are inane and revolting. 1989’s Say Anything is a complete surprise. It’s intelligent, funny, and full of wisdom. John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobler, who is a teenager with the unique goal of being a champion kickboxer. He doesn’tContinue Reading