Roberto Benigni co-wrote, directed and stars in this comedy-drama about the horrors of World War II. It’s an unusual film that begins as a light-hearted romantic comedy and ends with a descent into the hell of WWII labor camps. The film begins with Guido Orefice (Benigni) and his friend arrvingContinue Reading
For those of you that immediately flinch when the name Shakespeare is mentioned, and who have all but put seeing this movie out of your mind as a result, let me assure you that this movie is not a drab, dull march down the musty halls of a literary tortureContinue Reading
The first of Hollywood’s computer animated bug movies has arrived in theaters. Dreamworks’ Antz proceeds A Bug’s Life, from Disney, by almost two months. One shouldn’t confuse the two. Antz is aimed squarely at adults, while A Bug’s Life is targeted directly at children, with a little humor to keepContinue Reading
In The Professional, Jean Reno plays Leon, a professional hitman, or “cleaner,” who takes in his 12-year-old next door neighbor and teaches her his trade. Mathilda (Natalie Portman) has narrowly escaped getting murdered — unlike the rest of her family — by corrupt DEA agent Stansfield, played with violent gleeContinue Reading
When this movie burst into theaters in 1991, it caused a bit of commotion. It was heralded by some as being an eye-opening account of life in troubled communities of inner city Los Angeles. It was condemned by others as a violent exploitation of the same issue. To anyone that’sContinue Reading
Los Angeles crime boss Mickey Cohen has been arrested and is serving a ten year sentence. A vacancy at the organized crime throne makes it open season for out-of-town thugs to try to move in and assume control. The L.A. police force, headed by Dudley Smith (James Cromwell), resort toContinue Reading
Tom Hanks makes his feature film directorial debut in this rather light-hearted and enjoyable comedy-drama about a young rock-and-roll band in 1964. Now, personally, I wasn’t expecting to like this film very much. The trailers, which I’d seen umpteen thousand times on video and theater screens, didn’t exactly paint theContinue Reading