...But the second act is pandering and the third is trickery, and whatever Fincher thinks the message is, that's not what most audience members will get. "Fight Club" is a thrill ride masque…
"A Clockwork Orange" commits another, perhaps even more unforgivable, artistic sin. It is just plain talky and boring. You know there's something wrong with a movie when the last third feels…
The story builds up to a blinding revelation, which shifts the nature of all that has gone before, and the surprise filled me not with delight but with the feeling that the writer, Christopher McQuarr…
A foolish choice in art direction casts a pall over Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" that no swordplay can cut through. The film looks muddy, fuzzy and indistinct. Its colors are mud tones at the …
Here's a suggestion for thrillermakers: You can't go wrong if all of the characters in your movie are at least as intelligent as most of the characters in your audience.
"Dead Poets Society" is not the worst of the countless recent movies about good kids and hidebound, authoritatian older people. It may, however, be the most shameless in its attempt to pande…
I kept asking myself what the film was really trying to say about the human condition as reflected by John Merrick, and I kept drawing blanks. The film's philosophy is this shallow: (1)Wow, the Elepha…
Although Hitchcock tried to choreograph his 10-minute takes so that the camera would be where the drama demanded it, there are moments when it seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And tha…
The movie is very hard to follow. I have seen it twice, and am still not sure exactly who all the characters are, or how they fit.
Perhaps it is not supposed to be clear; perhaps the movie's air of co…
"Blue Velvet" is like the guy who drives you nuts by hinting at horrifying news and then saying, "Never mind." There's another thing. Rossellini is asked to do things in this film …
“Papillon” is a movie like that: an expensive, exhaustive, 150-minute odyssey that doesn’t so much conclude as cross the finish line and collapse. It has been outfitted with expensive stars and a glos…
A great-looking movie with a plot you can’t care much about. All of the big moments in the movie are pounded home with ear-shattering sound effects and a jackhammer cutting style, but that just serves…
The plot is lame, but that doesn't matter, because "Dumb and Dumber" is essentially pitched at the level of an "Airplane!"-style movie, with rapid-fire sight gags. Some of them wor…
If this summary seems truncated, it's because an accurate description of this movie dialogue might read like the missing chapters from Finnegans Wake. Because the actors have cartoon faces, the action…
The conclusion is so lame it's disheartening. Surely anyone clever enough to dream up Edward Scissorhands should be swift enough to think of a payoff that involves our imagination.
"Dogville" can be defended and even praised on pure ideological grounds, but most moviegoers, even those who are sophisticated and have open minds, are going to find it a very dry and unsati…
"Erin Brockovich" has a screenplay with the depth and insight of a cable-TV docudrama, and that won't do for a 126-minute "major production." Maybe it's not that the necklines are …
The movie goes on and on, repeating the same setup and the same payoff: Duke and Gonzo take drugs, stagger into new situations, blunder, fall about, wreak havoc, and retreat to their hotel suite. The …
And so what we get, finally, is a movie of attitudes. Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life's hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes eve…
The most offensive thing about the movie is its hypocrisy; it is totally committed to the pornography of violence, but lays on the moral outrage with a shovel.
A movie tribute poll saluting those who courageously act to stop illegal acts, corruption, fraud or other types of injustice. According to Wikipedia, a whistleblower movie portrays a person who expos…
The cases featured in these movies made history. Both, as landmark, influential and precedent setting cases, as well as, more infamous and sensational cases. Regardless of the reasons, all these case…
The Golden State is the official nickname of California. Between California's explosive growth following the discovery of gold in 1848, the fields of golden poppies that appear each spring throughout …
"The answer my friend, is blowin' the whistle..." Steven Spielberg's upcoming (and anticipated) The Post (2017) seems like a solid companion to famous "whistle-blowing" movies like…
These movie titles contain the full name of the main character from the movie, without any additions. Whose title role performance is your favorite? You may discuss the poll here
Here's the Top 25 legal movies according to the American Bar Association. (original article here) Which one would be your top pick? After deliberating, discuss your verdict here Another list based on …
In some movies there are underdog characters that totally gained the attention of the audience. Many of them had an impact that lasted for decades. Some others are of newer date. Which of these iconic…
Girl power is a popular slogan that encourages and celebrates women's empowerment, independence, and confidence. Which of these select well-regarded and popular movies* or movie franchises driven by …
Each of these film feature conflicts between the little guy vs. the big guy: Employee-Employer and rulers-citizens and minority-majority (in both directions). Which one of these films rings the loudes…
Although the 'legal movie' genre has provided some of the finest, most gripping and intellectually challenging American classics, it is also the most frequently snubbed when it came to the Oscars, esp…
Movies released in 2000 are now 20 years old. This poll includes the top rated 35 of the 3,908 movies released in 2000. Which one of these is your favorite? After voting, you may discuss the poll here…
We have now had polls rating the best musical scores on film by composers John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, and James Horner. In continuing this study of modern composers, let's examine Thomas…
It's not unusual for movie dialogues involving family members, friends, old acquaintances or romantic couples to have a first name inserted in it, as if it had or added an effect of its own, like emph…
The 4th of July is Independence Day in the United States, a celebration of the American colonies declaring independence from England. A nation's independence is of great importance but it's hard to i…