Reviews

Okay, its not that good of a movie, I will admit that, but for some reason it is a guilty pleasure. And not for any of the very un-erotic sex scenes. Stone certainly is beautiful and I like her performance here and that helps. I will say I read the book and it sucked even worse then the movie. Why they tried to adapt the book is beyond me. Like someone else said in a review it is a very good idea and premise but it just doesn't work here. Had it been done with more thrill and less sex it really could have taken the viewer deeper into the voyeuristic world in which it presents. However, it only goes skims the surface and leaves you wanting more. As for the other performances, both Berenger and Baldwin and even Martin Landau are weak but I enjoyed the small female performances of CCCh Pounder as the detective, Colleen Camp as her perverted co-worker and Polly Walker as her sexy neighbor. As for the abrupt ending I thought it kicked ass. :)

...can now be held for the latter part of Elizabeth Taylors career. After The Taming of the Shrew(1967) it all seemed to go down hill. Check out any post Shrew movies and you will see what I mean. Here, in The Only Game, in Town Beatty and Taylor are jaded and cynical workers and lovers trying to escape Vegas, but both have their problems. Beatty is a compulsive gambler and Taylor is a cold fish unable to communicate love for fear of abandonment. It's a subtle love story and comedy that has some pretty good moments even though it runs a little slow. Don't expect anything amazing but its worth a look.

Elizabeth Taylor plays Barbara Sawyer, wife to Henry Fonda (who shows up late in the film) for 30 years who has not aged well (to say the least). She goes to Europe and receives plastic surgery in an attempt to save her marriage. Will her restored youth appeal to her husband or will she have to start life over and be strong enough to do so? This is the premise of Ash Wednesday, a syrupy soap opera in the ugly duckling to beautiful swan tradition. Maybe you're a fan of Liz Taylor and sought this movie out, or maybe you just managed to catch it on late night cable and there was nothing else on. Either way you probably realized that this movie wasn't exactly high caliber. But in humble defense I will praise an excellent musical score, beautiful on location scenery, and elegant Edith Head designed fashions. The premise of the movie is a good one and it could have made for a very interesting film had the screenwriter or director had any amount of talent. But the dialogue and direction are both flat. Certain scenes seem pointless and unfulfilled. However, the main point of the movie is to show loving close ups and profiles of 41 year old Taylor looking beautiful again. And, yes, with a lot more make-up and just the right camera angle, we the audience, are transplanted back to those fabulous 50's movies when Taylor didn't have to act or even speak to transfix your gaze upon her and hold it rapt. Rating for Ash Wednesday for any viewer. **(out of 4) For Liz Taylor fans. ***

I was sooo hyped to see this movie. You have no idea. But my God, it wasnt just bad, it was awful. I'm sitting here staring at the glowing Entertaintment Weekly review and I just cant believe it. Other reviews for the most part are just as good. Did everybody else go to a different movie then I did? Did they not see an overlong bore? Did they not see the maybe 2 or so facial expressions Russel Crowe used in the movie that is supposed to be good acting? Did they not see the action scenes that were put in fast motion and slow motion that were completely unneeded, unartistic, and unoriginal? I wonder if Ridley Scott could have ripped off Spielberg a little more? And the dialogue! Did I hear the young emperor say, "Im very vexed, terrible vexed!" I laughed out loud. Was that supposed to be that funny? Or was that just horrifically bad writing? And how about those lovely computer generated lions? Complete trash. How can you people be giving this movie 10's and sending it into the top 100 already. Let there be a backlash please. Movies this bad deserve one.

Somebody should have told the film makers that strange does not equal interesting. I'm a huge Liz Taylor fan so I had to see this movie, and the fact that the always wonderful Brando was in it only added to my expectations for the movie. Not to mention that John Huston directed it. But never mind all that. An enormous amount of talent is wasted in this. Yes, it is unpredictable, I will give it that, but the storyline and its bizarre subplots are so ridiculous that half way through you stop caring about what happens to who. If all of the boring pacing and weird, self-absorbed people haven't made you turn off the movie be prepared for a final scene so campy that it is rivalled only by the cheapest of grade Z horror films. Honestly, don't bother watching this, you'll be upset you wasted money to rent it.

What a big disappointment. By looking at the box cover for this movie you've got Bette holding a gun in a movie called Deception. Well, unfortunately the Deception is that fact the box cover is far more interesting then the actual movie. I'm a big Davis fan but this was a let down. Oddly, Humoresque, Another Warner Bros. movie with Joan Crawford released in the same year or the year after dealt with an unbalanced woman involved with a musician as well. It wasn't good either. Of course, Joan wades into the ocean depths never to return instead of shooting someone. Just another Bette/Joan contrast. Anyways I'm off track, the point is, skip this one.

People talk about how unoriginal Hollywood is today but back in the 30's and 40's remakes of movies would be done 2 years later under a different name or the same studios would consistently turn out cycles of sappy melodramas that had the same plot line. The Great Lie deals with two women who come under crisis and conflict about the birth of a child born out of wedlock. Its an okay average movie, but if you want to see something that is the exact same thing, WITH BETTE DAVIS as well, then you need not look back 2 years earlier and watch The Old Maid instead, which is not only very well done but the sparks created between the two female leads in that movie were real off screen and they far more powerful then in The Great Lie.

Is The Bride Came C.O.D. that funny? Are Cagney and Davis comedians? The answer to both these questions is no, but Cagney and Davis had star power and charisma. In spades I might add. The movie is light, fast, and witty and if you love these two actors (or even just one of them) it will be enjoyable. If not, look elsewhere.

A very fast and enjoyable, early Bette Davis movie. She won her first Academy Award nomination and win for this movie, many believe for being overlooked the previous year for her performance in Of Human Bondage. I've seen both and happen to think that the Bondage performance is very overdone (as much as I love her she over acts often) and this performance in Dangerous is deeper and more reserved and yet is still just as riveting, with plenty of scenes for Davis to rip into. Definately worth checking out.

I was never a huge fan of slasher movies until I saw the first Scream in 1996. It became one of my favorite movies of all time, and when Scream 2 came out I was there to watch it the first night. Of course, it wasn't nearly as good as the first, but as sequels go, it was pretty good. So, last night was the opening night for Scream 3, and you can bet I was in line expecting a lot but knowing it might not deliver. Well, I pretty much got what I expected and thats okay. No, the movie does not come near to ranking with Scream 1 but sequels never do. But I would say it was on par with Scream 2. It still had a clever, sarcastic sense of humor, and some genuine tension, excitement, scares, and memorable scenes. Some of the disappointing aspects of the film were that there really was no "bets are off" types scenarios or surprises in the movie. Even though the killer was a surprise and the how and why of it all, the ending was just rather weak for the final showdown of trilogy that is supposed tie up all the ends and give you, what you would think should be a really BIG, all out, not necessarily happy ending. And in that respect Scream 3 fails but still delivers for the most part and I do recommend it.

I just saw Girl, Interrupted over its wide release opening weekend. I was going in expecting a good movie and that is just what I got. I'm not exactly sure how structurely good it is since it starts near the end, goes to the beginning, has multiple flashbacks for the first half hour and then stops and continues with a chronological narrative. However, other then that small annoyance, the film is a poignant, funny, sad, and memorable piece of film making. Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie are exceptional. Another stand out performance is by Brittany Murphy who plays Daisy, she does a great job. I highly recommend you see this very good movie that also happens to be based on a true story making it all the more touching.

This is one of those movies that is so trashy and stupid that it's actually entertaining. Every performance is over the top especially Rose McGowans' as she slinks around in tights and chews up the scenery with terrific one liners. Is this a good movie? No, not really, but it's sure to have it's own little cult fan club just as the superior Heathers did. What it lacks in creativity and story it makes up for with a good sound track and a lot of attitude. Like Valley of the Dolls before it and other bitch fests, it's a testament to the movie statement "it's so bad it's good."

2001 is complex for me. I am a huge Kubrick fan and I like practically all of his very few movies, except for this one. I can understand why it is a great achievement. At the time of its release it was an unbelievable breakthrough in both idea and in special effects and direction. For those reasons I can understand why it is a classic. But no matter how much I want to like it and see it as a masterpiece like so many others I cant say that I do. Its not that I don't like the movie, but that I actually hate it. I understand that it is tying to go beyond entertainment and make you think and not give you some fake ending that answers all the questions it raises. Instead it is trying to be very broad and give some sort of enlightenment about humans and the universe and creation. But to me it just comes off as very boring and pretentious film making. It put me to sleep. Now, many fans of the movie would just accuse me of ignorance, but I do believe I have quite a large following of people that would have to say they were more then just dozing off now and again while watching it. If you're going to watch this movie and you want to go REALLY deep with it you might as well take the advice of the original MGM tagline that went with it. It was "the ultimate trip" and as me and two friends of mine discovered (along with all the original hippies that saw it repeatedly in '68 who made it the box office hit that it was) its not nearly as dry when you are taking that "trip" while watching it.

I believe "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" to be a remarkable film. It truly is an unforgettable movie watching experience that will have a lasting impact. Though all 4 actors are great Taylor (discarding her glamorous image) owns the movie. This is her apotheosis as an actress. With incredible dialogue and direction from Nichols this movie depicts the underbelly of a bad marriage that by its end leaves the characters emotionally shattered. You should definitely seek out this movie and rent it. It is entertaining and engaging and might just leave you a reeling a little bit. I think that it should have won Best Picture for 1966 but due its taboo breaking content and language the academy chose to go with the safer "A man for all Seasons". A must see!

A fascinating movie even though it might be a little bit talky. Davis is absolutely magnetic. One of her best and least showy performances, she is downright riveting. The movie opens with a burst of violence, ends in a wickedly creepy way and all through the middle is filled with lies, backstabbing, and reveries of a hot Malaysian affair gone bad with Bette at her best when she's bad!