Reviews

This disarming film seems so simple and innocuous on the surface, and yet it is exceptionally smart, clever and meaningful. Who would have thought that Harold Ramis, crown prince of the slob comedy, and Bill Murray, an actor whose specialty is looking disinterested, would combine to create a work of this caliber? "Groundhog Day" eschews cheap laughs and throwaway gags for something much richer, deeper and more sophisticated. The idea of someone living the same day over and over again, until he finally gets it right, is absolutely ingenious. The transformation of this character in the process is a revelation and a joy to watch. "Groundhog Day" is truly sublime, one of the best motion picture comedies ever.

This is a very slow moving film, open to all sorts of interpretations. It has atmosphere, some tension and decent performances, and is very well shot, but something is definitely missing.

In the documentary included as an added feature on the DVD, director Donato Rotunno proudly tells us that he made this movie without having read the source material on which it is based, Henry James classic novella "The Turn Of The Screw." Perhaps Rotunno should have read it first. His vision for the project might have been clearer.

Big plus: Leelee Sobiesky is a beautiful woman, and her assets are amply displayed throughout the film.

Every once in a while -- perhaps more frequently than that -- you watch a movie and marvel at the the notion that someone would spend the time and resources to transform a stunningly incompetent script into a feature film. This particular film is so lacking in plot and character development that it is almost a marvel to behold. The motivations of the characters are laughably non-existent. And there is a pervading blandness to the whole affair that would send even the most undemanding young viewers into deep coma.

I can't imagine why I took the time to slog through this unfortunate excuse for entertainment, although I did get a little bit of exercise from constantly shaking my head and wondering how much worse a "family film" could get. How Kate Bosworth and Jeff Fahey got involved is a question best answered by their respective agents.

By the way, the packaging on this DVD suggests, perhaps, that this is a "boy and his dog" movie. It is not. The dog is a random addition that is every bit as disconnected to the "story" as I was.

Avoid this at all costs, and add 90 precious minutes to your life.

I love movies and I love watching sports. Not surprisingly, I really enjoy sports movies. Good ones. This is a very good one.

Bernie Mac, as the ragingly ego maniacal baseball star Stan Ross, accomplishes the near impossible. He makes us despise his character, then pity him, and finally adore him. He is completely comfortable in the role, and commands the screen with almost shocking ease.

The movie doesn't go for a home run, and therein lies much of its strength. This isn't "The Natural." The director and writer are content to tell a straightforward but very entertaining story with a good message for athletes of all ages. "Mr. 3000" is funny and ultimately quite touching, and the ending is both surprising and fitting.

My kids enjoyed the movie as much as I did. So count this as three "thumbs up" for a Hollywood movie with a little bit of heart.

If a group of over-eager, not very bright nine year olds joined forces to write a film script, it would probably bear a striking resemblance to this one. Plot and character development are non-existent. One would swear that Robert Rodriguez made the story up as he went along. It makes no sense and amounts to nothing. Thanks to the loud soundtrack and atrocious dialogue, the movie is painful to listen to. And because of the truly pathetic 3-D effects, it is also painful to watch. Game over? One more movie like this and Rodriguez' career will be over.

Like the series on which it is based, this movie is painless and inoffensive. Children should find it reasonably engrossing and even adults will get a chuckle or two. But The Wild Thornberrys is the stuff of small screen, to be sure. Blown up to widescreen theatrical dimensions and heaped upon us in a 90 minute dose, its charms begin to wear thin rather quickly. Home video is the ideal medium for this animated feature.

I don't care what the reviewers had to say, nor that the movie was a serious commercial failure. "Empire Of The Sun" is a magnificent film, gorgeously photographed, beautifully scored, well acted and astoundingly directed. This heartbreaking story of a boy torn apart from everything he knows, and cast against a surreal backdrop of World War II China, was fascinating from the first frame to the last. The period detail is exquisite, the drama extremely moving. The film's final sections contain the best surrealism ever committed to celluloid, and Spielberg handles those sequences with the confidence and genius of a great conductor directing a symphony orchestra. See this movie at all costs.

Having been completely turned off by the pabulum spewed out by Hollywood every winter and summer, I have turned to the world of independent film as my refuge. Movies like "Delayed" remind me of what can and should be done in this medium by filmmakers who work from the mind and the heart. Plotwise, this film is quite simple and straightforward, but it has more moral complexity than 95 per cent of what is playing at your local multiplex. It is refreshing to see a story that is truly about something, featuring real flesh and blood characters displaying genuine emotions. Bravo!